{"id":196270,"date":"2025-10-08T01:07:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196270\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T01:07:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:07:07","slug":"toni-kroos-questions-barcelonas-champions-league-chances-under-hansi-flick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/196270\/","title":{"rendered":"Toni Kroos questions Barcelona\u2019s Champions League chances under Hansi Flick"},"content":{"rendered":"

FC Barcelona\u2019s recent struggles have reignited debate around Hansi Flick\u2019s tactical approach, and one of the most outspoken critics is former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos. Speaking on his podcast<\/a> Einfach mal Luppen, which he co-hosts with his brother Felix, the 35-year-old argued that while Barcelona play some of the most attractive football in Europe, their insistence on a risky, possession-heavy game leaves them dangerously exposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBarcelona have one of the most appealing styles in Europe, but they take too many risks,\u201d Kroos said, referencing the team\u2019s defeats to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla in La Liga. \u201cOn a bad day for Pedri, Lamine Yamal, or Raphinha, any opponent can hurt them and knock them out of the Champions League.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kroos, who retired after Euro 2024, also warned that Bar\u00e7a\u2019s intensity often fades late in games. \u201cAfter the 75th minute, you can see the fatigue. They don\u2019t change their style to protect the result, and that makes their weaknesses obvious,\u201d he explained. The veteran midfielder believes this pattern could once again cost Barcelona dearly in the knockout stages, just as it did last season against Inter Milan.<\/p>\n

The comments come at a tense time for Flick, whose team went into the international break after back-to-back losses. Barcelona\u2019s thin squad, shaped by ongoing financial restrictions and injury setbacks, has limited Flick\u2019s tactical flexibility. Missing key players like Raphinha, Ferm\u00edn L\u00f3pez, and Lamine Yamal in recent matches has further strained the team\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

Still, Kroos was not entirely dismissive. He acknowledged the allure of Flick\u2019s football and Bar\u00e7a\u2019s dominance in domestic play, saying that in La Liga they would be harder to beat. Yet he insists that without a more pragmatic plan B, their European ambitions may once again fall short.<\/p>\n

Flick and Kroos crossed paths in the past, when the Barcelona manager was an assistant for the German national team. Despite the fact Flick managed both Bayern Munich and the German national team, and Kroos played for both, their paths did not intersect in that capacity. In fact, Flick\u2019s reign as Germany manager coincided with Kroos\u2019s brief first retirement from international football.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FC Barcelona\u2019s recent struggles have reignited debate around Hansi Flick\u2019s tactical approach, and one of the most outspoken…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196271,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[97355,49,48,561,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-196270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-soccer","8":"tag-barca-blaugranes-coverage","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-soccer","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196270","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196270"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196270\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196270"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196270"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196270"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}