Hansi Flick Addresses Goalkeeper Situation Ahead of Sevilla Match
Barcelona will go to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan without Joan Garcia, and Hansi Flick is in no mood to turn the goalkeeper situation into a public drama.
Garcia picked up a knee problem against Racing Santander and will sit out the trip to Sevilla. The decision, Flick insisted, was made as a group once the medical team had delivered its verdict.
“We always make decisions together. When the doctors told us what was wrong with him – it’s not very serious, but he needs to rest – we decided he should rest.”
That absence leaves a straight choice: Wojciech Szczesny or Dominik Livakovic. Flick knows exactly who will start. He just has no intention of saying.
“You’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” he said, cutting off the inevitable follow-up.
Szczesny’s title pedigree vs Livakovic’s push
On paper, Szczesny holds the trump card. He was a pillar of last season’s La Liga triumph, a goalkeeper whose saves under pressure underpinned Barcelona’s title run.
“We won La Liga with Szczesny; it was largely thanks to him. For us, he’s a fabulous goalkeeper with a wealth of experience,” Flick reminded.
Yet he was just as keen to underline that Livakovic is not simply a back-up body.
“I think it’s very important to have quality. I think that, with [Dominik] Livakovic, we also have a top-class goalkeeper – that’s just the way it is.”
The debate sharpened after Szczesny’s costly mistake against Racing. Cameras caught a lengthy conversation between coach and keeper after the final whistle. Flick made it clear that the matter has already been dealt with inside the dressing room.
“I’ve already told him that we all make mistakes. He made a mistake and he’s aware of it; it won’t happen again.”
For Flick, the goalkeeping question is less about punishment and more about philosophy and adaptation.
“I think that, right now, the situation with Tek is that he knows what our philosophy is. And Dominik has just played; he’s adapting to our approach. And that’s the issue.
“He can play, he’s ready to play, and that’s what we have to consider. But we always look out for what’s best for the team, not for one player.”
A different Barcelona returns to a painful venue
Barcelona head back to a ground that hurt them last season. They lost there, and the scars are still fresh enough to sharpen focus. Flick, though, sees a very different side taking the field this time.
“I have to say, first of all, that I think we’re now at a different level to where we were last year. But every match starts at 0–0 and Sevilla, especially at home, are playing very well.”
He expects an aggressive, man-to-man Sevilla, pressing high and hard. The response, in his eyes, has to be brave and wide.
“They defend man-to-man and will try to press in those situations. For us, it will be important to play with confidence and move the ball out wide.”
The calendar offers no mercy. Matches stack up, the physical toll rises, and Flick has clearly placed recovery at the centre of Barcelona’s planning.
“We’re working on that every day. Recovery is a very important part of it and we’re managing our workload very well. And that’s what we need to keep doing. For me, that’s the key.
“We’ve got a lot of matches coming up and we need to keep recovery in mind.”
Adeyemi’s spark and the rotation puzzle
One player thriving in this demanding stretch is Karim Adeyemi. His recent performances have injected pace and directness into Barcelona’s attack, and his coach is all in.
“He’s very quick, but I don’t know if he’s the quickest player I’ve ever coached. Alphonso Davies is similar. But he’s a good lad, a good person, and he has a lot of respect for the dressing room.
“Everyone loves him dearly. His performances make things easier.
“I’m really glad he chose us. I’ll put my trust in him and I’m 100% behind Karim. We’ll see more matches like the one on Wednesday.”
Rotation will continue to shape Flick’s line-ups. Gabriel Jesus is part of that equation, even if the coach kept his cards close once again.
“We’ll see, but we have to keep making changes to manage each player’s minutes.
“As for whether he’ll start, it was important for him to rest against Racing. For now, that’s all I can say.”
Demanding more from the dressing room
Flick’s standards remain high, and he made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with the current internal dynamic. The work behind the scenes, he stressed, is collective and ongoing.
“I think it’s not just my job, but that of the entire coaching staff. We work together, with positive energy.”
Then came the honest part.
“To be honest, I’m not entirely happy with this at the moment because we’re only just starting the process and there’s room for improvement.
“But right now I’m not 100 per cent satisfied because we always demand a lot and we need to improve things.”
That demand for intensity and unity feeds directly into Barcelona’s pressing game, where one player has become central: Raphinha, now leading the line as a number nine.
“If you look at the last two seasons, we always started the press with the ‘number 9’. And he has that hunger, that drive and that attitude to start the press exactly as we need him to.
“Not only is he excellent in attack, but he’s also excellent in defence. He’s the one who starts the press. As captain, he leads the way and the rest follow him.”
Sevilla away will test all of that – the hierarchy in goal, the physical management, the dressing-room edge, and a captain pressing from the front. Flick has drawn his lines. Now his players have to live up to them under the lights in Andalusia.
