Hansi Flick talks Cancelo, Joan Garcia, Xabi Alonso, Araujo, Alvaro Arbeloa ahead of Racing vs Barcelona | OneFootball

After winning the Spanish Super Cup last Sunday, FC Barcelona are now set to return to action with another cup match, this time in the Copa del Rey. The Blaugranes will be facing Racing Santander in this competition’s Round of 16.

This match is set to be played on Thursday, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, Hansi Flick held his pre-match press conference ahead of this game today.

The German tactician started by praising his upcoming opponents:

“They are a young, brave team. I like what I’ve seen, and the pressure in the stadium is normal. We have to be prepared.”

Hansi Flick also talked about the latest Barcelona signing, Joao Cancelo:

“In Saudi Arabia, we decided what we needed right now. We are doing very well with Cubarsí, Eric, the return of Araujo, and Gerard can play in different positions, and we thought about someone who could give us a bit more. João is fantastic and can give us a lot, also in attack, in the final third to beat the opponent, and he’s a good option in that sense.”

The Blaugrana coach also addressed the situation goal:

“I have all the options. I think Joan will play, but we’ll see tomorrow.”

The German had only kind words for the recently sacked Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso:

“This is football, and it’s not my matter. What I can say is that I have a good relationship with Xabi. We met in Leverkusen, and we’ve been in touch. It’s football, and you have to move on, but he’s a great coach, and he has a great future. I wish him all the best. I’m sure he’ll soon have a great project for him and his coaching staff.”

Contrasting the situation at the Merengue club with his own club, Flick highlighted how he has always felt at home at Barcelona:

“In the end, you never know what will happen; things change, and it can happen here, too. Football depends on wins, and in big clubs even more. The feeling I had from my first hours here was very clear: to work together. Now it feels like a family, as the president said—not only the footballers, but the staff, the club, the executives, Deco, the parents, mothers, brothers, sisters—we are a big family, and I really value what we have built. I felt it in Saudi Arabia, and this situation is very nice. I value this culture a lot.”

The Barcelona coach once again highlighted the complicated nature of a manager’s job:

“It’s part of football, and we can’t change it. The club has to believe in you and the team, too. Those who make the decisions have to make them, and Madrid have done it that way, but it’s not my business. The job of a coach is very complicated; we have many responsibilities, but in the end, it’s part of our job, and you have to live with it.”

The German coach was once again asked about Cancelo’s possible minutes, to which he replied:

“I think he could play some minutes in Santander. In our minds is the idea that he can play a few minutes.”

On the other hand, Flick did not comment too much on who would start in goal:

“We’ll decide tomorrow, for now, there’s nothing more to say.”

The Barcelona coach expressed his happiness over the win against Real Madrid on Sunday:

“You have to enjoy these situations because everything changes very quickly, and I’m very happy with how things are going. People in Barcelona are very kind to me, and my team and I like experiencing this. That’s why we work very hard every day. We’ve won the first title, but to do that, we had to work hard, and now we have to think about the next one. Tomorrow will be an important match against an opponent who beat Villarreal, who are third in our league. When you are a Barça player, you have to give everything on the pitch.”

The German coach also highlighted the role Joan Garcia played in the win against the Merengues:

“With Joan Garcia in goal, I’m happy and calm. We managed to save it and did well. We saw a final of very high quality from us and from Real Madrid. With one player less, it’s not that easy to play against them, and we are very happy that their third goal didn’t come. We have a goalkeeper at the back who did very well. We won 3–2, and I’m very happy with what I saw.”

Hansi Flick was still undecided about whether Ronald Araujo would start tomorrow:

“We haven’t decided yet whether he could play a few minutes tomorrow. We still have one day, some players are fatigued, and we have 24 hours to think and make a final decision. But he is training, and he could play a few minutes, that wouldn’t be a problem.”

The Barcelona tactician was also asked about the new Real Madrid coach, Alvaro Arbeloa, to which he replied:

“When we play against them, I’ll watch him, I’ll have time to do so then.”

The upcoming match against Racing is rather manageable for the Blaugranes, and hopefully, Hansi Flick will be able to field some youngsters and fringe players in this game to keep them sharp for the upcoming business end of the season.