Hansi Flick calls up 19-year-old Barcelona Atlètic regular to first-team training | OneFootball

Because of the November international break and injuries, Hansi Flick was left with very few FC Barcelona first-team players for the last few days.

Only eight first-team players remained to train under Flick for the training session that was held this Tuesday, i.e., Pau Victor, Wojciech Szczesny, Inaki Pena, Gerard Martin, Inigo Martinez, Fermin Lopez, Alejandro Balde, and Gavi.

To fill in his ranks, the German tactician called up some players from the youth sides and from the Barcelona Atletic team. As SPORT has reported, one such player called from the B team to train with the first team was the defender Alvaro Cortes.

Flick had scheduled a practice match for this session, and Alvaro was also photographed with the winning team in this game, along with the likes of Pau Victor and Inigo Martinez.

Although he has not frequently been seen training with the first team, this was not the first time that Cortes was called up by a Barcelona head coach. In August 2023, Xavi had called him up to train under him for the first time, just after he had returned from a loan at Damm.

His last season was riddled with injuries, as a serious knee injury, suffered in October 2023, kept him out of action for the rest of the 2023-24 season.

However, he has been an essential part of Albert Sanchez’s Barcelona Atletic squad this season, playing mainly as a center-back, but also being positioned as a fullback in some games due to lack of options. The 19-year-old defender has particularly impressed with his power, ability in the air, courage, and good ball output.

Barcelona Atletic has had a forgettable first half of the 2024-25 season, but Cortes remains one of the players who deserves the least responsibility for his team’s poor form. Now already in his first senior year, he wants to take the next step in his career, and Flick already has him in his sights.