Flick s iron fist--answer analysis of how and why the Barcelona coach imposes the penalty

Konde is a veritable "late champion", and for other players, being late may even cost them the opportunity to play. Barcelona coach Flick has extremely strict discipline requirements, which is no longer a secret. Last year, players such as Penia and Conde experienced this personally, and this year, Rafinia and Rashford have also been punished.

Interestingly, these rules do work. Players who are excluded from the roster often have more motivation when they return.

Last summer, Ass announced 10 Catch-rules implemented by Flick on the team:

1. The coaching staff and players must arrive at the training ground 90 minutes in advance. Flick will meet with his assistants when the players have breakfast.

2. Weighing before each training.

3. Must be dined in the club restaurant. Flick consults a dietician and monitors even the tiniest details. For example, last season he checked the quality of the eggs the player consumed.

4. Training is required on the morning of the match day.

5. Team meetings must be held before the game, even at home games are no exception.

6. If the flight delays for more than 90 minutes after a away game, the player must stay overnight at the base.

7. The training session lasts up to 90 minutes and is accompanied by GPS monitoring. Players stay at the base for up to five hours (including recovery).

8. Violations of discipline are punishable, but not fines. Lateness may directly lead to missing the starting lineup.

9. When there is no international match day, players only have one day off a week.

10. Flick and the players respect each other, but there are insurmountable boundaries, and excessive intimacy is prohibited.

The most well-known situation is that the player missed the start due to being late. Kong De is a "champion", and he was excluded from the starting list for three violations.

Last season, he missed the match against Alaves, Espanyol and Vallecano. The French defender even turned to coaching assistants, hoping they could remind him 15 minutes before the tactical meeting.

"Late, even for one minute, is disrespectful to your teammates. You know the rules." Before the game against Alaves, the Barcelona coach said so.

"As" quoted Flick before the Espanyol game: "I said 13:30, not 13:29, not 13:31."

In January 2025, before the match against Atletico Madrid, Peña was late when preparing for the pre-match. He didn't oversleep, but made the mistake of timing, which cost him the price of losing his starting position. After that, Penia lost the trust of the coach and Flick began to choose Szczesny.

"Maybe Spain has a different mentality, but I have to speak out because there is a lot of noise outside. Football players are professionals and have to be on time. This is the third time (late), so I have no choice. You can arrive early, it's OK," Flick explained.

Finally, the club sent Iniaki to Elche in the summer - Flick did not intend to rely on him anymore. Coincidentally, young defender Hector Folt also complicated his situation for some reason. He is the only one of Barcelona's 35 players to be late during the physical examination. Folt explained that he was attending a party celebrating Yamal's birthday, but that reason didn't work. Fort and Penia started in Elche in the new season.

The same rules are used in the new season, so even top players like Rafinia cannot violate it. The Brazilian was late for warm-up before the game against Valencia, so Rashford and Bardagi got a starting chance. Rafinia made a substitute in the second half and scored twice in the subsequent match against Levante.

"Rafinia was in a good mood, and it was technical decision to replace him. There were enough competitions and everyone would have a chance. Rafinia and Araujo had a long flight," Flick told Marca. In the next round of the game, Rashford was in a similar situation. The Englishman was two minutes late for the morning gathering, but Flick, who asked everyone to be present at 9 o'clock, was not comfortable.

Rashford sat on the bench all over the game against Valencia but came off the bench in the second half - and gave Olmo an assist.

Interestingly, even with Yamal's injury and limited offensive choices, Flick was not afraid to make such a decision.