Barcelona coach Hansi Flick made a surprising tactical decision during the 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid, and new footage has now revealed how Alejandro Balde reacted when he learned of it.
Flick surprised his players by moving Frenkie de Jong to right-back during the second half. He leaned on the Dutch midfielder’s experience and tactical reading to cover the team’s problems down the right flank. The win at the Metropolitano was a valuable one, but the moment on the Catalan bench only came to light two days later.
According to the Catalan newspaper Sport, the DAZN cameras caught a conversation between Flick and De Jong before the substitution. The German coach walked over to his player and asked whether he was ready to fill in at right-back. De Jong accepted the task with a smile and raised no objection.
The news then spread through the squad. De Jong told Gavi and Wojciech Szczesny that he would be playing on the right of the defence, and they reacted with disbelief. Tonkara even had to explain what was happening to Alex Campos, while several players followed the exchange closely to catch the details of the surprise call.
Balde’s reaction
Balde witnessed the whole exchange. The left-back wore a serious expression throughout De Jong’s conversation about his new role, appearing to wonder why the coach had passed him over.
What was really going through Balde’s mind remains unclear. The moment carried extra weight given his recent situation, as his standing in the German coach’s plans has slipped. Speculation about his future has swirled for weeks, with his name linked to a possible exit from Barcelona in the winter transfer window.
Flick, meanwhile, has shown once again that he is willing to shuffle his players into unfamiliar positions. He trusted De Jong’s ability and experience to handle the right-back role against Atletico Madrid, and the gamble paid off. Barcelona left the Metropolitano with three points, and the decision also produced one of the most widely shared moments from the Catalan bench.