Flick talks Olmo, Pena, Szczesny, Gavi, Vinicius ahead of Real Madrid vs Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona will be gunning for the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era when they take on Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final tomorrow in Saudi Arabia.

The Blaugrana made it to the finals of the competition after seeing off Athletic Club in the semi-final earlier this week and will go into Sunday’s match with confidence, having already trounced Real Madrid once this season.

The fact that manager Flick will have Dani Olmo present and available for selection after his successful re-registration will also come as a massive boost for the Catalans.

Ahead of tomorrow’s game, the Barcelona head coach spoke to the media at a press conference, confirming that Olmo is ready to play.

“Yes, obviously. He can play. He’s delighted and happy and he’ll be back in the team,” said Flick.

Looking forward to the contest against Real Madrid, the German tactician added: “They are one of the best teams in the world, we have a tremendous team.

“We can do it, mistakes were made against Athletic. They are one of the best teams in transition. We have to reduce the mistakes.”

One of the biggest questions for Flick heading into tomorrow’s contest is whether he starts with Inaki Pena in goal or goes with Wojciech Szczesny, who got the nod vs Athletic Club, due to the former’s tardiness in arriving for a training session.

On being asked about the dilemma, Flick said: “I never talk about the starting eleven for tomorrow. He [Szczesny] played a good game and Inaki had a great first half of the season. That’s how it is.

“In Spain maybe there is a different mentality, but this I have to explain. The noise outside is very loud. They are professionals. They have to be on time. It’s the third time it’s happened and I had no choice. You can arrive earlier, it’s not a problem.”

Another major selection quandary that Flick has to address is whether to bring Olmo back into the lineup or start with Gavi who performed well vs Athletic.

“Gavi performed at a great level in the last game. It gives you different elements. I haven’t made up my mind,” said the manager on the issue.

Ready to play. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Talking about the sensations within the Barça camp ahead of their first chance to win a trophy this season, Flick said:

“The coaches have to prepare for the match. For everybody, it’s a Clasico, it’s the Super Cup. If we win this game, we can feel more confident. It will be a great victory for the club.”

Having thrashed Real Madrid already once this season, Flick insisted that there is no need for his team to change the way they play for tomorrow.

“How we played in the Clasico was at that moment. We did very well. There’s no reason why we have to change our style of play,” he remarked.

“We want to play as a team. Everyone has to contribute. You can’t match Madrid. We want to play at a high level and win,” Flick added.

On what his message to the team has been heading into the final, the Barcelona coach stated:

“I have told the team. There is only outside noise, we have to be cohesive and strong. It’s a great season, we haven’t reached the points we wanted. It’s good to learn from every game and this is the goal. We have played well for the club. That’s what we want.”

Regarding the preparations for the final, Flick added: “Yesterday we gave a day off. Today we will focus on the match. Show them how we can play, what we can improve, because they can play very well.”

The German coach was asked about his opinion on Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. getting away with just a two-match ban for his implosion in the game against Valencia, to which he replied:

“It wasn’t my decision. It’s good, it’s good to have him in the Super Cup. It’s good to have the best. It’s good to have him.”

Concluding, when told if Real Madrid win tomorrow, they will equal Barça with 14 Spanish Super Cup wins, Flick stated that he is not bothered about the number of titles and statistics, and just wants to win the game and the trophy for the fans.

“I don’t care about the statistics. We want to win it, this is for the club and for the fans.”

Source: Mundo Deportivo