Hansi Flick's Barcelona Prepares for La Liga with Gamper Trophy
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona are down to the last dress rehearsal. One more night, one more look at the pieces, and then La Liga begins.
The Joan Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly will not just be a celebration at the Olympic Stadium. For Flick, it is effectively a live-fire test of the team he expects to send out against Elche on opening weekend.
The clues have been coming all week.
Internationals back, academy trimmed
The pre-season mix-and-match is almost over. As the senior internationals have filtered back into training, the list of academy hopefuls involved with the first team has shrunk. The work on Tuesday at Sant Joan Despí, a light session on the surface, carried heavy tactical weight.
New signing Rodri was part of the morning workout before the squad turned their attention fully to Al Ahly. But it was the internal training match, reported by Mundo Deportivo, that really exposed Flick’s thinking.
Three players. Three new roles. And a very clear message about where this Barcelona is heading.
Kounde back at the heart of defence
Jules Kounde has lived the full-back life at Barça. Flick looks ready to end that experiment.
With Ronald Araujo gone and Eric Garcia now seen as the first-choice right-back after his strong campaign last season, the path has opened for Kounde to move back inside. The Frenchman was used as a centre-back in Tuesday’s session, returning to the position that first made his name.
It is not a surprise. The coaching staff had already been weighing up the switch, but Araujo’s departure has pushed the decision to the forefront. Kounde’s distribution and recovery pace through the middle could be central to how Flick wants his back line to function.
Alongside him, another adjustment caught the eye.
Farinas pushed into unfamiliar territory
Brian Farinas has never been a full-back for Barça Atletic. Flick tried him as one anyway.
In the training game, the academy player lined up on the right side of Kounde, effectively as a right-back. It was an unusual sight given his history, but a deliberate move from a coach clearly searching for fresh solutions in wide defensive areas.
Earlier in pre-season, Flick had spoken of Tommy Marques as a potential option at right-back. Now, Farinas has stepped into that conversation and, crucially, into his place in the squad for this phase.
The experimentation in midfield also continued. Xavi Espart, who had already been used there in the friendly against FC Basel, again operated in the centre of the pitch. Flick seems intent on stress-testing the youngster’s adaptability before competitive football begins.
Raphinha’s second life as a No. 9
Up front, the shake-up is even more striking.
Raphinha, long associated with the right wing, again led the line as a centre-forward in training. Flick had already pushed the Brazilian into that role in the Basel friendly, and repeated the move on Tuesday, underlining that this is no passing whim.
On that previous occasion, Raphinha shared the attack with Anthony Gordon, another name Flick has publicly flagged as an option through the middle. The message is clear: the coach wants multiple profiles who can play as a No. 9, and he is not afraid to repurpose his wide men to get them.
Opposing Raphinha in the training match was Hamza Abdelkarim, who now stands on the other side of a personal storyline. He will face his boyhood club in the Gamper and is expected to battle Raphinha directly for the starting centre-forward spot tonight.
One is a marquee attacker trying to reinvent himself in a new role. The other is a homegrown forward chasing his chance against the club that shaped him. Flick will be watching that duel very closely.
A Gamper with real consequences
This Gamper Trophy is not a gentle parade. It is a selection meeting in front of a crowd.
With the internationals back, the academy presence reduced and positional experiments now moving from theory to practice, the lineup against Al Ahly is likely to resemble the XI that opens the league season against Elche.
Kounde in the middle. Garcia on the right. Farinas pushed into the back line. Raphinha through the centre. Gordon and Abdelkarim lurking as alternative options.
By the end of tonight, Flick will know if his reshaped pieces fit. The question is whether La Liga will be ready for the version of Barcelona that emerges.
