BARCELONA, Spain: Hansi Flick says he will be counting on Lamine Yamal and Barcelona’s batch of talented youngsters to help the German coach make a positive start at his new club.
Yamal was the breakout player at the European Championship. He turned 17 a day before Spain beat England in the final two weeks ago.
“What (Yamal) did in the Euros is unbelievable,” Flick said at his official presentation Thursday, two months after the former Germany and Bayern Munich manager signed up with Barcelona.
Yamal’s performances included upstaging new Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé in the semifinals against France, when the Barcelona teenager became the youngest scorer in tournament history aged 16 after curling home the goal of the tournament.
That came after Yamal had already scooped up several “youngest ever” records for his club.
“Now it is important for him to stay with both legs on the Earth,” Flick said. “He gives us great moments and also can improve and make things better, but he is on a really fantastic way.”
Flick took over from the fired Xavi Hernández on a two-year contract after Barcelona finished last season finished without a title.
The club have been struggling financially to keep up with Madrid, but they have been boosted once again by the talent that their famed La Masia training academy continues to produce.
Flick has only had two weeks to train with some of his team, as the players that participated in Euro 2024 and the Copa America have some time off. Others, like 17-year-old center back Pau Cubarsí, are playing at the Paris Olympics.
But he said he was pleased with what he had seen so far, especially the youths from Barcelona’s reserve team.
PRAISE FOR ANSU
The only player Flick wanted to name was forward Ansu Fati, who is back after a loan spell with Brighton. He was considered Barcelona’s rising star a few years ago before he suffered serious leg injuries.
Unfortunately, the 21-year-old hurt his right foot in practice Thursday. That will rule him out of the team’s preseason tour of the United States, Flick said.
“Ansu on the first days was unbelievable. He was very fit, and he showed it on the pitch and in training,” Flick said. “And now it is not good, and we don’t have him here and in America, but we will help him come back stronger.”
Flick added that 19-year-old midfielder Gavi Paéz, who tore his right ACL while playing for Spain in November, must take his time coming back.
Barcelona will likewise start the season without defender Ronald Araújo after he injured his right hamstring while playing for Uruguay at the Copa America. Frenkie de Jong is also recovering from an injury that caused him to miss the Euros with the Netherlands.
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said he was convinced Flick would bring back “renewed energies” to a team that has not won the Champions League since 2015, Lionel Messi’s heyday at the club.
Flick had a direct part in bringing down that great Barcelona side. He was in charge of Bayern when their historic 8-2 demolition of the Catalan club in 2020 marked a definitive end to their status as one of Europe’s supreme teams.
Flick did not mention that most painful moment for Barcelona fans during his press conference at the auditorium next to their Camp Nou stadium. Instead, he said he will respect the club’s sacred playing style of ball possession and high pressure.
“The thing I want to see is that we are playing great football, technical football, so everyone at home on TV can see that this team gives its heart for the club,” he said. “It is crucial that you can see that on the pitch.”
NICO TOO?
Perhaps it is wishful thinking given the club’s recent financial troubles, but the Barcelona sports press speculates they could make a bid for Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams after the winger starred at the Euros alongside Yamal.
Laporta would only say Barcelona is in position to make any signings they needed.
When asked about Williams, Flick said he would not speak about players at other clubs.

WASHINGTON: Second-half goals by Argentine strikers Juan Brunetta and Maximiliano Meza gave Mexico’s Liga MX a 4-1 victory over Major League Soccer in Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game.

Argentine striker German Berterame and Moroccan winger Oussama Idrissi also scored for the Mexican league’s elite squad in the triumph at Columbus, Ohio.

MLS had won both prior All-Star meetings with Mexican league rivals, playing to a 1-1 draw and winning 3-2 on penalty kicks in 2021 and taking a 2-1 triumph in 2022.

Berterame, a 25-year-old forward for Mexico’s CF Monterrey, opened the scoring in the 16th minute.

Cucho Hernandez, a Colombian winger for the Columbus Crew, equalized for MLS in the 17th minute.

Idrissi answered for Liga MX in the 41st minute to give his squad a 2-1 lead at halftime.

Reserve Brunetta, a striker for Tigres UANL, boosted Liga MX’s lead in the 68th minute and Meza, a winger for Monterrey who also came off the bench to start the second half, added another goal in the 69th for the final margin.

Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi did not play for MLS due to a right ankle injury suffered in Argentina’s victory over Colombia in the Copa America final.

Messi, who also missed two MLS games last week, is uncertain for Miami’s home game Saturday against Puebla as Inter begin defending the Leagues Cup, a second-year tournament involving MLS and Liga MX clubs that begins on Friday.