Barcelona manager Hansi Flick has avoided complaining for much of the season, with punctual exceptions about officiating, but when it comes to the fixture list, for a second time this season, he has not held back. The Blaugrana will finish their Copa del Rey final with Real Madrid around midnight on Saturday, before preparing for their clash with Inter on the following Wednesday in the Champions League semi-final first leg. They then face Real Valladolid at 21:00 CEST before traveling to Milan for their clash on Tuesday.
The Blaugrana play Celta Vigo on Saturday afternoon, before a 21:30 CEST fixture against RCD Mallorca, and a 22:00 CEST against Real Madrid in Seville. Previously Flick has called on La Liga to ease the scheduling for teams in Europe, saying it is not about the comparison between teams, but rather for the good of Spanish football.
Ahead of their clash with Celta, Flick was again furious about the fact the game between the semi-final legs was late at night.
“Do you know how many matches we have played in recent weeks? And do you we play late against Valladolid? We arrive very late, maybe the players are in their beds at four or five in the morning. I don’t want to make excuses. But it happens here, and I’ve never had this before. Every league protects their clubs in the Champions League, and especially in the semi-final, it’s unbeliavable,” said Flick raising his voice.
“And we have no time to rest, and I want to discuss with the guys who are responsible. Because they have no idea how it is. No idea how it is. And my team, of course, maybe we don’t play so good, and the other team, who maybe played better than us, are out, and we played a fantastic game at home. And it’s like that. It’s normal. Maybe we are not in our best moment, but the team are doing great.”
“I’m really happy with them, they give their best, and of course, in Dortmund, it was not their best, but we reached our objective, which was the semi-final. For us, for the club, it’s very positive, for the supporters, for the team. When we started preseason, and now we’re on the 18th of April, and someone says we are in the semi-final, and in the final of the cup, and top of the table, and I say I take it of course.”
“But I will protect them. We are in the semi-final, we lose just one match, and we have to be positive,” he finished in a three-minute long speech.
He continued on to assess the exhausting fixture list.
“We arrived late, and OK we have one more day. They are young players, not all, but a lot, but they can do it. For me, it doesn’t matter if a player plays, 30 minutes, 45 or 60, and they give everything, I am happy. After we can say, was it my best? I love this mentality. 45, 60 or 10 minutes, as long as they give everything.”
Later on in his press conference, he went back, and was even stronger in his criticism of La Liga.
“It’s just one thing. I don’t want to come here and complain or make excuses, and OK I’m happy it’s not Sunday at 14:00, as it was before, now we are playing on Saturday at 21:00 in the evening,” he said, before raising his voice again.
“Why can we not play at 18:00 in the evening? Give me one reason. I want to see this guy that decides it, who is responsible for it. For me, it’s a joke. I think also for bad for Spanish football. If we are successful, the other teams in the Europa League, it’s good for Spanish football. Then we have one more team that can play in the Champions League. I am speechless. I have no words for that. It’s unbelievable the situation.”
“Every Federation, the Bundesliga, Premier League, takes care of their clubs, but we don’t do it here. It’s just, ‘ah, let them play’, they can come back at five or six o’clock (in the morning).’ We have just reached bed for four hours. It’s unbelievable.”