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FC Barcelona were unable to get a result in their friendly in Italy against Udinese, with the Blaugrana side going down 1-0 after the Serie A team scored the winner right at the very end of the match.

The German coach had only a limited number of first-team players available and therefore included several youngsters in his starting line-up. Along with the players who went deep into the World Cup and have still not returned to training with the club, Flick also left out players such as Ronald Araujo, Marc Casado, Roony Bardghji and Jofre Torrents from his squad, as they have either already departed or are close to completing transfers away from the club.

The Barcelona manager also spoke to the media after the game and addressed several aspects of the match as well as the wider situation around his squad.

In spite of the defeat, the German coach said he was pleased with the standard of training his team has been putting in:

“The matches haven’t been the best, but we have trained well, and we have to manage the arrival of Fermin, Raphinha and the other players.”

“I wasn’t very happy with Friday’s training session, but the performance in the match was much better.”

Flick also provided an update on the situations of Raphinha and Fermin Lopez:

“Raphinha has been training for ten days, and Fermin for a little longer. For me, they were good. ‘Rapha’ is the most important player for me because he brings dynamism and speed, and that is what we need… We need him to be 100% committed to the team, and with the goals, that is what we need.”

The German coach also showed sympathy for Marc Casado and Roony Bardghji, both of whom are close to leaving:

“It’s not easy for me, the situation with Casado and Roony, but decisions have to be made. I spoke to them at the end of last season and also in England. I explained the situation to them and gave them my advice.”

Meanwhile, Ronald Araujo is set to join Liverpool on loan, and the Barcelona coach felt that move was the best path for him:

“Ronald is a great guy and a fantastic player. He has strength and speed, and he is good with the ball too… I think he also wants to do something new. It’s a shame; something happened in the past, and I think he also wanted to make a change.”

“I saw him this morning. He is a great player and a great person, but in life and in football, things change, and you have to accept it… It’s normal for a team to make changes after a season. You’ve seen that there are many young players, and we have to make room for them.”

Flick declined to go into detail about any possible new arrivals at the club:

“We always talk about improving and bringing in the players we need, but we have to remain calm.”

When asked about Ferran Torres, the German coach again chose not to reveal much:

“I respect the players’ holidays, and I don’t have any information.”

Even though the team’s displays in pre-season so far have not been particularly impressive, the Barcelona boss was not reading too much into them:

“A lot of players are arriving this week. It’s an unusual and strange pre-season… We have to respect the players’ holidays, and this pre-season is not normal. We’ll have to manage things until the international break; we won’t be at 100% until then.”

FC Barcelona will now play another friendly against FC Basel in Switzerland on 16 August. By then, Hansi Flick is expected to have several more first-team players back at his disposal, and the club will hope to deliver a more convincing performance in that upcoming match.