Flick and his commitment to the youth team: “Xavi gave the opportunity to many young people and I continue in that line”

Flick has dispelled doubts about Curbarsiwho suffered a severe cut on his face against Red Star and debuted with mask. Neither Lamine Yamal nor Dani Olmo were present in this Saturday’s session: «I think Pau will be there, he trained with us the entire session. Lamine has done specific strength work, he has played a lot, many minutes, and to see how he is tomorrow, we have to take care of him. Dani Olmo felt a little baduncomfortable during the night. This morning he was a little better, they are treating him and we will see although I think he will be there tomorrow.

The German does not believe that Sunday’s match against the Royal Society It may mean giving a coup of authority because of how complicated it is to play in Anoeta: «It’s just another game. There are three points that are at stake. It’s not going to be easy. We have to work for more than 90 minutes together, as a team. And that’s what we’re going to do.” And he adds: «There are many things that I am satisfied with, but when we watch the games and I see the last one in Belgrade we see what we asked for. When you look at Espanyol, the second half was not good because we did not finish as a team. “That’s something I value a lot.”

Flick wanted to pause the euphoria that exists in the environment and made it clear that nothing has been done yet: «Step by step. Match by match. And that is the key. We don’t look back either. We focus on the next game. Everyone is focused on that. You don’t think about how well you’ve played in the last six, you think about the next one. And Real Sociedad will be a tough commitment. And he once again referred to the San Sebastian team: «Each game is different. That the counter is always reset to zero and against Barça it is always different. The entire stadium will be supporting them and there will be a great atmosphere. They know how to press. It is important to play with confidence and have possession of the ball. That’s what we want to do, follow the line of play with and without the ball. “It is important to have possession, recover quickly, create opportunities and take advantage of them.”

Flick praised the work of Iñigo Martínezone of their untouchables but who needs to play 60 percent of the games to automatically renew: «His performance is great, he is a leader. It is a very young team, so it is important to have experienced players like Iñigo. In training he usually wins all the games. If he continues playing like this, yes without a doubt. The contract is not my job. My job is to improve the team. If it works, the normal thing is that the contract will be renewed. “The performance of the last few games is incredible.” And he also valued positively the performance of Lewandowski: «He is one hundred percent fit. I am very impressed by his performance on defense. “I don’t think I have to give him more rest.”

He also referred to his obsession with punctuality and gave his explanation: «It is a rule, a norm. I’m not talking about the past. It’s about respect, respecting the team. If you arrive five minutes late, they have to wait for you and that is a disrespect». The German valued Henry’s words, praising Xavi’s work with the youth team at Barcelona: «Always ccompare my work with that of Xavi it’s not fair. They are two different situations and I always have a lot of respect for Xavi because he was a great player and he is a great coach. Now I’m here. He gave many young people the opportunity to be in the first team and that is his credit. “I continue along that line.”