The international break was a difficult 'punishment' for FC Barcelona. The international window came at a sweet time for the Blaugrana team, whose perfect start in LaLiga was leaving them feeling increasingly better. However, key players in Hansi Flick's squad have accumulated more minutes in recent days and, as if that were not enough, Fermín López was injured and will be out for about three weeks. Now, after the close of the FIFA date, the schedule will be tight for the culés, whose physicality will be put to the test.
Barça's tough 'exams'
Barça resumes activities in the league championship with a visit to Montilivi, and just four days later they will head to France to debut in the Champions League against AS Monaco. In total, Flick's team will play six games in 17 days, with four of these taking place outside Barcelona. The Catalans will visit Girona, Monaco, Villarreal and Pamplona, while they will host Getafe and Young Boys at home.
Despite this 'brutal' schedule, Flick has not lowered the quality of training. The German gave the members of the Blaugrana squad free this Wednesday, September 11, but they will return to the field next Thursday with all the available players. The coach is preparing a plan to control the fatigue of his players' legs, being forced to look to the bench in the coming days to preserve the physique of his players.
Flick's rotations
In the locker room they feel a significant improvement in terms of physical preparation, and this will be put to the test in the coming weeks. At the moment, only Ter Stegen, Iñigo Martínez, Jules Koundé and Raphinha have played all the minutes, with the centre-back and the Brazilian resting during the break as they have not been called up by their national teams. Lewandowski and Lamine are the next with the most playing time accumulated and, in principle, all should be starters at Montilivi and in the Principality. Later, the Catalans will visit La Cerámica, an extremely difficult visit for the team.
During these games, Héctor Fort, who has not yet made his official debut this season, could have his first minutes of the campaign. Similarly, players such as Pau Víctor, Pablo Torre, Eric Garcia, Sergi Domínguez or Gerard Martín could have more prominence in the team to give the undisputed starters a rest, while Flick is expected to continue trusting Marc Casadó as the 'chief of machines' of the midfield while the date of Frenkie de Jong's return is confirmed.
The club's fitness department was renovated after the arrival of Flick, who brought with him members such as Julio Tous or Pepe Conde, who do not relax the level in this section despite the difficulties presented by the calendar. The German could also count on the return of Ansu Fati, pending the resolution of the Dutchman's case, being two possible great reinforcements to face the second chapter of the season, which is presented with an extra level of difficulty.