Mixed fortunes for the 9 players who made their Barcelona first team debuts under Hansi Flick | OneFootball

Since his arrival at FC Barcelona, Hansi Flick has not been shy about giving the deserving youngsters a chance to play with the first team. In fact, several young players have become key parts of his Blaugrana team, while some others have also made their debuts with the first team under the German coach.

This has particularly been the case because of the dearth of new arrivals from the market. In his first season in charge of the Catalan team, the German coach got only three new players from the market, i.e., Dani Olmo, Pau Victor, and Wojciech Szczesny.

In total, there were 9 players who made their first team debuts under Flick, and Mundo Deportivo has provided a brief outline of how these players have fared this season.

Dani Olmo

The Spaniard made his debut in matchday 3 of La Liga, as he missed the first two games because of his registration issues. He marked his debut with a goal and went on to remain an important player for Flick, playing 38 games in total, in which he scored 11 goals.

Wojciech Szczesny

The Pole was signed in October 2024, after Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s injury, but had to wait till 4th January 2025 to make his debut with Barcelona. This debut came in the Copa del Rey game against UD Barbastro, and shortly after this debut, he became the fixed starter, relegating Inaki Pena to the bench.

Pau Victor

The young Spaniard was signed to be the replacement for Robert Lewandowski in the Blaugrana squad, but Hansi Flick opted for a false 9 role whenever the Pole was injured, and Victor has not enjoyed a lot of minutes this season. In total, he played only 378 minutes, which were spread over 28 matches, and scored 2 goals.

Andres Cuenca

The 17-year-old defender made his first team debut in the UEFA Champions League game against BSC Young Boys, and he replaced Inigo Martinez in the 84th minute of the League Phase game. Other than this game, the centre-back was called up for another six games, 1 in the UCL and 5 in La Liga.

Sergi Dominguez

The 19-year-old got to play a significant time with the first team after his debut in the 7-0 win over Real Valladolid in September, a game in which he replaced Pau Cubarsi in the 61st minute. He started the league matches against Villarreal and Osasuna, and also got substitute appearances in the UCL games against Monaco and Red Star Belgrade, as well as the Copa del Rey game against UD Barbastro.

Gerard Martin

After impressing Hansi Flick in the last preseason, Gerard Martin remained a part of the Barcelona first team squad as Alejandro Balde’s replacement. There were initially some doubts about his ability to play at the highest level, but he dispelled any such doubts in the final stage of the season, especially in the UCL semi-final tie against Inter Milan.

Martin has played 41 games this season and has 1 goal and 8 assists to his name.

Barcelona defender Gerard Martin. [Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images]

Marc Bernal

After making his debut in the first game of the season against Valencia, the young midfielder went on to start the next two games as well. However, such a promising start with the first team came to an abrupt end as he suffered an ACL tear, which has kept him out of action since the La Liga matchday 3 game. However, Hansi Flick will be counting on him once again for the next season.

Toni Fernandez

On 4th January 2025, Toni Fernandez became the second-youngest player to make his debut with the Barcelona first team, behind only Lamine Yamal, as he came on for Pablo Torre in the 81st minute of the Copa del Rey game against UD Barbastro. However, he did not enjoy a lot of continuity with the first team after that.

Dani Rodriguez

The youngster was one of the surprise starters in the recent La Liga match against Real Valladolid, which marked his debut with the first team. However, he managed to play only 38 minutes, as he had to leave the pitch early because of a shoulder injury.

It remains to be seen what role these players will have under Hansi Flick next season. However, there are one can reasonably expect the German coach to hand several more players their debuts in the upcoming season.