Flick’s Love for Barça Meets Reality: Time to Tame the Temper Before a Champions League Clash

Performance and Discipline

Barcelona coach Hans Flick admitted that he must change his behavior after a red card against Girona on Saturday in La Liga, following repeated protests of refereeing decisions and then an obscene gesture with his hand after defender Ronald Araújo scored the winning goal in the final seconds.

Flick said on the eve of facing Olympiakos in the third round of the Champions League that he is not neurotic, but sometimes his emotions are not what they used to be.

He added that over time he has shown a lot of emotion because this club changed him a lot.

I truly love Barcelona and give it my all; when I watch myself on screen I do not like what I am doing and I do not want my grandchildren to see their grandfather behaving this way, so I have to change.

Flick also explained the defensive difficulties the team is facing, saying that when analyzing the Girona match there is one thing he always talks about: positioning inside the pitch.

He added that finding the right distance between players and opponents is crucial, because if they stay too far apart they must exert more effort and that gives the opponent more time to advance.

He clarified that this is hurting their defense and they need the right positioning and then to press the opponent.

Flick, whose team is missing many players including Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Javi and goalkeeper Juan Garcia, said that Brazilian winger Rafinha and forward Ferran Torres will not participate against Olympiakos because they have not fully recovered from injuries, hoping to rely on them in the Clasico against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Punchline 1: My temper is so famous it has its own fan club—the red card brigade.

Punchline 2: If emotions were a tactical plan, mine would be attack, but the defense keeps getting booked for offside.