Barcelona begin their defense of the Spanish Super Cup title against Athletic Bilbao in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said retaining this week’s Spanish Super Cup would support his team’s other ambitions this season.
The record 15-time champions will face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals on Wednesday at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
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Barça won this competition last season as the first of a domestic treble, their first victory under Flick, and went on to win La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
“This competition is a little different (than the equivalent competition) in Germany, but I like it,” said Flick, the former Bayern Munich manager.
“Winning the Super Cup (last season) gave us a lot of energy for the rest of the season, which is also what we want this year.”
Barcelona are favorites to win the Super Cup and lead La Liga after nine consecutive wins in the top flight, although big questions remain regarding their defence.
Despite being put ahead by neighbors Espanyol in a tense derby on Saturday, a late goal and a sensational performance from stopper Joao García helped the Catalans to a 2-0 victory.
Flick insisted his team needed to perform better at the back to be successful in the sixth tournament in Saudi Arabia.
“If we make the same mistakes as on Saturday, it won’t be an easy game. It won’t be easy, so we have to work on our tasks,” Flick continued.
“We have to play better defensively and we have to play together as one team. That’s what I wasn’t able to do on Saturday, so we have to get better at things.”
Barcelona target Cancelo could move from Saudi Arabia
Central defender Ronald Araujo could return to action this week after an extended mental health break.
The Uruguayan was given a red card in Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League defeat to Chelsea in November and was granted about a month’s rest.
“I haven’t decided yet what I’ll do tomorrow because I’ll be watching this training (session) today and I’d like to talk to him too,” Flick said.
“I think it’s going to take time, so if he feels like he’s ready for tomorrow, maybe we’ll change something, but there are no plans to do that at the moment.”
Flick has admitted that Barcelona are close to signing Joao Cancelo from Al Hilal, where he is on loan until the end of the season, but a deal has not yet been finalized.
“If we had Joao, he would probably give us more options as a full-back and also in attack with his quality, but (as far as I know) it’s not over yet,” Flick said.
Cancelo spent the 2023-24 season on loan from Manchester City to Barcelona.
Athletic, who are eighth in La Liga, last won the Super Cup in 2021 by defeating Barcelona in the final, and have lifted the trophy three times.
Only the Catalans and Real Madrid have a better record, with 13 wins. On Thursday, Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid will face city rivals Atletico Madrid in the other Super Cup semi-final.
