Hansi Flick Refines Barcelona Strategy Ahead of La Liga

On the eve of Barcelona’s La Liga kick-off, Hansi Flick is done experimenting for the sake of it. The Joan Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly tonight is no longer just a gala; it is effectively a live-fire test of the side he expects to send out against Elche in the league opener.

The clues have been dropping all week at the training ground.

Flick trims the squad, tightens the plan

The academy contingent has been steadily cut back as pre-season winds down, with senior internationals returning in stages and reclaiming their places. This morning brought only a light session before the friendly against the Egyptian champions, but the real information came 24 hours earlier.

Tuesday’s training game, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, revealed the clearest outline yet of Flick’s selection thinking – and it featured some bold positional tweaks.

Kounde back in the middle

Jules Kounde has always looked like a centre-back playing out of position at right-back. Flick appears ready to end that compromise.

With Ronald Araujo gone and Eric Garcia impressing enough last season to be considered the first-choice right-back under the new coach, the path has opened for Kounde to return to his natural role in the heart of defence. On Tuesday, Flick stationed him there in the training match, anchoring the back line.

It is not a surprise. The staff had already weighed this shift, but the latest session made it feel less like an idea and more like a decision in motion.

Farinas pushed wide, Espart in the engine room

Around Kounde, there were more tweaks. Xavi Espart once again operated in midfield, mirroring the role he took in the friendly against FC Basel. Flick clearly sees something he likes in the youngster’s ability to link play and handle traffic in the centre.

On Kounde’s right, another experiment: Brian Farinas at full-back.

Farinas has not featured on the flank for Barça Atletic, yet Flick used him as a right-back in the training match, effectively handing him a role that had previously been earmarked for Tommy Marques. It was Farinas, not Marques, who stepped into that slot this time, a small but telling shift in the internal hierarchy.

New signing Rodri also took part in the morning’s lighter workout, integrating further into a group that is starting to resemble the competitive core of Flick’s first Barcelona side.

Raphinha through the middle again

Up front, the most striking decision was a repeat one. Raphinha led the line as a No. 9 once more.

Flick had already tested the Brazilian there against Basel, where he operated centrally alongside Anthony Gordon, another forward the coach has publicly flagged as an option through the middle. The pattern continued in Tuesday’s run-out: Raphinha as the focal point, not the winger.

On the opposite side in that training game was Hamza Abdelkarim, who now stands on the other side of the story. He faces his boyhood club in the Gamper and is expected to battle Raphinha for that starting centre-forward role tonight.

The stakes are obvious. Win the duel now, and you might lead the line when Elche arrive.

Dress rehearsal with La Liga in mind

Flick is unlikely to show his full hand tactically against Al Ahly, but the personnel choices will matter. The Gamper XI is tipped to mirror, as closely as fitness allows, the team that opens the league campaign.

Kounde back in central defence. Garcia locked in at right-back. Espart trusted in midfield. Farinas thrown into the full-back mix. Raphinha repurposed as a striker.

One friendly, one trophy, and one last chance for this group to convince their new manager that they belong in his first La Liga lineup. Tonight will not just celebrate a new season at Montjuïc – it will reveal who Flick truly trusts when the real points are on the line.