Surprise Call-Up Shakes Barça Ahead of the King's Cup Showdown
16 December 2025
Surprise Call-Up Ahead of the King's Cup
A cautionary note from Flick to his Barcelona players ahead of the King's Cup: no room for arrogance against Guadalajara.
Head coach Hansi Flick announced the squad called up for Tuesday's Round of 32 clash in Spain's Copa del Rey.
According to the Spanish daily Sport, Barcelona travel to Guadalajara with a familiar list, even as they face a team two levels below in the third tier.
And Flick made a point of taking his key players, even if most will start on the bench and only appear when needed.
Sports daily also notes that Flick does not underestimate Guadalajara, pointing out that the third-tier league delivers fierce competition, a theme last season when Barcelona's Athletic Bilbao faced relegation fears.
And the biggest surprise came in goal, as Flick added Juan Garcia to the final squad, even though he was not expected to start, with Szczesny and Ter Stegen contesting the number one spot.
And the Barcelona squad named for the day reads as follows:
Goalkeepers: Szczesny, Ter Stegen, Juan Garcia.
Defenders: Koundé, Christensen, Gerard Martin, Jofri, Balde, Kobarsi
Midfielders: Casado, De Jong, Vermin, Eric Garcia, Bernal, Tomi Marques, Dro, Pedri.
Forwards: Ronny Bardji, Rashford, Ferran Torres, Lamine, Lewandowski, Rafinha.
Punchline: If football were a pastry, Flick just handed out croissants — flaky, but still tasty.
Punchline 2: Barcelona's plan? Keep calm and carry on... to the bench.
