The bomb-proof patience of Hansi Flick's great forgotten ones

BarcelonaIn a modern football match, where dozens of cameras are spread throughout every corner of the stadium, there are multiple points of interest. of elite teams like Barça, They reveal insider details that fuel much more heated debates than those strictly associated with the game.

These sequences, rich in zooms and lip-reading, fill post-match programs and are the subject of thousands of comments on social media. The benches, where substitute players can't help but be human while their teammates compete, are a space prone to generating these interesting scenes. There are some amusing ones, like the one on the Leganés pitch where several young Barça players were caught debating—and accusing each other—about the origin of a strong fart odor. "How disgusting," exclaimed Gerard Martín. "It must have been Ansu," assured Pau Cubarsí, reserve for Butarque.

Indeed, Ansu Fati—whose face it, he pleaded guilty to flatulence—regularly appears in these behind-the-scenes content because Hansi Flick doesn't see him capable of even playing a supporting role at Barça. With the winter transfer market open, the German coach recommended he explore other places where he could get his career back on track. But the Spanish-Guinean striker rejected each and every one of the offers he received to leave, even for a few months.

As a result of these refusals, he's not currently in the news for his goals, but for being suspected of farting or, as seen during Barça-Celta on Sunday, for paying for one more warm-up with bench material without reward. He hasn't played a single La Liga match since November 10, and if he did in the Champions League a few days ago against Dortmund, it was courtesy of Lamine Yamal. Now, with Lewandowski injured for three weeks, wait for a window of opportunity to open.

Mallorca before the storm

Saturday's crazy afternoon with a happy ending also left Héctor Fort, another of those ousted by Flick, withered. Given that Barça's lack of resources to operate in the transfer market last summer prevented João Cancelo from being able to extend his stay in the squad, the Barcelona right-back was promoted from the reserve team. At just 18 years old, and backed by some promising performances under Xavi Hernández, he wanted to be an alternative to Jules Kounde, but as the months have passed, he has become his sparring partner.

"The manager doesn't trust anyone, and Jules wants to play everything," a source from the dressing room told ARA regarding the situation on the right flank of the defense, where the Frenchman has become indispensable at the expense of Fort, who hasn't played in the last six La Liga games and only played 27 minutes against the Champions League. Flick had to explain why he wasn't playing him on Saturday against Celta either.

The hangover from the agonizing victory against the Galicians also showed Ferran Torres' anger at being substituted before knowing his team would come from behind and that, thanks to Lewandowski's untimely injury, he would be looking to start in both the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-finals. The Valencian was so angry with Flick that he denied his assistant, Marcus Sorg, a handshake.

In the locker room, they downplay the tantrum and attribute it to the tension inherent in the most important moment of the season, which this Tuesday experiences an on-paper prelude with the visit of a Mallorca side full of injuries to Montjuïc (9:30 p.m., Movistar LaLiga). Even so, Flick doesn't fully buy behaviors like those of Ansu, Torres, or Fort: "I understand the dissatisfaction because I was a player, but I can't understand reactions like these."

The match against the Balearic Islands seems ripe for some rotation ahead of Saturday's Clásico and Inter. However, all indications are that the patience of Ansu Fati, Héctor Fort, Pablo Torre, Pau Víctor, and Iñaki Peña—Flick's five most forgotten players—will remain at rock bottom as long as Real Madrid remains in with a chance of winning La Liga.