Praise for Hansi Flick after Barcelona’s impressive start

When Hansi Flick landed in Catalonia, all with FC Barcelona tickets had doubts about the future with the ex-German manager.

Four games into the season, these fans have left all those doubts as Barca is off to an exceptional start. 

With the all-revived look, FC Barcelona looks like a league contender.  The fans with FC Barcelona tickets are overjoyed. 

The Season So Far

They kicked off with a game against Valencia at Mestalla, where they came back from a goal down to win 2-1 with a double from Lewandowski. Next, they faced Athletic Club at Montjuïc, losing 2-1 with Lamine Yamal and Lewandowski goals.

The team then travelled to Vallecas to play against Rayo Vallecano, securing their third victory with a 2-1 scoreline thanks to goals from Pedri and Dani Olmo, earning Barça three points. Finally, they dominated Real Valladolid at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys with a 7-0 win this past Saturday.

Flick’s impressive start at Barça mirrors his success as the coach of Bayern Munich, where he also won his first four competitive matches. He began with a victory in the Champions League group stage against Olympiacos (2-0), followed by wins in the next two Bundesliga matches against Dortmund (4-0) and Fortuna Düsseldorf (0-4), and completed the streak against Red Star (0-6).

During these games, Robert Lewandowski was a key player for Bayern, scoring seven goals, four of them coming on the second matchday of the European competition against Red Star.

New Role for Ansu Fati

According to a new report, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick is preparing to try Ansu Fati in a new position once the young attacker returns from a foot injury.

Matteo Moretto of Relevo says Flick will see if Ansu can play as Robert Lewandowski’s backup at the striker position, which is lacking depth after the departures of Marc Guiu and Vitor Roque this summer.

Fati suffered a foot injury in the first week of preseason training and hasn’t returned since, but there is optimism that he could be back shortly after the international break. His coach wants to see if Ansu can play up front to maximize his goalscoring skills.

This might be a consolation for most fans of FC Barcelona tickets because they desperately wanted the youngster to grow up to be a sensation. The fans know that he is skilful and doesn’t want his talent to go to waste. 

Flick has already tried Ferran Torres at striker in Saturday’s 7-0 win over Valladolid and saw very positive results, with the Shark scoring the seventh goal with one of his very first touches as a substitute, and the coach hopes that either Ferran or Ansu can provide enough goalscoring threat to replace Lewandowski if and when the Pole is rested or rotated.

When he arrived on the scene, Ansu Fati was dubbed the next Messi by the fans with FC Barcelona tickets. But injuries came his way, and he was severely taken back. 

Last season, he left for Brighton on loan, but owing to injury, he couldn’t do much there either. 

Injury Situation 

The season is off on a positive note, but the one black mark on the team’s campaign so far is the season-ending injury to star midfielder Marc Bernal.

Widely eyed as the next big defensive midfielder in the academy, the youngster rose the ranks to impress Hansi Flick in pre-season. In just his third official game, however, he tore his ACL and is set to be out for a year.

As is the norm after a cruciate ligament rupture, Bernal must now go under the blade to facilitate a complete recovery.

As reported by Mundo Deportivo, a date has finally been set for the 17-year-old’s surgical intervention. He will be operated on later this week, on Wednesday, September 4th.

Dr. Joan Carles Monllau will perform the surgery, which will be supervised by Barcelona’s medical head, Dr. Ricard Pruna.

Monllau is immensely experienced in sports injuries and, in fact, also operated on Gavi’s ACL injury last season. He has overseen surgeries for Alexia Putellas, Phillipe Coutinho, Martin Braithwaite, and Sergio Lozano. 

While the blow to Bernal is indeed stern, there is good reason to believe that he will be able to return to his best version.

For starters, his body is still young and growing; at 17 years of age, he is well-equipped to regenerate and repair.

Further, his position on the field does not require immense bursts of speed to put pressure on the ligaments in the future to threaten a relapse.

Ter Stegen – New German #1 

FC Barcelona have benefited from Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s presence in goal since 2014, with the German shot-stopper solidifying his role as a key pillar of the team throughout his decade-long tenure at the club.

While Ter Stegen has successfully fended off numerous challengers for his starting spot at Barcelona, his journey with the German national team has yet to unfold as smoothly, with competition for the number 1 jersey proving far more challenging.

After all, Manuel Neuer has long held a firm grip on Germany’s numero uno spot, leaving Ter Stegen with few opportunities to replicate his indispensable status on the international stage.

However, with the legendary goalkeeper announcing his international retirement in August this year, Ter Stegen has now had a long-awaited window of opportunity.

Ter Stegen’s time to shine has arrived

Indeed, German national team coach Julian Nagelsmann has publicly verified Ter Stegen’s ascension in the pecking order.

Nagelsmann asserts that the 32-year-old has now become the clear first-choice goalkeeper. 

He recognized ter Stegen’s significant role at Barcelona, noting that his long-standing tenure and captaincy there have contributed to his current position with the team.

“Ter Stegen is the new number one in goal. He has been captain of Barça for years and is undisputed there. The same is true here with us,” the 37-year-old manager professed (h/t Toni Juanmarti).

This will be a major relief for Ter Stegen, who has never shied away from hiding his discontent with being second fiddle to Neuer.

In fact, the goalkeeper said ahead of the UEFA Euro 2024, “It’s not a pleasant situation.”

Ter Stegen most recently kept his first clean sheet of the season with Barcelona, including a great save in the first half.

He will be vying to emulate his success against Hungary and the Netherlands in the upcoming international break.

All with FC Barcelona tickets will wait to see Ter Stegen take the field in German colours.