Raphinha, a difficult mission (also for Flick)

BarcelonaIn the midst of the Barça assembly of delegates, the technical secretary, Deco, had already said that a principle of agreement had been reached for Raphinha to extend his commitment with the club until 2030. A few weeks later, all the details have been closed, the contract is drafted and only needs to be signed. Since it is not just any footballer, both the club – represented by the president Joan Laporta – and the player are trying to coordinate schedules to hold a formal ceremony with all the honors. Initially, it had been thought of for this Thursday, although it had to be postponed due to a calendar issue. At the club, they insist that everything is ready and that it is only necessary to set a day and time.

Raphinha had earned it the hard way. With 14 goals in the first eight matches, he had also done enough to be considered the most decisive player of Barça's start to the season. Figures that would very likely have been even better if the Brazilian had not been injured with the national team, which is why he has missed the last two matches with the blue and garnet team. It was not a serious injury, just an edema in his thigh, but he has been away from the team for a couple of weeks. Now he is available again, and he is – together with Frenkie de Jong – the big news in the squad for this Saturday's match at Betis' field (6:30 PM, DAZN).

"If you ask him, he tells you he is available to play from the start. But I think we need to take it step by step," said the blue and garnet coach in the pre-match press conference, where he confirmed that Raphinha would travel to Seville. An atypical trip, since, as the match is on Saturday afternoon, the expedition leaves a day earlier and not on the same day of the clash. This also conditions the last session at the Ciutat Esportiva, which is moved to Friday afternoon and not the morning, as is usually the case. A decision that intends, above all, to manage the team's workload in the middle of a very demanding stretch of matches, which includes games against Betis, PSG and Real Madrid.

Raphinha was not at all pleased that the doctors prescribed him a few days of rest. The Brazilian had learned his lesson from what happened last season with the national team, where he was seriously injured, and he did not want to be blamed for returning, once again, from the national team with muscle problems. He accepted the decision, although since they were minor issues, he asked the club not to issue any statement. Initially, it was supposed to be three away matches, against Getafe, Galatasaray, and Betis – as President Joan Laporta advanced – but in the end, it remained at two. "Yesterday [Thursday] he trained and it went well. We have many matches, so we have to manage it. The best news is that he is available," noted Flick before publishing the squad list.

Without Raphinha, Barça has maintained its goal-scoring instinct with seven goals in the last two matches. It was Flick who thought of him as a possible center-forward, and during his absence, the position has been covered by Gabriel Jesus, Anthony Gordon, and Hamza Abdelkarim as a classic number nine and Dani Olmo as a false striker. The team has shown it has enough depth to continue scoring and winning, but Raphinha, who already saw back in the day how a 16-year-old boy took his place on the right wing (Lamine Yamal), does not even want to hear about anyone taking his place in the starting eleven, and even less now that he has found a position in which, to the surprise of many, he is performing even better than he did on the wing.

Taking into account that Raphinha is an explosive footballer, and that, therefore, it is more difficult for him to pace his efforts compared to other teammates, the doctors recommended caution and wanted him to miss the Betis match as a precaution. But the forward has accelerated the timelines and Flick, who has been able to verify in person that he is already recovered, could not say no to him. Although, taking into account the coach's words, it seems unlikely that the Brazilian will play from the start at La Cartuja – the provisional stadium for Betis while they perform renovations at the Benito Villamarín – and that he will wait until the second half to take the field.

De Jong also returns to the squad list

The other proper name of the Betis-Barça match could be that of Frenkie de Jong, who returns to a squad list after getting injured with the Netherlands during the World Cup. The Dutchman, who finally avoided surgery, is now recovered from his knee injury and has been training on the grass at the Ciutat Esportiva for days. But his case is special. Flick, with this summer's signings –especially that of Rodri– already has the midfield well covered, so it is not expected, at least in the short term, that De Jong will be a very prominent piece in the Blaugrana engine room. If the match conditions are good, he could get a few minutes in the second half. Be that as it may, his return to the team will be progressive.