Hansi Flick Refines Barcelona Strategy Ahead of Gamper Trophy

Hansi Flick has one last dress rehearsal before the real scrutiny begins.

Later today, in the Joan Gamper Trophy against Al Ahly, the FC Barcelona coach is expected to roll out a side that will look very close to his La Liga opening lineup against Elche. The academy presence has thinned, the internationals are back, and the tone at the training ground has shifted from experimentation to definition.

The morning brought a light session, more about fine-tuning than fitness, with new signing Rodri involved again. The real clues, though, came 24 hours earlier.

Flick redraws the map for three players

Tuesday’s training match at the Ciutat Esportiva turned into a tactical laboratory. Three players, three new roles: Jules Kounde, Raphinha and Brian Farinas. All tested in unfamiliar zones. None of them on the same team.

Kounde is the headline act in this reshuffle.

The coaching staff had already been weighing up a return to his original position at centre-back. The departure of Ronald Araujo has pushed that door wide open. Eric Garcia’s form last season has convinced Flick to keep him as first-choice right-back, which leaves a vacancy in the heart of defence.

So Kounde dropped back inside during Tuesday’s session, working as a centre-back again, the role in which he first made his name.

Alongside that adjustment, Xavi Espart continued his own positional evolution. As in the friendly against FC Basel, the youngster operated in midfield, a sign that Flick sees him as more than just a stopgap option.

Then came the surprise on the flank.

Farinas, usually a more central or advanced profile with Barça Atletic and not a natural wide defender, lined up as a right-back on Kounde’s side. Flick wanted a look at him in that corridor, even though the role is new to the academy product. The staff had previously earmarked Tommy Marques as a potential option there; now Farinas has stepped into that slot in the squad hierarchy.

It was a clear message: places are still up for grabs, but the coach is narrowing his choices.

Raphinha through the middle again

Up front, Flick repeated an experiment that could soon become a genuine plan.

Raphinha was used once more as a centre-forward, leading the line as a No. 9 just as he did against Basel. In that earlier friendly, the Brazilian shared attacking duties with Anthony Gordon, another name Flick has openly cited as an option through the middle.

The internal training game on Tuesday added another layer of intrigue. On the opposing side stood Hamza Abdelkarim, set to face his boyhood club and likely to go head-to-head with Raphinha for the starting centre-forward role tonight against Al Ahly.

One session does not decide a season, but this one felt decisive. Roles were clearer. Hierarchies sharpened. The outline of Flick’s first competitive XI came into focus.

Now the Joan Gamper Trophy becomes more than a ceremonial curtain-raiser. For several players, it doubles as an audition for Elche — and possibly for the months that follow.