How will Hansi Flick manage Raphinha & Lamine's minutes? 🤔 + Is there no drama at Man Utd? | ESPN FC

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ESPN FC: How Hansi Flick manages Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, and whether Man Utd really have no drama

The show first looks at how Hansi Flick should manage Raphinha and Lamine Yamal's minutes, with the panel agreeing Raphinha can be protected and Yamal needs a mix of care and authority. It then covers Javier Tebas's Goebbels and Nazi propaganda controversy and the Manchester United dressing-room situation, where Michael Carrick denies division but some pundits question his comments.

Today on ESPN FC, the panel discuss… 0:00 Managing Lamine and Raphinha 8:52 Real Madrid vs. Sevilla 14:08 Man United drama 24:42 Brentford vs. Liverpool 26:58 Gianni Infantino apologizes to FIFA Council 31:14 Serie A teams in UCL 33:46 Extra time ✔️ Subscribe to ESPN Unlimited: https://plus.espn.com/ ESPN ESPNFC

Transcript

Hello and welcome into the latest edition of ESPNFC. K Murray, Shaka Hisop, and Stevie Nickel on his high chair today. Try to be a little bit high and mighty ahead of the rest of us. We are kicking things off in La Liga because it is a big weekend where four of the top five teams will be facing one another. This is how the table is looking right now. Barcelona in first will be taking on third place Real Bettis and Real Madrid in fourth will be taking on fifth place Sevilla. But let's focus first on that game between Bettis and Barca on Saturday. Rafinia is fit and available for the trip. The leading scorer is back, but we did hear from Hansy Flick on how he is going to manage the minutes of Rafinia going forward. >> I think when you ask him, he will be ready for from from uh from the beginning. But you know for me it's it's a step by step and and uh he yesterday he trained with the team and and doing good and uh we have a lot of games the next the next uh days or weeks and and so we have to adapt this and um manage it and uh but the good thing is that he's available and also Frankie. So >> yeah Frankie Dong back too and Don Hutcherson joining us. But let me kick things off with you, Stevie, because Hanty Flick there has talked about something many a manager will hear. The player wanting to play every single minute of every single game and feeling ready to do so, but the manager having to know how to manage that and how to be cautious. How do you balance it? >> Well, the fact that the Barcelona right now are just sailing along u makes it pretty straightforward. You know, Hansen Flick does not have to start him. In fact, if Hans Flick feels like it, he don't doesn't even have to bring him on if if the team don't need him. And quite frankly, right now, whether it's Rafiniah or anybody else dropping out, Barcelona right now, regardless of who's in or who's out, are just in such a rich fan of form that it it almost seems it doesn't really matter who's playing or who's not, they're going to create, they're going to score goals, they're going to win games. So, right now, this is a great scenario for Anthony Flick. The other side of the coin would be struggling. You're desperate for your key guys to to play to be at the best. Then you start taking chances with something like a hamstring. But right now, Hansy Flick doesn't need to take a chance on Rafinho whatsoever. And in fact, I would suggest that if he doesn't need him, he won't even touch your ball against realis. >> Yeah, you mentioned hamstring because this is Don his fifth hamstring injury in the last three seasons. as a player, how does chronic injury like this impact these games and these stretches that come where you're feeling good, but you know that that is always a risk? >> Yeah, he seems a good character. I like what Hansy Flick had to say there where he said, "If you ask him, you'll want to play 90." And and that's valuable for a coach. You know, you sometimes the modern day pro can say, "Well, I'm not quite right. You might want to put me on the bench." No, no, no. Not not with Rafinha. He wants to play. I think the important thing is with the Eláico coming up um in between the sort of Champions League game with a new format and the Champions League, they can actually afford to completely rest him because you can lose a couple of games in this format in the Champions League and get ready for the Real Madrid game. So, I would imagine you'll see a scenario if they're comfortable against Bettis, he might get half an hour. If he's not needed and he fancies a stretch, he might get 10. But then the games after that, I I don't even see him starting against PSG. He might play he's got good options. He can play Danny Almo as a number nine Anthony Gordon off the left or vice versa. He's got plenty of options. So there's no need to go full strength against PSG unless you're really trying to flex your muscles. It all seems to me about managing his minutes and making sure he's completely ready for the Real Madrid game. >> Do you agree with that, Sh? Because it's not like they've slowed down without him. This could all be a warm-up for Eláico. >> Yeah. Hate Galatasay. No Rafinho, no problem for Barcelona. Listen, that's not to um discount Rafinho's impact during the course of this season. Arguably, he's been the best player um in world football to date, but Barcelona have been able to cope without him. Nothing's ever been won in in in October and as difficult a stretch of games as this is bett PSG, Real Madrid, Sydney on paper, you want Rafiniah later on in in the season. So, you don't want to take that risk with Rafinho if you don't have to. And right now Barcelona and Hansy Flick simply don't have to. >> Yeah, Hansy Flick also acknowledged that he needs to manage the minutes of Lamin