Hansi Flick sat down in front of the cameras at the Ciutat Esportiva on Saturday with the most enviable set of numbers any Barcelona manager has taken into a September press conference in years — and spent most of it warning against exactly the thing those numbers invite. The Blaugrana are top of La Liga with four wins from four, 17 goals scored and two conceded, and they beat Feyenoord 5-1 in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. Flick’s message ahead of Sunday’s trip to Levante was that none of it is worth anything on its own.
“We’re very happy to be at this level, but we know we have to show it in every game,” he said, quoted by Barça Universal. “We have great quality and we maintain intensity and concentration. If we lose either of these things, it won’t be good.”
Flick on a third straight La Liga title: ‘It would be incredible’
Asked whether it is harder to keep players motivated in the league than in Europe, the German was blunt about what the season is actually for — and about the fact that domestic dominance has not stopped mattering.
“Nothing changes compared to the last two years,” he told reporters, per Mundo Deportivo’s live coverage of the press conference. “This year we want to win the Champions League, that’s our objective, but it’s also important to win LaLiga. Winning it three times in a row would be incredible.”
What followed was pure Flick: a short lecture on sleep, food and looking after the body and the mind, a nod to the specialists he has around him, and an aside about the new gym at the training ground that he wants finished sooner rather than later. “Everything to improve the players,” he said.
Rotations at Levante: ‘The players have to accept it’
The practical question on Saturday was how much Flick shuffles a side that has played twice in a week. He did not pretend otherwise: changes are coming, and nobody gets a vote.
“It’s part of the game. The players have to accept it,” he said, pointing to a squad that now carries two or three genuine options in almost every position. That depth is the summer’s work showing up — and it is why our Levante vs Barcelona predicted line-up has more moving parts than the results suggest it should.
Team news is straightforward. Frenkie de Jong and Roony Bardghji, both long-term absentees, are the only injury issues. Eric Garcia returns after serving his European suspension and will play in a protective mask following the fractured nasal septum he picked up against Valencia, as we covered in Friday’s team news. Summer signing Jesse Bisiwu trained alone on Saturday and will not travel; he is expected to feature for Barça Atlètic instead. Hamza Abdelkarim, who signed a new contract to 2030 on Friday, stayed with the first-team group.
‘This squad is better than last year’s’
Flick was asked to assess the group he has been given, and gave an answer that will please the people who assembled it — while quietly redirecting the credit away from the attack everyone is talking about.
“The squad is better than last year’s,” he said. “We talk a lot about the attack, because it scores a lot of goals, but for me the defence is very important. And I see that everyone is performing at a fantastic level.”
He singled out Pau Cubarsí, whose stock has risen again since the summer: “After the World Cup, Cubarsí is playing at a different level. I’m very happy. He has the confidence and he’s focused on his body. He has improved physically, especially for his position.” It is the second glowing character reference the 19-year-old has had this week, after Deco called him “the Lamine of centre-backs”.
On Fabregas, and on himself
Cesc Fàbregas described this Barcelona side as “frightening” earlier in the week. Flick returned the compliment without taking the bait. “We’re focused on what we have in our hands. I’m also impressed with Cesc’s Como,” he said. “We’re only thinking about the next match. We’re on the right track, but it’s a long road to the end of the season.”
And on the wave of goodwill coming his way from the members, he deflected entirely. “I don’t usually talk much about myself, because I’m only the coach. The players are the ones who do the work,” he said. “I know I’m not the important one at the club.”
Barcelona travelled to Valencia on Saturday evening to stay overnight. Kick-off at the Ciutat de València is 16:15 CEST on Sunday — 15:15 UK time — against a Levante side unbeaten at home in six.
