Hansi Flick Prepares FC Barcelona for La Liga Opening Night

Hansi Flick’s final dress rehearsal as FC Barcelona coach comes tonight, and it will look a lot like opening night in La Liga.

With the Joan Gamper Trophy clash against Al Ahly set for later today, the German has quietly narrowed his options. The academy contingent has been trimmed, the internationals are back in the fold, and the XI he sends out at the Olympic Stadium could closely resemble the side that faces Elche in the league opener.

A light session this morning served as the warm-up. The real clues came 24 hours earlier.

Flick reshapes his back line

Tuesday’s training game, reported by Mundo Deportivo, offered the clearest picture yet of Flick’s plans – and three players found themselves in unfamiliar territory: Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Brian Farinas.

Kounde, long caught between roles under previous coaches, was pushed back to his original home. With Ronald Araujo gone and Eric Garcia now firmly established as Flick’s preferred right-back after last season’s form, the Frenchman was tested as a centre-back in the training match.

This wasn’t an experiment for the sake of it. It looked like a statement. Kounde at the heart of defence, Garcia on the right: a simple shift that could define Barcelona’s defensive structure to start the season.

Alongside them, another tweak. Xavi Espart again operated in midfield, just as he did in the friendly against FC Basel, reinforcing the staff’s belief that he can contribute between the lines rather than deeper or wider.

The surprise came on the flank.

Farinas thrown into the deep end

Brian Farinas, a player who has never featured as a winger or full-back for Barça Atletic, suddenly found himself lining up as a right-back, stationed on Kounde’s side.

Flick wanted a look. A proper one.

The coaching staff had previously floated Tommy Marques as a possible option in that role. Now Farinas has stepped into that space in the squad, at least for this phase of preseason. It’s a bold call: an academy player, shifted into a new position, on the edge of a first-team that is being hardened for competitive action.

For a manager known for demanding tactical flexibility, it fits the pattern. Nobody is nailed to a single role. Not even the forwards.

Raphinha through the middle again

Up front, Flick returned to an idea he has already tested once – Raphinha as a No. 9.

Just as in the Basel friendly, the Brazilian was deployed through the middle in Tuesday’s training match. In Switzerland he shared the frontline with Anthony Gordon, another name Flick has openly cited as a central option. The message is clear: the centre-forward role will not belong to a traditional striker by default.

Across from Raphinha in training stood Hamza Abdelkarim, who will face his boyhood club in the Gamper and is expected to compete directly with the Brazilian for the starting spot tonight. It is a fascinating duel: one player trying to reinvent himself at the heart of the attack, the other chasing a dream against the club he grew up supporting.

New signing Rodri also took part in the morning’s lighter session ahead of the Al Ahly game, another piece added to a puzzle that is beginning to look more defined with every passing day.

Tonight’s Gamper Trophy is usually a celebration. Under Flick, it doubles as an exam. If the hints from training hold, the team that walks out against Al Ahly will not just be putting on a show for the fans – it will be rehearsing the first act of Barcelona’s La Liga season against Elche.