Hansi Flick spoke to the media at the press conference prior to the match on Saturday 24 August between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club Bilbao. In a brief appearance, the Barça coach spoke about some of the 'hot' issues of the current situation at Barcelona, such as the departure of Ilkay Gündogan, and left up in the air the presence of Dani Olmo in the league opener at Montjuïc against the Basques.
The German went straight to the point and confessed about 'Gündo's' departure to Manchester City. Without revealing too many details, the coach made it clear that the footballer's position changed throughout the week and ended up speeding up his return to the Premier League. "I know him as a player, as a person and I can only say good things about him. He is a fantastic player, for Barça and for the national team. He wanted to help us and there was a moment in the week when things changed," he said.
When asked if he will be able to count on Dani Olmo against Athletic, Flick played it cool and 'cleared' the ball by stating that, although he sees him ready to debut for the Blaugrana, the issue of registrations is not among his responsibilities. "It is not my job to register him. I work with the players I have available, we have worked very well. He is ready to play and we will wait," he commented.
The German also did not want to get involved with the possible arrival of some reinforcements during the final stretch of the transfer market, stating that "I am always focused on what I have, on the players I have available. I cannot think about other things or who can come. The team has quality and with this team we are going to try to win tomorrow," adding that "I am very happy, as I always say, with the team. I have spoken with most of the players, today I will finish speaking with those I had not spoken with. It is important to define the situation of each one. The important thing is that everyone is excited to give their best version."
Praise for Casadó
The Blaugrana coach was pleased with Marc Casadó and even dared to compare him to Kimmich, leaving a strong message about the work at La Masia. "He has some similarities with Kimmich. He played many games with the reserve team last season. I liked what I've seen, what I've seen so far he's done well. You'll often hear me say that I'm very happy with the Barça Atlètic players," he commented.
Christensen's future and the 'anti-Nico Williams' plan
Regarding Christensen's role in his scheme, the subject of several rumours in recent days that place him outside the club, Flick assured that at the moment the priority is for him to recover from his physical problems. "Why should I talk to him? Obviously, we have already spoken, I must say that he has some problems and today he trained alone. As he is now he cannot help the team. Last year he played some games with problems and we have to look after him. He is a very good defender and it is important for the club to have him at 100%. He cannot help us at 80% alone," he said.
Finally, he made it clear that Jules Koundé will be in charge of 'stopping' Nico Williams in his meeting with the Barcelona fans, who were hoping to see him dressed in Barça at this point in August. "We have players with a lot of experience, Jules can take care of him. But it is not my job to talk about a player from the opposing team. We will focus on trying to stop him and I am sure Jules will have a great game," he concluded.