FC Barcelona Coach Flick Punished Star Player In This Way, Reports SPORT

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick punished one of his star players in Vitoria-Gasteiz, prior to the Catalans beating local side Deportivo Alaves 3-0 on Sunday according to SPORT, which cited anonymous sources.

The German was delighted with his team following the rousing victory, which was brought about by a Robert Lewandowski hat trick and managing to keep a clean sheet at the other end.

"I am happy to be the coach of this team, as is my team [with me coaching it], but in football things can change very quickly. We value what we have, and it's great to see how things are working out," he said at full time.

Before kick off, however, Flick had to be the disciplinarian by punishing one of his players.

As SPORT explains, the plan had been to include Jules Kounde in the starting line up. He was previously one of Flick's "untouchable" stars, playing 900 of all 900 minutes available thus far in 2024/2025 at right back.

As the Frenchman turned up late for a prematch talk, however, Flick set an example by dropping him from the first XI and instead giving the nod to Hector Fort.

Ever classy and perhaps unwilling to leak internal secrets to the press or embarrass his player, Flick told reporters post match that Kounde had been benched because he "needed rest".

This also checks out given how much Kounde has been used with another international break upon us, but it doesn't seem to be entirely accurate.

Flick made it clear when inheriting the reigns from predecessor Xavi Hernandez that he would run a tight ship, and also issued a warning about the importance of punctuality with consequences for those who don't toe the line.

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On Matchday 9, we saw Flick keep his word. Kounde was only introduced 25 minutes before the end at Alaves and now goes off to represent Les Bleus in UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Belgium.

Thankfully Hector held the Fort on the back line, which managed to keep Alaves at bay despite two goals being ruled for offside.

On the Blaugrana's return to club action come October 20, Kounde could start against his former employers Sevilla or Fort might be preferred once more.