The international break in football is over and club football is set to begin. The first club to kick off proceedings after this break is FC Barcelona as they take on Osasuna on 27th March, 2025 at the Montjuic Stadium. However this game is only the first of Barcelona’s hectic schedule over the next few days as they are set to play three matches in the span of just 8 days. Not only that, they will also be playing another LaLiga game on Sunday with a less than 72 hours gap between the two matches. And to make matters worse, a total of thirteen Barcelona players were called up for the international break, with most of them coming off tired with a hectic outing.
In fact, Brazilian winger Raphinha and Uruguayan defender Ronald Araujo have both played a game for their national teams less than 36 hours ago and have then travelled to the Barcelona camp for the upcoming games. Given this tight schedule, the media asked questions related to the same to Barcelona’s manager Hansi Flick in the pre-match conference before the Osasuna game, where they compared Barcelona’s situation to Real Madrid’s situation a few weeks ago.
Ronaldo Araujo wants to play in the Osasuna game despite Flick intending to give him rest
Carlo Ancelotti had issued a statement to the press that this would be the last time that his team plays a game with less than 72 hours of rest, when Madrid played Atletico Madrid and Villareal in the same week with less than 72 hours in between the two games. When the reporter asked about the same to Flick and Barca’s take on the situation, he said, “We are Barca, not Real Madrid. And I’m very proud that we are Barca.”
Flick had also confirmed that both Raphinha and Aruajo would be rested for today’s game as they need rest after their long journey, however Araujo has recently expressed his willingness to be part of the team regardless of his long flight and the gaffer’s plans to rest him.
