FC Barcelona is preparing to face Valladolid this Saturday, August 31. The match corresponding to the 4th round of LaLiga will take place at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, where the squad led by Hansi Flick achieved a victory in the only match played in Montjuïc against Athletic Club de Bilbao. Against the pucelano team, the Catalans hope to maintain their streak and achieve their fourth consecutive victory, which would allow them to go into the international break as undefeated leaders.
In the match against the team led by Paulo Pezzolano, Hansi Flick will once again have a player who aims to be key in his project. This is Eric García, a 24-year-old defender who had missed the visit to Rayo Vallecano (1-2) due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which had been caused by a blow in the last minutes of his scarce participation in the match against the team led by Ernesto Valverde.
Despite this, the footballer managed to recover in record time from this physical problem, and after returning to first team training last Friday, the defender has managed to enter the list of players called up for the match against Valladolid. In this way, the German coach recovers an important piece for his scheme, since the losses in defence and in midfield will force him to give the youth player minutes in both positions.
Flick's new 'utility'
Flick spoke about this in the press conference prior to this Saturday's match. After completely closing the door on him to leave (Girona was after him), the Barça coach revealed his plans for Eric, which would involve giving him more opportunities in the pivot. "His natural position is centre-back, but it's good to have players who can play in several positions. You have to adapt and it's good that players like Eric or Raphinha up front can occupy other positions. Eric will have to play more as a centre-half," he commented. Garcia's presence on Saturday is therefore a 'relief' for Hansi, who will have in his hands a 'tool' that could be important for the future.