Barcelona Faces Unusual International Break Challenge
Barcelona hit the international break with a spring in their step and an unusual problem on Hansi Flick’s hands: almost no one to train.
Fresh from a 3-1 win over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan, the Blaugrana head into a stretched-out international window with momentum, but also with a near-empty dressing room at the Ciutat Esportiva.
Flick’s skeleton crew
The plan is set. The reality is stark.
According to SPORT, Flick will have just six first-team players at his disposal over the coming days: Gavi, Gerard Martin, Alejandro Balde, Gabriel Jesus, Brian Farinas and Wojciech Szczesny.
That list does not include the injured trio Joan Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong, who will stay behind to continue their recovery programmes. They will be present at the training ground, but on their own tailored schedules rather than in full sessions with Flick.
So the new coach, still in the early stages of shaping his Barcelona, will be working with a tiny core while the rest of the squad scatters across the globe.
Four days of work, then silence
Barcelona’s plan for the break is short, sharp and then completely shut down.
Training resumes on Tuesday and runs through to Friday. Four sessions, six outfield and goalkeeping options, plus the medical group working in parallel.
After that, the club effectively turns off the lights.
From 28 September until 4 October, the remaining players are granted a full week off. The first-team group is scheduled to report back on 5 October, by which time the internationals will be trickling back from all corners of the world.
For Flick, it means only a brief window to drill specific ideas with the handful of available players before he has to wait for the full squad to reconvene.
Gavi refuses to rest
Monday was marked down as a rest day. No official training. Even Flick stayed away from the Ciutat Esportiva.
Gavi did not.
The midfielder turned up voluntarily to work, pushing through an extra session while the rest of the squad enjoyed their day off. Joan Garcia and Christensen were also present, continuing their rehabilitation work as they edge back from injury.
Fermin Lopez made only a fleeting appearance, dropping by the facilities to pick up some belongings before the group’s proper return to collective work on Tuesday.
The image is clear: a half-deserted training ground, a coach with a notebook full of ideas, and one of his most driven players refusing to waste a day.
Raphinha’s very different “break”
While those left in Catalonia settle into an unusually long pause, Raphinha is heading into the busiest spell of his season so far.
The Brazilian leaves for international duty at the peak of his current form. His hat-trick against Sevilla not only sealed Barcelona’s win but also pushed him to the top of the La Liga scoring charts. He travels as one of the standout forwards in Spain right now.
Now comes the grind.
Brazil will play two matches in Australia, sending Raphinha almost halfway around the world, before flying on to India for another friendly. It is a demanding itinerary, heavy on air miles and light on rest.
Only after that will he return to Barcelona to pick up a season that, for him, has started in blistering fashion.
A near-empty training ground in Catalonia, a jet-setting top scorer crossing continents, and a coach with just six players to shape his ideas: this is not a normal international break for Barcelona. The question is whether this strange pause ends up sharpening them for what comes next, or simply tests the depth of their early-season momentum.
