E-Noticies, @FCBarcelona Maximum tension in Barça's locker room: Eric García and Frenkie de Jong are to blame
The Super Cup kicks off tonight with an interesting Barça-Athletic match that will present several surprises
Barça make their debut tonight in the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Club in a match marked by doubts. The first, and most important, is to know whether Lamine Yamal will arrive in time after missing the last two training sessions. However, that isn't the only unknown that Flick will have to solve in the coming hours.
All eyes are on the defensive midfield position and the heart of the back line, two areas that may undergo changes compared to the last matches. In the last commitment of the culers, against Espanyol, Gerard Martín was the one chosen to start as center-back. This decision pushed Eric García into midfield and left Frenkie de Jong on the bench, but now everything may change.
Maximum tension in the Barça locker room: Eric García and Frenkie de Jong are responsible
Given the importance of tonight's match, Hansi Flick plans to change his approach radically. The German is thinking about moving Eric García back to the heart of the defense so that Frenkie de Jong, his protégé, will start. It is an idea that he hasn't decided on yet, but that he is already considering very seriously, since he believes that "21" and "24" can contribute many positive things tonight.
The decision is completely understandable, but it also has consequences. The most obvious is Gerard Martín's role as a substitute, since he had been accumulating minutes and confidence, and now he could return to the bench. "18" saved the team at the weekend against Espanyol with several actions of great merit, but he is still far from being indisputable for Hansi Flick.
That is where the "maximum tension" that people talk about in the environment is born. It isn't because Eric García and Frenkie de Jong are problematic, but because their mere presence in the starting eleven sends Gerard Martín to the bench. When two big names claim a place at the same time, the coach must choose, and in those choices there is always someone who feels that he loses something.
We will see how Flick's gamble turns out tonight. If Eric García and Frenkie de Jong perform at a good level and Barça win, the decision will seem completely correct; but there is also the risk that the exact opposite will happen. In any case, the dilemma reflects something positive: Flick has enough alternatives to make decisions on the most important days of the season.
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