Joan Garcia talks Messi, Flick’s high-line system, Ter Stegen competition, adaptation at Barcelona and Yamal’s progress | OneFootball

Club football across Europe is set to remain suspended this week due to the November international break. FC Barcelona have several of their players called up by their respective national teams, while other players, who have not received their call-ups, continue to train with their club teammates.

This international break has also allowed the players more time for media exposure, and one of the Blaugrana players who talked to the media recently was the goalkeeper Joan Garcia. As MARCA has reported, the Spaniard appeared in an interview with the program Tu Dirás on RAC1, and talked about several aspects of his life at Barcelona.

The local and international media is abuzz with speculation of Lionel Messi’s return to the Blaugrana team, especially as the Argentine was recently present in the city of Barcelona and visited Camp Nou. Talking about such a possibility, Garcia expressed his keenness to play with Messi:

“Because of the way he plays, Messi could keep playing for as long as he wants. I’d love for him to come and to be able to play with him, but I don’t know if that will be possible.”

Talking about his adaptation to his new club, the Spaniard revealed that he has received a lot of help:

“Since I arrived, I’ve felt pretty good. It’s true that I’ve had to work hard because it’s a different style of play from what I was used to, but they’ve helped me a lot from the first day. I still have things to improve, but I feel more comfortable.”

Garcia revealed in this interview what Flick asks of him in the goal:

“Above all, he asks me to stay alert to passes played in behind the defense. With the ball, he asks me to be confident, not to overcomplicate things, and to do my job so that the team can play better. After all, with players of such quality, goalkeepers shouldn’t make life difficult for themselves — it’s just about giving the ball to these players in the best possible conditions.”

The goalkeeper also talked about the defensive scheme implemented by Hansi Flick in his Barcelona team:

“For us goalkeepers, it means being more alert throughout the entire match. It’s a risky strategy, that’s true. But if it’s done right and you work hard, it pays off. You force the opponent to play and think faster. If they have less space, you make them commit more mistakes, and your team keeps more possession.

But it needs to be trained well, because it all comes down to centimeters. It works — that was clear last year — but this year we still have to fine-tune a few things. In every match, we try to see what went wrong. We try to make the opponent uncomfortable, take away their time, and prevent them from making passes into space.”

The Spaniard admitted that sometimes the offside trap also fails, and this is quite normal:

“The coach asks us to help the defensive line as much as possible. But we know that when you do it so many times, statistically, sometimes it might not work out. Flick mentioned it to me. We played that match — it can happen, and there’s no problem.”

The goalie also talked about the controversy that arose between Marc-André ter Stegen and Barcelona at the start of the season:

“There was no need for us to talk. It’s something that happens in many places — matters between a player and the club. No one knows the full context from both sides. In the end, it was resolved in the best possible way. These things happen anywhere when there are differences between the two parties, but ultimately, it was sorted out.”

Garcia also talked about the competition for the starting spot in goal:

“Any one of the three can play. Obviously, I work to be the starter. I started playing and worked to keep doing so. Now, when I return from injury, I intend to do the same. I will try to earn the starting spot and keep it until the end.”

Moving from a rival as direct as Espanyol to Barcelona was not an easy decision for Joan Garcia, but he was clear in this interview that he made the right decision last summer:

“I was focused on what was required. When the firm offer from Barça arrived, from a sporting and future perspective, I had no doubts. But there was the emotional side, which was a complicated matter. I imagine how it could affect the people around me. Everyone had their opinion, but the decision had to be mine, because it was my future and that of my family. I’m very happy with the decision I made.”

The Spaniard admitted that winning the league title would be quite difficult this year:

Lastly, he expressed sympathy with Lamine Yamal for suffering from a groin problem:

Barcelona have certainly missed Joan Garcia in these last few weeks, and hopefully, he will be able to return to his best level when the Blaugranes return to action after this November international break.