Hansi Flick spoke to the media on Saturday ahead of Barça’s game against Valencia on Sunday, their fourth La Liga fixture of the season. The coach discussed a number of topics concerning the team, including Lamine Yamal’s fitness, the captaincy, a possible debut for Gabriel Jesus and his overall impressions of the squad.

Yamal did not complete the Saturday session with the rest of his team-mates. Flick explained that "he took a knock and we thought it was better for him to train separately. But he’ll travel with us and we hope he can play against Valencia.”

The captaincy

Flick also discussed the team’s captaincy structure. After two years at the club, he has a better understanding of how things work within the squad and has opted to appoint two captains himself, with another three chosen by the players in a vote: “I decided on two captains, Raphinha and Pedri, and three were voted for: Eric, Frenkie and Lamine,.”

A tough opponent

Turning his attention to the game itself, Flick warned of the difficulty of the encounter at Mestalla. The coach knows that any game can prove complicated, but "it’s football, it can always happen. We have to focus on what matters. It’ll be tough. But we want to win. And we know it won’t be easy.”

He added that “when I watch training, I always think the quality of the team is very good, the way we press, pass and compete.”

First call-up for Gabriel Jesus

The Brazilian striker will be included in the squad for the first time, and Flick left the door open for him to play his first minutes for Barça. “I really liked what I saw. He’s not 100%, but he’s ready to play some minutes,” said the coach.

Força Barça