Hansi Flick refused to read Barcelona's back-to-back defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid as proof that the project is crumbling. The Barcelona coach doubled down on his ideas and his belief that the Blaugrana will rediscover their winning habit, even with a mounting injury list to navigate before the trip to Deportivo Alavés.
Barça had opened the season with 11 straight wins across La Liga and the Champions League. Then they fell at the two biggest hurdles: first against European champions Paris Saint-Germain, then days later to their old rivals and direct title challengers, Real Madrid.
Alavés await tomorrow, Saturday, in La Liga. Flick's side arrive bruised by two heavy defeats inside a week, and his staff must juggle a number of key absences on top of that.
Defeats are part of a long journey, Flick said at his pre-match press conference, insisting the result had to be accepted and learned from rather than treated as the end of the road.
As reported by Spanish newspaper "AS", he added: "As I have always said, we are facing a very long road, and there is nothing that cannot be fixed. We lost to Real Madrid, and no one likes losing, but we have to deal with it. I think we could have won that match, and we had chances, but we must accept the defeat and learn from it".
On the injuries piling up, the German spelled out the scale of the problem: "We have Jules Koundé out of contention, along with Marc Casadó, wait, Xavi Espart, Dani Olmo, Eric García and Andreas Christensen. It is not easy to deal with all these absences, and we have to find solutions. For tomorrow's match, the matter is clear for us: the most important thing is to collect the three points".
Flick responds to Laporta's support and holds on to his project
Joan Laporta had publicly backed Flick to lead the team, and the coach addressed that vote of confidence head on. His relationship with the board was proceeding as normal, he said, and the support would not alter how he works.
"I spoke with the president and with Deco, and of course everything is fine," Flick said. "It is a nice gesture, but I know the situation. I know we lost two very important matches within a single week, but I am doing my job in the best possible way".
He continued: "Nothing has changed, and I have not lost a single ounce of my enthusiasm to coach this wonderful team. We won the first 11 matches, then we suffered two defeats. We have to return to victories, for that is our job".
His commitment to the method ran deeper still. "I am convinced that our idea is the best for this team, and we will continue working with it until the end. We are all convinced of that," the German said.
Flick expresses his concern over Raphinha's call-up to the Brazil national team
Raphinha's repeated call-ups to Brazil drew a less forgiving response. Flick made no secret of his frustration, with the forward having returned injured from the last international break, a worry hanging over his physical condition.
"This is a topic I also discussed with Deco," the Barcelona coach said. "Raphinha is a very important player for us, and after the last international break he returned injured. Certainly, this situation is not the best for us, but these are the things, and we cannot do anything about it".
"I know that Raphinha is our captain here, and that the club lives in his heart, but he is also Brazilian, and when the national team calls him up he is present," he added. "Everyone wants to help the Brazil national team".
What Flick wants is a say over the forward's workload. He concluded: "For me, I would be happy if we could control a little the number of minutes of his participation. We know that his travel back and forth from Singapore is not an ideal matter, but this is not a decision in my hands".
The message, thinly veiled, lands at the door of Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti: manage Raphinha's minutes.