The Hansi Flick era at the Catalan Club is about to commence. Flick sees his first game in charge of FC Barcelona come on Tuesday night, when his Blaugranes will take on global juggernaut Manchester City. The match will be staged in Orlando, Florida a place with many nicknames, including “theme park capital of the world” and “the magic kingdom” due to the city’s economic development being so closely intertwined with nearby Disney World.
Even the local NBA team is called the “Magic,” because this is, supposedly, a place where “magic happens” and “dreams come true.”
Soccer Champions Tour 2024 FYIs
Manchester City vs FC Barcelona
Competition: club friendly
Kickoff: Tuesday July 30, 7pm EST, Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL, USA
Preview Content for Both Clubs: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Buy the book: Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America
Barca Travel Party for USA Tour
Ter Stegen, Balde, I. Martinez, Lewandowski, Raphinha, Iñaki Peña, Christensen, Romeu, Vitor Roque, Gündo?an, Kounde, Julián Araujo, Lenglet, Pablo Torre, M. Casadó, H. Fort, A. Valle, Pau Víctor, Astralaga, Kochen, Unai, Mika Faye, Marc Bernal, Gerard Martín, Noah Darvich, Guille Fernández, Andrés Cuenca, Toni Fernández, Sergi Domínguez, Quim Junyent and Alexis Olmedo.
Team News for Both Sides
Three of the 31 players named in the travel squad above did not depart from Catalonia with everybody else. Flick will see Raphinha and Ilkay Gundogan (who will face his most recent former club here) join the rest of the club tomorrow in central Florida.
Meanwhile Jules Kounde will join the side in Annapolis, Maryland, home of the U.S. Naval Academy, on Thursday.
Notably absent from the tour squad are the four players now on holiday, following their extended tours of duty at the European Championships/Copa America: Lamine Yamal, Frenkie De Jong, Pedri and Ronald Araujo. As of now, none of these guys are expected to join up with Flick and company for the tour in America.
The last name on that list, Araujo, suffered a hamstring injury at the Copa, and it was serious enough to require surgery.
Having just gone under the knife, the central defender sounded very upbeat about it all, in a message posted on social media to his followers. However, it looks like he’ll be sidelined all the way until December.
Shifting gears to Manchester City, nothing has really changed since last night’s loss to AC Milan at Yankee Stadium. No new injuries and the transfer situations are still static.
Nothing has been resolved regarding Ederson and Kalvin Phillips still wants out, with Everton said to currently be in talks with his camp.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN.
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