Hansi Flick Warns Barcelona of a Slow Start to the Season
Hansi Flick has moved to temper expectations at Barcelona, warning supporters that his side may be some way short of their best in the opening weeks of the new LaLiga campaign. Speaking after Saturday’s triangular in Udine, the German pointed to a disrupted, “atypical” pre-season and the late return of his World Cup contingent as reasons for caution.
The bulk of Barça’s internationals are due back only on Wednesday, leaving barely ten days of training and two warm-up matches — a friendly against FC Basel and a meeting with Al-Ahly — before the Blaugrana open against Elche on August 23. Add a busy transfer window that is still reshaping the squad, and Flick sees precious little time to knit a much-changed group together.
Why Hansi Flick expects a slow burn
Many players are arriving this week; it’s an atypical and strange pre-season. We have to respect the players’ vacations, and this pre-season isn’t normal. We’ll have to manage it until the international break; until then, we won’t be at 100%.
As Barca Blaugranes reported, that first international break does not arrive until late September, and this year it runs three weeks rather than two. Flick struck a similar note in his post-match remarks to Mundo Deportivo, insisting the squad would not hit top gear until after the FIFA window. On his own timeline, then, a fully firing Barça may not be seen until well into October.
For a club chasing a third straight LaLiga crown, patience may be the early watchword. The message from the touchline is clear: judge this Barça on the season, not the first few weekends.
