Inside Hansi Flick’s unusual Barcelona start – and the youngsters who could impress him in pre-season
Hansi Flick faced the media for the first time as Barcelona coach this week — although the German had already given reporters a glimpse of his methods.
Last week, as local press watched the first 15 minutes of an open training session at Barca’s training ground on the outskirts of the city, Flick stepped away from the drills and headed towards them. He introduced himself by saying, “Bon dia” (‘Good morning’ in Catalan), shook hands with each reporter and spoke to them for a few minutes.
Flick, 59, told them how much he is enjoying life in his new home city — he plans to live in Castelldefels, the nearby beachside town where Lionel Messi was based during his long career playing for the club. He also detailed how impressed he had been by the talent on show from La Masia, Barca’s famed youth academy.
GO DEEPER
The power of Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy – and why for years it was ignored
Until then, the media covering Barcelona had seen very little of the man who has replaced Xavi, the legendary former Barca midfielder turned coach who left at the end of last season after a series of U-turns on his future.
Club sources — who, like all those cited in this article, asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships — say this was a gesture Flick had in mind for several days, given he had yet to be publicly introduced. They said the former Bayern Munich and Germany coach isn’t the most vocal person but someone who appreciates honest and direct communication.
Even so, managing Barcelona requires more than that.
In his opening press conference on Thursday, Flick was asked if he had heard of the word ‘entorno’ — which means environment or surroundings but was coined by the Barca legend Johan Cruyff to describe the harsh spotlight focused on the club’s players and managers. Flick admitted he had not.
“But of course, I am totally fine with your work,” Flick added to the journalists. “I know this is a special club with special characteristics around it.”
GO DEEPER
Barcelona’s ‘entorno’ – the toxic mix not even Guardiola and Xavi could avoid
It has been an unusual start for Flick. The European Championship and Copa America this summer forced him to start work with a depleted squad, as most of the first-team players were either still away on international duty or on holiday after their tournament ended. And a lot of the ones he did have at his disposal face an uncertain future.
Of the 28 players he met in his first training session on July 10, more than half (15) were actually with Barcelona Atletic, the club’s second team, which plays in the Spanish third division and is full of youth players. The most senior players around were Frenkie de Jong and Gavi, who are both recovering from long-term injuries and could not join in those first sessions. Left-back Alejandro Balde was nearing the end of his recovery process after hamstring surgery in January (he has this week received clearance to play).
Flick started Barca’s pre-season with a depleted squad (Manaure Quintero/AFP via Getty Images)
Backup goalkeeper Inaki Pena, Oriol Romeu, Inigo Martinez and Vitor Roque were the other first-team players from last season present, but the last two of those are still waiting to be registered in Barca’s 2024-25 squad due to La Liga’s salary rules and their place in the team is not guaranteed.
Any new signing Barcelona could make will face the same difficulties, given the club has a €100million ($108m; £84m) hole in their 2023-24 accounts, caused by problems with the ‘Barca Media’ financial ‘lever’ they pulled last summer — which means they cannot make any signings or even register some current players.
GO DEEPER
Barcelona and Nike’s breakdown in relations reveals deeper problems at Catalan club
Andreas Christensen and Robert Lewandowski joined Flick’s squad a week after training began having been at Euro 2024 with Denmark and Poland respectively and Barca will depart tomorrow (Sunday) for a three-game summer tour of the United States — but this has been a pre-season defined by injuries.
De Jong and Gavi won’t feature on that trip due to their injuries, while Flick could only watch as Pedri and Ronald Araujo suffered setbacks while playing for Spain and Uruguay at the Euros and Copa America. Pedri could miss up to two months with a knee ligament sprain, while there are bigger concerns over Araujo’s hamstring tear — he has had surgery and is not expected back until December.
All that could leave Flick short.
Christensen may be needed in midfield — where the centre-back played for Xavi towards the end of last season — and Jules Kounde could start out playing right-back, meaning Barca would need Martinez as a first-choice centre-back in the early stages of the coming campaign alongside the 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi or the returning Eric Garcia, who spent 2023-24 out on loan.
Another player who will miss the tour is Ansu Fati. The 21-year-old winger, who spent last season on loan at Brighton of the Premier League, suffered a foot injury this week in training and could be out for up to a month — piling further misery on a player who was hoping this summer could be a turning point in what has been an injury-hit career.
“Fati had done very well in training so far. It is a pity he’ll miss that (the tour) now,” Flick said. “We hope he returns even stronger to the team, because he has been doing a very good job.” Fati doesn’t have a guaranteed spot in the squad and could still leave before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Some players present for Flick’s first training sessions told The Athletic they were impressed by the German’s knowledge of every La Masia player. He spoke to each of those youngsters on his first day and called them by their name and surname, telling them what he believed their best qualities were and also the areas they could improve on.
That was reassuring for those academy kids, who had a clear path to Barca’s first team under Xavi and were uncertain if the same would be true now Flick is the coach. Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez and Cubarsi were just a few players who flourished under Xavi and his successor was determined to keep that pathway open from his first day in charge.
Flick wants to continue the pathway between La Masia and the first team that Xavi used with Yamal and company (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
“La Masia does a fantastic job with the youngsters,” Flick said. “It wouldn’t be fair to name names because I see them every day and I see how they improve, but when they have the ball they know what they have to do. There are several very interesting players and we will see how they develop in the next few days.”
