Hansi Flick returns to the initial plan
The coach, who needs to manage Gabriel Jesus's workload, is also thinking of Gordon as a center forward while Raphinha is out.
BarcelonaDressed in street clothes, wearing a black blazer, sunglasses, and a cap, Raphinha stepped onto the Camp Nou pitch minutes before the Barça-Getafe match to collect the award accrediting him as the best footballer in La Liga for the month of September. A well-deserved prize thanks to a stunning start to the season in which he has scored twelve goals and provided three assists in the league tournament, and has netted two more goals in the Champions League. He received an ovation from his teammates and the fans before sitting in the stands to watch how, without him, the blaugrana football machine remains well-oiled and had no trouble defeating the Madrid side.
Raphinha returned from the Brazil national team early due to a thigh injury that, according to official channels, was nothing serious. An edema that would heal with rest. The reality is that he did not train with his teammates last week and Hansi Flick already warned on Friday that the forward would neither play against Getafe nor travel to Turkey for the Champions League duel against Galatasaray. On Saturday, the president, Joan Laporta, went further and explained that the absence would extend until the match against PSG, according to what "the doctors" had told him. It will be, therefore, three matches on the sidelines.
Barça did not issue a statement because Raphinha did not want them to. Chastened by what had happened the previous season, in which he was also injured with Brazil – in that case, he was out for two months – he preferred not to leave a written record of problems he considers minor. In any case, there is maximum caution in the dressing room and among the medical staff. He is an explosive footballer and they do not want to take any risks, especially considering that the calendar is demanding this October, with the trip to Paris and the Clásico against Real Madrid at Camp Nou.
Against Getafe, Hansi Flick placed Gabriel Jesus as the center-forward. It was the most logical option. And Raphinha's compatriot responded with another goal, the third he has scored for Barça, thus confirming that his signing was a success. The problem with him is that he has a complicated injury history and the club are aware that he needs to be managed. Even though he had not been called up by the Brazilian national team and stayed in Barcelona doing a specific work plan, Gabriel Jesus showed clear signs of fatigue in the final stretch of the second half and was replaced by Hamza Abdelkarim in the 82nd minute.
Today Barça take the plane to Istanbul to face Galatasaray in the second Champions League match, where Flick will have to decide whether to place Gabriel Jesus as center-forward again or if he prefers another player to occupy that position. Despite Hamza's minutes against Getafe, the coach still does not consider the Egyptian footballer to be ready to be a starter, so the alternative would be Anthony Gordon, who precisely on Saturday scored his first goal in the Barça shirt.
In reality, the option of placing Gordon in the middle has been on the mind of a coach who already saw months ago that Ferran Torres would end up packing his bags. It is well known that Barça wanted to sign Julián Álvarez this summer, but when they saw that Atlético de Madrid was digging in its heels and did not want to let him leave, they looked for an alternative at the Camp Nou. Gordon fit like a glove because he could play both on the left wing and in the center of the attack, and the club signed him before the World Cup to prevent any other team from joining the auction.
When Flick got in touch with Gordon to explain his role at Barcelona, he told him that his initial spot would be the left wing, but that he should also be prepared to play as a nine if there were any problems with Raphinha. The fact is that, as the Brazilian explained in an interview with RAC1, Flick told Raphinha that he counted on him as a center-forward, but that if he did not feel comfortable in that position, he would let him return to the wing to place Gordon at the tip of the attack. The numbers have shown that Flick had a good nose for it.
All these calculations were made in parallel with the arrival of Gabriel Jesus, because, deep down, his performance was an unknown. The Brazilian has shown good technical details and effectiveness in front of goal, and has proven, therefore, that if he does not get injured he can contribute many things to a Barça that is moving at the pace of an ocean liner. Mind you, he must be managed. That is why it is very likely that, in Turkey, the coach will return to his initial plan: if Raphinha is not there, place Gordon in the middle.