Barcelona (AFP)
The German coach of the Spanish club Barcelona, Hansi Flick, expressed his happiness with the return of his Dutch international midfielder Frenkie de Jong to participate in the match against Swiss club Young Boys on Tuesday in the second round of the Champions League football competition, after recovering from an injury that kept him out of the field for a long period.
Flick believes that 27-year-old De Jong, who has been sidelined since last April due to an ankle injury, is ready to play again.
He said in a press conference on Monday: “It is very important for us to be able to rely on Frenkie, whether for five or ten minutes.”
He added, “Frenkie’s behavior is excellent. He is involved and ready to help the team. We needed his presence.” He will be ready, not to play 45 minutes, but 20 or 10 minutes, and this will be very good for him.”
The Catalan club, which is seeking to restore its continental balance after losing to French club Monaco 1-2 in the first round, is suffering from many absences in its ranks due to injury, including Dani Olmo, Javi, and Uruguayan Ronald Araujo.
Barcelona, the winner of the continental competition five times, is still trying to return to the European summits, after reaching the quarter-finals for the first time in four seasons last year, where it was brutally eliminated by French club Paris Saint-Germain.
The former coach of Bayern Munich and the German national team promised, saying, “The team, and I as a coach, want to win every match, and I am convinced that we can do that.” “We work well, we train hard, we play good, entertaining football, and if we have to earn the respect of our opponents more, we will do it.”
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