04/10/2025
Hansi Flick: “Lamine Yamal? I spoke with him today, he’s feeling better but he’s not ready to play.”
“The situation with Luis de la Fuente? It was about the last international break. My position was to protect the player, but that’s over, it happened. From my point of view, it’s finished. These things happen in football. It’s not easy for the Spanish coach, but it’s not easy for me either. I just want to protect my player.”
“Luis de la Fuente’s comments about my supposed lack of empathy? I just want to protect my players. We have to think about them, that’s all. For me, it’s done, we have to move on and focus on other things.”
“Everyone knows Lamine’s qualities. It’s also my responsibility to manage his playing time. Sometimes players don’t feel 100 percent and only focus on their strengths, but we also need to defend. For me, he’s smart, he knows how to steal the ball from others, and when he’s fully fit, he does it. Right now, I have to manage his minutes. If he can’t do it, he must play less.”
“When you’re a good player, you also play for your national team, and that’s an honor. We have to manage everyone’s playing time, whether it’s with the federation or here. That’s how it is. It’s a good thing that many players go on international duty, but we have to handle it properly, with training included.”
“The match in Seville is important. We’re angry about the loss against Paris, so we need to play better, be smarter in certain situations. Structure, unity, that’s what we’ll focus on.”
“Seville are a very intense team with an aggressive style. I’m sure it’ll be a tough game.”
“Bernal called up with the U21s? That’s a tricky case. I’m not sure what they plan to do with him, but he’s not ready to play so many minutes. He’s coming back from a serious injury and a long absence. We need to take care of him, whether it’s me or the federation.”
“The change in the calendar since last year’s breaks? I have no opinion, they decided, I have nothing to say. I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Maybe for the federations, it’s good to have players for a longer time.”
“Our idea is to press our opponents, it’s crucial and it’s the Barça mentality. We can do it better in some situations. When it’s structured, we do it well. When there’s no pressing, the line is too high. We need to improve. We have to train that every day, it’s a process, it’s normal.”
“It’s not just the players, the staff too, we’re one team. The club, the fans, we must be united. Last year, that was the key to success. Everyone knows what they need to do to win, not to focus on themselves. That’s the key to winning titles.”
“Since the last international break, I’ve seen things improving. We believe in what we’re doing together. We’re frustrated about the loss to PSG, but that can happen against such a team.”