The first remedies of the most important signing for Flick

BarcelonaAfter the Barça rout against Rayo Vallecano (5-2), an indiscreet camera caught a funny scene on the pitch. Karim Adeyemi, who had come on to play in the second half to replace Anthony Gordon, decided to do his post-match warm-up in flip-flops. Pepe Conde, the coach who was coordinating the routine with other players at that moment, raised his eyebrows and told him to please put on proper footwear. The German agreed seconds later and joined his teammates – all substitutes – who were working on their fitness in a stadium that was already practically empty.

This post-match routine may seem like a wake-up call or even a punishment from Hansi Flick to the footballers who are not starters, but it is actually part of a plan designed above all to prevent injuries, which last season caused many headaches in the team's day-to-day life. The bet to improve results in this regard is Yann-Benjamin Kugel, a 46-year-old professional who accepted the challenge after Flick proposed it to him two weeks before the start of the preseason.

With the last League title under his belt, the Barcelona coach demanded changes in his players' physical preparation, which necessarily implied the departure of Julio Tous, who had been recruited in the summer of 2024. The move was sensitive because Tous still had the backing of a sporting management that does not want to lose authority in the face of the dressing room's requests. But it had to be carried out, not only because a large part of the players requested it but because Flick himself went as far as casting doubt on his future on the bench if it was not done. Finally, the entity agreed and Tous left the first team. He now retains his salary as coordinator of the Barcelona sports performance optimization area.

After this shake-up, Flick went on vacation and left the search for the new head of physical trainers in the hands of Deco and Alejandro Echevarría. Many names were heard and offers accumulated, but Joan Laporta's trusted duo in football matters did not find the right profile. So finally, it was the coach's contact list that allowed them to get out of the situation with the incorporation of Kugel, with whom Flick had worked at the German Football Association (DFB). He had been without a team for two years. His last work experience had been at the Portuguese club Benfica with another compatriot as coach, Roger Schmidt. A decade earlier, he coincided in Salzburg with Jonatan Soriano. "I remember him as a very serious guy. From the modern school. He would start running with us!", explains the former Catalan striker to l'ARA.

"He is from the modern school, he would start running with us!"

Kugel has moved to Barcelona with his whole family, and unlike Tous, who only went to the Ciutat Esportiva one or two days to follow up on his business, he travels there whenever there is a training session. He has quickly integrated with the group of Germans on the staff –all of whom are in love with Barcelona thanks to Flick– and communicates with them fluently on a day-to-day basis. But the people he has the most professional contact with are the physical trainers who execute his plan, all of them Spanish and most coming from other Barça teams, such as Lucas del Campo, who comes from the women's team. For the moment, he has not signed any personnel of his own choosing. He also feels comfortable with Conde, who has gone from being one of Tous's men to adapting to a new reality.

Although he occasionally steps onto the pitch to direct a routine, it is in the gym where Kugel spends most of his time. In these first two months of work, the players have noticed changes especially in strength training, where they felt more lacking last season. Resistance bands have taken a back seat and weights have gained influence in physical preparation. The same goes for post-match sessions, which, to avoid foot injuries, cannot be done in flip-flops (as Adeyemi intended a few days ago). The recipe matches Soriano's memory –"We worked a lot on explosiveness to be very aggressive"– and Flick's great obsession: pressure on all lines. And all this in more than decent Spanish that the new Barça physical trainer learned thanks to a vital period he spent in Costa Rica. Time will tell if his remedies minimize injuries, especially in the decisive stretch of the campaign.