Flick joins Barça’s return to training

Barça returned to training on Monday after nine days off during the extended pause for national-team matches. The session brought together the players who had not been called up by their national teams, along with Eric Garcia. Released from the squad by Luis de la Fuente the previous week because of discomfort, the defender was able to train normally under Flick.

The session was held with a small group. De Jong was also on the pitch, but trained alone. Flick, meanwhile, did more than observe: he joined his players for some of the exercises during the session.

The coach was seen defending against Gabriel Jesus and trying to prevent him from getting a shot away. Flick also worked on his own accuracy in front of goal. The drills gave him an unusual role for a coach, taking part alongside the players rather than remaining on the sidelines.

The session marked the available group’s return to work after the international break. It also allowed Eric Garcia to resume normal training with Barça, while De Jong continued his work separately. Flick took part in the exercises and came up directly against Gabriel Jesus in one of them.