Five crucial decisions Barcelona boss Hansi Flick must make before the season starts | OneFootball

Three wins out of three games for Barcelona in preseason served as the perfect start to Hansi Flick’s second season in charge as the Barcelona manager. The expectations this time around, however, are sky high.

After winning the domestic treble in his first season in charge, the Blaugrana enter this season as one of the favourites on all fronts. The team, thus, will have to be better and bolder, and so will Flick’s management.

The coach made some interesting experiments in pre-season, gave young names their chance to shine and even tweaked lineups to find maximal synergy.

He undoubtedly left the tour with a bucket full of positives, but there are some important decisions he must make on its basis about the team next season.

Barça Universal brings you five key areas Flick must address before the first league matchday.

The captaincy conundrum

Barcelona must choose their first-team captains for the new season before the Gamper Trophy and the official start of the season. Normally, there would be no change in positions from last season, but it now looks increasingly likely that Marc-Andre Ter Stegen loses his armband.

The German goalkeeper’s relationship with the club has hit an all-time low following the summer signing of Joan Garcia. After refusing to leave, the 33-year-old had to undergo surgery on a troublesome back issue.

Ter Stegen unlikely to continue as captain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Following that, Ter Stegen has blatantly refused to sign the medical documents that help Barcelona use his wages to register a new player. Given the situation, the board may well strip him of captaincy, but in any case, Flick has a serious situation to manage behind the scenes.

Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha, Pedri, Gavi, Inigo Martinez and Robert Lewandowski would all appear to be good candidates.

The final decision will rest on a player’s vote, but Flick can take matters into his hands and finalise the selection if he feels the situation is getting out of hand. In either case, preventing internal conflicts over the topic will also be a challenging task for him.

Picking his centre-backs

Inigo Martinez did not participate in Barcelona’s last two pre-season games owing to discomfort, while Pau Cubarsi also left the field injured in the final game. Both players’ setbacks are not serious, and they are expected to be ready in time for the Joan Gamper.

Also featuring in pre-season were Ronald Araujo and Andreas Christensen, two players who did not have much prominence last season but have begun to make a strong case for themselves this time around.

The former, while an asset in terms of his pace, tracking back ability and leadership, can be a small liability in terms of his ball playing and lapses in concentration that lead to mistakes.

The Danish star, meanwhile, continues to stare at an uncertain future and is linked with an exit, although his performances have calmed rumours down to an extent.

Cubarsi and Martinez are not spotless either, for the former has looked error-prone since the end of last season, while the former is a year older and slower, which may become a liability for the high defensive line.

Considering the pros and cons of every player and choosing his preferred centre-back combination, thus, is a task for the manager in the coming days, and he must do so fast.

Midfield selection

Who will partner Pedri in Barcelona’s midfield? (Photo by Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)

The pre-season made it clear that Barcelona’s single biggest goldmine in terms of quality is the midfield. Hansi Flick’s double pivot setup forced some players to alter their profiles and adapt to a new role over the past year, but they now look well-versed and fluid in their duties.

Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are shining bright in midfield, and even the pre-season tour made it clear that they will continue to be vital players in the middle of the park. Unlike last season, however, their place cannot be undisputed.

Gavi’s pre-season was fantastic, and he was arguably the team’s most impressive player on tour as he showed that he is close to being back to his best. The young star offers a unique attacking profile despite playing in the deep role and is an interesting option for the manager.

Marc Casado, meanwhile, has also upped his game and made a strong case to be a starting midfielder in the pivot for his defensive stability. The competition only grows as Marc Bernal will soon return to the dynamics.

To pick just two of these names to go into the season as part of the Gala XI, thus, is easier said than done. Adding to that, the dilemma of Dani Olmo, Fermin Lopez and Dro as the attacking midfielder and Flick has a full-blown decision to make over his midfield pecking order.

Youngsters to promote

Hansi Flick filtered down a long list of young talents to just five players who he took with him to Asia to audition and make a case to stay with the first team this season – Roony Bardghji, Jofre Torrents, Toni Fernandez, Guille Fernandez and Pedro Fernandez.

All five players had prominence to varying levels, with Guille having the least playing time and Torrents and Bardghji enjoying a significant amount of time on the field.

Set for a first-team spot. (Photo by Paul Miller/Getty Images)

Now, the coach must filter down the list once more and decide which players will stay with the first team for the beginning of the new season and which names return to the Barça Atletic dynamics. A combination of performance and vacancies in the first team will decide the same.

It would appear that Torrents and Dro have a chance to stay up with the senior side, and so does one of Bardghji and Toni. The final decision, however, must be made in the coming days by the coach.

Rethink the defensive ideology

What was clear from Barcelona’s three friendlies against the Asian teams was that the team is still fragile at the back and that much work needs to be done to improve the dynamic on that front.

Considering the sheer number of chances the opponents created on the break and the goals the team conceded, there is a radical change needed in terms of the defensive strategy itself, and Flick must work out that swiftly.

Selection of the centrebacks and personnel on one side, deciding how risky a style to deploy, how high the defensive line should be placed and how effectively the offside trap can be enhanced are questions Flick must ponder deeply