The other buzz around the team has been the upgrade in physical preparation.
Last season, senior sources criticised a supposed lack of intensity in training sessions under Xavi, which led to club president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco trying to remould the team’s support personnel in terms of the physical coaches and physiotherapists. Sources close to Xavi and his staff insisted standards had been high and that the club’s packed schedule last season had shaped their approach to training.
Flick has brought in two of his trusted assistants in Marcus Sorg and Toni Tapalovic, who worked under him with Germany and Bayern respectively. Recently-retired Liverpool and Spain midfielder, and former Barcelona player, Thiago has been brought in along with ex-Germany international Heiko Westermann. Both speak Spanish and have helped staff with the language barrier. Flick doesn’t speak much Spanish yet, and can only communicate with his players in English or German.
GO DEEPER
What can Barcelona fans expect from Hansi Flick?
The Barca board has also recruited former Chelsea physical trainer Julio Tous to lead that particular department, having been on Antonio Conte’s Stamford Bridge staff between 2016 and 2018. Coaches Pepe Conde, Rafa Maldonado and German Fernandez have also joined, on Tous’ recommendation. “Flick has insisted a lot on off-the-pitch work as well,” a dressing room source said. “Sessions have been very intense since the start, but his team has also been very insistent regarding nutrition and physiotherapy work to improve performances and prevent injuries.”
“Every team needs to work hard,” Flick said. “We are working on the physical and tactical side. I have seen that we need to improve in these aspects: how we defend, not just offensively. When you want to play well in attack, your defence has to be very solid and that is what we are working on.”
Although four of the first-team players allowed longer holidays following international duties this summer — Kounde, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Ilkay Gundogan and Raphinha — are expected to link up with the squad in the U.S., it’s anticipated the Euro 2024-winning Spain contingent (Yamal, Pedri and Ferran Torres) and those Spaniards at the Olympics’ ongoing football tournament in France (Garcia, Cubarsi and Fermin) won’t report until their colleagues have returned to Catalonia.
That gives some youngsters a chance to shine in the States, where Barca play friendlies against Manchester City (Orlando, Florida) on Tuesday, Real Madrid (East Rutherford, New Jersey) next Saturday and AC Milan (Baltimore, Maryland) three days later.
We’ve picked out a few in the touring party you should keep an eye on:
Mika Faye (centre-back, 20 years old)
A Senegal international who can also play at left-back, and impressed last season for Barcelona Atletic. Barca signed him for more than €1.5million from Croatian club NK Kustosija last July and he is already being monitored by multiple European clubs. Porto were in talks over a potential deal, but the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement over the final fee, which Barca would like to be around €20m. A good showing from him this pre-season would help with that.
Alex Valle (left-back, 20)
Given Barca’s financial struggles and their problems in signing new players, Valle has emerged as a strong candidate to be their No 2 left-back in the coming season. He will most likely be loaned out if he doesn’t stay with his parent club’s first-team squad, but Flick wants to assess him to see if he can provide the required competition for Balde.
Marc Casado (defensive midfielder, 20)
Mexico legend Rafa Marquez’s most trusted lieutenant in the Barca Atletic team last season (Marquez left the club this week to become assistant manager of the Mexican national team). Casado was captain of that side, and is a dynamic midfielder who can play anywhere on the pitch. He will be a member of Flick’s first-team squad this season, as agreed when he signed an extension last summer, and his versatility could make him a very useful asset. He has played as a right-back, s holding midfielder and an attacking midfielder in recent seasons.
Marc Bernal (defensive midfielder, 17)
Flick was asked if the club would be signing a new holding midfielder at his opening press conference and his answer said a lot about the trust he has in existing options such as Bernal. “At the moment I’m very happy with what I’ve seen here with players in the squad who can play in this position,” he said.
Bernal could help fix Barca’s defensive midfield problem (Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Bernal is the best prospect in that position from La Masia. Despite his age, he is 6ft 3in (191cm) and enjoyed a breakthrough season with Barca Atletic last term. He was team-mates with Cubarsi and Yamal for years in the club’s academy sides and has played for Spain at all youth levels. According to dressing room sources, he was the best player on the pitch in Flick’s first Barca friendly, a behind-closed-doors game against fourth-tier UE Olot on Thursday.
Guille Fernandez (midfielder, 16)
Fernandez overtook Yamal as Barca Atletic’s youngest-ever player last season at 15 years, nine months and 13 days, and the club made a significant effort this summer to tie him down to a new deal until 2027.
He started that friendly against Olot and has been an attacking midfielder throughout his time at La Masia, combining his physical attributes with leadership and personality. Fernandez is more of a box-to-box midfielder when compared to Bernal, who prefers to be an anchor in the centre of the park.
Unai Hernandez (midfielder, 19)
One of Barca Atletic’s main creative forces last season. Playing as an attack-minded midfielder on the left who cut inside, Hernandez was involved in 17 goals (scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists). Given the attacking players Flick will be without in the States for the reasons detailed above, he may be given a chance to step up.
(Top photo: Eric Alonso/Getty Images)
