Report – Hansi Flick’s plan to manage Barcelona’s unusual international break

Report – Hansi Flick’s plan to manage Barcelona’s unusual international break FC Barcelona could hardly have asked for a better way to head into such an unusual international break. The Blaugrana secured a 3-1 victory over Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan on Saturday, bringing this stage of the season to a close on a positive note before much of the squad departed for international duty. One of the main questions was how Hansi Flick would manage his team during an international break that is considerably longer than usual. The plan is now in place, although the German will be working with a very small group, according to SPORT . Flick will have just six first-team players available : Gavi, Gerard Martin, Alejandro Balde, Gabriel Jesus, Brian Farinas and Wojciech Szczesny. This does not include injured players Joan Garcia, Andreas Christensen and Frenkie de Jong, who will remain at the Ciutat Esportiva to continue their respective recovery programmes. Only six players at Flick’s disposal during the break. (Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images) Four training sessions before a week off As per the report, Barcelona will train from Tuesday through Friday, before the remaining players are given an extended break. The squad will then be off from 28 September until 4 October, with a return to training scheduled for 5 October. The arrangement gives Flick a short period to work with the six available first-team players before the entire squad reconvenes after international duty. Gavi trains voluntarily Monday was a rest day for the squad and even Flick did not go to the Ciutat Esportiva . Gavi nevertheless chose to train voluntarily, while Joan Garcia and Christensen were also at the training ground to continue their rehabilitation. Gavi trained voluntarily today. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) Fermin Lopez briefly visited the facilities to collect some belongings. The first team will return to collective work on Tuesday. Raphinha faces a very different break While Barcelona’s players remaining in Catalonia will enjoy a lengthy rest, Raphinha faces a much busier schedule. The Brazilian heads away with his national team at the best moment of his career so far after scoring a hat-trick against Sevilla and moving to the top of the La Liga scoring charts. Raphinha will now travel almost halfway around the world, with Brazil scheduled to play two matches in Australia, before flying to India for another friendly. He will then return to Barcelona and resume a season that has begun exceptionally well.