The Hansi Flick Method: Why is Pedri the Most Substituted?

Hansi Flick did not take long to find his base XI this season at FC Barcelona. The German has had a clear foundation for his team, with specific adjustments according to injuries and the tight schedule. In this sense, the coaching staff has tried to manage with utmost care the minutes of their starters, line by line, to stop the injury crisis that affected the squad at the beginning of the 2024/25 season. The strictest plan so far has been executed with Pedri González.

The Tenerife native is the one with the most substitutions recorded (18), although in 7 of them he has come off after the 80th minute. Additionally, the midfielder is also the player who has been substituted the most times consecutively (8). Flick substituted him against Sevilla, Bayern, Real Madrid, Espanyol, Red Star, Real Sociedad, Celta, and Brest, breaking the streak against Las Palmas. Nevertheless, the '8' has played minutes in all 24 matches of the season, with only a couple of bench appearances in La Liga.

The reason for the management of Pedri's minutes lies, logically, in his injury history. Last season, there were three muscular problems for the player from Tegueste, which resulted in a total of 128 days out. In the 2022/23 season, he also suffered two serious injuries that kept him off the field for about three months, missing practically 50% of the second half of the season. 

Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, fixed substitutions in recent weeks

In the last three weeks of competition, Flick has opted to replace 'Lewy' and Dani Olmo, regardless of the result. The Pole usually comes off between the 66th and 74th minute, while the player from Terrassa is also a fixed substitution between the 60th and 75th. The management of both relates to two key factors: age (Robert) and physical fragility (Dani). 

The attacking midfielder was almost a month out due to injury and, since his return, his offensive contribution in La Liga has decreased considerably. A brace against Espanyol (on November 3) was his last goal in the tournament. However, he did score against Brest in the Champions League, in addition to providing his first assist of the season against Dortmund.

On the other hand, in defense, Iñigo Martínez and Jules Koundé have played practically everything. The Basque, like Robert Lewandowski, has been in the lineup for 23 of the 24 matches played so far, while the Frenchman has only been a substitute on a couple of occasions. However, the '23' is the one with the fewest substitutions recorded (2), both in La Liga. Iñigo, on the other hand, has been substituted 3 times, but surpasses the full-back in minutes played (2,046' compared to Koundé's 1,975').

Flick prefers late substitutions at Barça

Another striking aspect of Hansi Flick's method is the late substitutions. The Heidelberg native has exhausted the 5 allowed substitutions in 19 of the 24 matches of Barça, but 54 of his changes have been made between the 60th and 75th minute. The German has only made 16 changes during halftime or the first quarter of the second half, while he usually makes another 49 changes between the 76th and 90th minutes.

Against Monaco, in fact, he exhausted all 5 substitutions in the last 11 minutes of the match. Furthermore, the coach has never removed a Barça player in the first half for tactical reasons. The two substitutions made so far were due to the injuries of Ter Stegen and Ferran Torres. In stoppage time, there have already been 9 substitutions this season.