Tough start for Flick at Barca just got a whole lot tougher

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Stars not aligning for the German

Hansi Flick must be wondering what he has to do to catch a break after signing on as first-team coach at Barcelona.

In the opening five La Liga games, his side will travel to Valencia, Rayo and Girona, whilst hosting Athletic Club and Real Valladolid.

Four of the five are likely to prove to be reasonably difficult matches if recent results are anything to go by, with the Valladolid fixture perhaps being the only ‘banker’ with the greatest respect to La Pucela.

Getting his ideas across during pre-season in order that his players can hit the ground running from week one was going to be a tough ask anyway, but the Copa America, European Championship and Olympic Games have simply added to his woes.

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Gavi was always going to be out for the start of the campaign and he remains a huge miss. The beating heart of his team, his return will be akin to signing a new player, but one who needs no time to acclimatise to his surroundings.

Midfield colleague, Pedri, will now be laid low thanks to Toni Kroos’ reckless challenge in the Germany vs Spain game, and with concerns over Frenkie de Jong’s ankle injury, that’s arguably the first choice midfield unavailable for an as yet indeterminable length of time.

During 2023/24, the emergence of Fermin Lopez has seen to it that his claims for a starting spot can’t go unnoticed either, however, the fact he’s been called up by Spain for the Olympic Games means that he too won’t be able to be selected for the first few weeks of the 2024/25 season.

If that weren’t bad enough for Flick, central defence has also become a huge area of concern.

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Pau Cubarsi and the returning Eric Garcia will join Fermin in the Spanish Olympic squad, but it’s Ronald Araujo’s injury whilst playing for Uruguay against Brazil in the Copa America which has really put the cat amongst the pigeons.

Though there have been rumours linking the 25-year-old away from the club, they’ve not been substantiated at this point and therefore he remains a Barca player.

A potential muscular injury, something which Marcelo Bielsa believes is down to too much football being played - (how many times have we heard that regarding player injuries/burnout?!) - is likely to curtail Araujo’s immediate playing ambitions, and/or Barcelona’s chances of moving him on.

Whichever way you look at it, Hansi Flick is going to have to be a magician to get his squad through the first few weeks relatively unscathed.

Source: barcablaugranes.com