“I think it is my responsibility, to protect the players, because they have been playing a lot of minutes,” Hansi Flick told the media after Barcelona’s first league loss of the season, taking the blame for the result.
After all, he decided to heavily rotate the team ahead of a very difficult outing in Pamplona and the second team fielded eventually collapsed under the pressure Osasuna piled.
As revealed by SPORT in a recent update, however, the German coach does not regret any of his decisions from last night. He holds himself accountable but would not change anything if given the chance.
Looking at the long-term
The Spanish outlet relays that Flick’s plan for Barcelona with every trivial decision is only made with the long-term project in mind and the coach is thus convinced that he made the right call, however difficult it was.
Flick’s plan is to reach the closing part of the season with a completely fit and raring squad full of strength and energy. Needless to say, such a plan does involve some short-term sacrifices.
Players like Lamine Yamal and Raphinha who are vital to the team’s success require the most safeguarding from a fitness perspective. Flick prefers to rest them for one game however important it is instead of risking them and losing their services for 6-7 games.
Concurrently, he is also aware that giving fringe players minutes in the occasional important game does a world of good to their confidence and thus hopes to prime them for future successes and opportunities.
The third vital factor that justifies Flick’s rotations is the situation in the UEFA Champions League where the team lost the opening game against Monaco.
The upcoming clash against Young Boys is thus a must-win and far more important than last night’s game at El Sadar.
Looking ahead, there is reason to be optimistic for the manager for Fermin Lopez, Dani Olmo, Frenkie de Jong and Gavi are all expected to return to the squad after the international break.
Gifted with the return of such high-quality stars will help Flick to rotate more regularly and effectively without having to compromise on any single game.