A number of recovering players will also be on the practice field this week. Among them, left back Balde, who had tendon surgery in January, is close to returning to full training. Dutch midfielder De Jong missed this summer's Europa League due to a knee problem, and Barcelona are being cautious about his recovery from injury. Gavi is still months away from recovering from a ruptured ACL injury he encountered last November.
While nine first-team players is too small a number for Frick's pre-season preparations, some of the top clubs often choose to supplement those promising young players by giving them a chance to experience first-team training and pre-season tours.
A number of talented young players will have the opportunity to gain such valuable experience at Barcelona's La Masia youth academy this summer, as Barcelona travels to the United States once again for pre-season. These young players include:18 year old American goalkeeper Diego Kochin, defender Hector Forte (17), German organizational core Noah Darvich (17) and midfielders Marco Bernal (17), Marc Casado (20) and Alex Garrido (20) of forward Alarcón.
Most of these players played in the Barcelona game last season - there are many talented young players in the Barcelona reserve team. The head coach of Barça Match is Mexican and Barça legend Rafael Marquez. They advanced to the Liga MX promotion playoffs this summer, but ultimately lost to Cordoba (the second round will be held on June 23rd). While this team usually has longer vacations in the summer, they now need to fill their first-team roster.
Not all Barcelona players representing the national team have brought good news. Injuries to Pedri and Araujo representing Spain and Uruguay mean they are likely to miss the start of the new season.
With Poland and Denmark making early exits at the Euros, that at least means that Levan and Christensen should be able to meet the squad - including several other players playing in international matches - when Barcelona depart for the United States on July 28th.
Other players may need more time off. Gündoğan ended up setting 66 games after Germany's loss to Spain in the Europa League quarterfinals last Friday. 16-year-old Yamal will almost need a longer vacation to recover from his impressive performances for Barcelona last season and at the Europa League this summer.
There is another international tournament coming up. Barcelona defenders Kubasi and Erick Garcia will represent Spain in preparation for the Olympic men's soccer tournament on July 24 in Paris. While Barcelona youngster Fermín is still with Spain for the Europa League, he has also been included in the Spanish men's soccer team for the Olympics. Spain is also one of the favorites to reach the Olympic men's soccer final on Aug. 9 at Parc des Princes.
While Longley, Fathi, Romeu, Torre and others may feel they still have a chance to impress Frick in order to stay in the first team for the 2023-24 season, they know that leaving the team is more likely. Martinez and Roque know that some of their teammates will have to leave if they want to stay. Barcelona are open to other players, including De Jong, Torres and Rafinha, who will return to the squad in the coming weeks.
Then came Felix and Cancelo, the Portuguese duo that Barcelona have kept as part of their squad despite their loan contracts ending last month.
Frick can't count on these players, regardless of whether they complete their transfers late in the transfer window. Atletico told TA that Felix will be in the Spanish capital at the end of July for the team's pre-season tournament.
This is not a new problem for many Barcelona players: their financial problems have made it difficult for them to register players for three consecutive summers.
While Barcelona players know their future remains unknown on their return, they can only accept the reality. A new coach could mean new opportunities, but their preference remains for most of the players reported this week to stay at Barca. Those players with high salaries chose to leave Barca rather than give in to Deco so easily.
Barcelona's first game of the US tour is July 30 against Manchester City in Orlando, Florida. They will then travel to New Jersey to face Real Madrid on August 3 before heading to the Baltimore Toro on August 6 to take on AC Milan.
Frick's first official match in Catalonia could be the Gamba Cup on August 11 at the Olympic Stadium in Mozuzi - which has been their temporary home match during the reconstruction of the Camp Nou stadium. This traditional competition will still be held at this stadium for the time being.
One of the reasons Harvey was sacked at the end of last season was because the team wasn't prepared physically. Laporta said, "Whenever a game reaches the 60th minute, the team's performance drops considerably, and Flick would have improved this poor fitness last season." However, Flick's plan may be difficult to implement because of the inconsistent return times for all players.
Barcelona have typically used a 4-3-3 formation during Xavi's tenure, while Frick has favored a 4-2-3-1 formation - including during his time under Bayern and Germany. It may be difficult to immediately implement any of the extensive tactical innovations that need to be worked on at the training ground.
Frick is taking Barcelona's new La Liga season opener against Valencia on August 17 very seriously. For different reasons, he could lose four important midfielders in that game in Gavi, Pedri, Firmin and De Jong, and possibly last season's captain Roberto. Although Roberto's contract has expired, he may have already renewed his contract with Barcelona.
By then, Cubasi and Garcia will probably still be enjoying their post-Olympics vacations, and Araujo will be gradually recovering from his injury, so Martinez may have to register and play against Valencia, although he may leave the team in the transfer window.
According to the information available now, Barcelona's final lineup for the new season will not be finalized until the transfer window closes.
Frick is well aware of the problems this team had before he took over at Barcelona, but he's still eager to capitalize on this opportunity. He may face a bigger challenge when he starts work on the training ground.