Yamal who's been playing a lot recently. He started every game for club and country so far this season. So on rotating him, Flick said, "It's Lamine. He's a special player. I know we have to manage his minutes." But for me, the most important thing is he enjoys playing football. At the moment it's like this and I don't want to interrupt this situation, but I know we have to manage his minutes. Stevie, again, this is a young kid. He wants to play all the time. He's making a difference in every game he plays. How do you deal with this? >> Well, it seems it seems a completely different scenario because you know that if he turns around to Rafinia and says, "Look, we don't need you to play here. We really want you to do this." Rafina is just going to sit and go, "Yeah, boss. Hey, listen. You don't want to play, but I understand. Uh, and if if you think I shouldn't start, then that's fine. Yamal doesn't seem to be that type. Yamal seems so far in his career when he's not playing, when he thinks he's fit, he looks as though he's taking a little bit of the huff. And so, it's a completely different scenario. But Hans Flick has shown since he went to Barcelona that not only does he know what he's doing tactically, but he knows he knows how to to treat his players. He knows his players inside out, and he's been able to keep them all happy. and he's been able to do the same thing with Yamal. And so I guess for for Hansy Flick, it may be a case of okay, we we start Yamal and then once the game's done, then it's a lot easier to explain to him and calm him down and say the game's over, you've done your part, have a rest. >> It's a different scenario because in Rafini, you're talking about an experienced professional. In Lamin, you're talking about still a kid despite what his performances may may say. the minimal is is still is still a kid. And now the counter to to to C's point about starting him and if the game is won you take him off in theory that that works wonderfully well but it's a betis bettis are are playing incredible football this season. What if it's not? What if it's still a tight game? just de laente in the last window where he had this understanding that Lamin would only play a certain number of minutes but all of a sudden the game got a little bit tighter than he expected and he kept him on for a little bit longer than he promised. Those situations again are difficult to balance. So it's I guess this is why Hansy Flick gets gets paid those those big bucks because he's got to balance all of that and put out a winning team on the weekend and see them through to the end of the season. and Hansancy Flick. This is not just about cowtowing to a young player. This is about trying to do it in a certain manner. And if it gets to a stage where Yamal's not accepting it, then Hans Flick has to bring the hammer down and just say, "Right, I've had enough of this. I'm in charge here. I run the show. You do as I say, so go away." That that's that's the last scenario. But if that's needed, then he has to get it. >> Was Was that you putting your hammer down? >> Absolutely. It really was. I mean, Don, we've seen with many a footballer though, there's some players who do just seem to be able to play all the time, and that's just the way it is. >> Yeah, Messi was one of them. I think it's interesting you asked the question, K, to three ex players, and we've all got an idea on how you manage whether it's Yamal or Rafinia, it's starting them, bringing them off or or or vice versa where you're on the bench and you and you come on for half an hour. I think the most important guys at Barcelona now are going to be the data guys and the analysts who, you know, can check whether Yal's in the red zone at any given time. So I think maybe the the work that they do and maybe the work for Hansy Flick is not actually managing on the pitch. It's actually managing him in midweek and not loading him too much from a Monday to Friday if the game's on a Saturday or Sunday and just saying, "Well, well, look, we we're going to make sure you are completely rested, whether it's on the bike or in the in the swimming pool or the recovery sessions and the nutrition. There's so much there's so many layers now to the modern pro that they can get help. Um I I think he's one of them, Yamal, where at any given time you don't even need him on the training ground. You have him indoors and you you make sure he eats well, he recovers and then he's the type of kid to me where I think he can play 90 minutes nearly every single week as long as he gets that recovery, not necessarily in game time, but during the week when he can rest. >> Real Madrid will be welcoming to the Bernabo, the team that are four points behind them in the table as you look at how things are going for both sides this season. As for Real Madrid, they've won their last two games back from the international break, but it's not been so convincing. And we're going to welcome in Gabriella Marotti now to talk more about Real Madrid. Don Hutcherson still with us. Gab, you've followed Mourinho for a long time. How long do you think this is going to continue to work Mourinho and Real Madrid as a partnership this time around? >> I mean, look, uh, we we've been here uh in in similar situations. I'm thinking back to to when he was at Roma where he was in the situation where um the team weren't necessarily playing well in La Liga. They weren't playing particularly well in Europe, but they were advancing and would end up winning. Uh they won the conference league one year, of course, reaches the uh uh Europa League final. Uh the following year, um a lot of the fans were with him because he was able to galvanize them and the club ownership loved having a full stadium. So I think a lot of this is going to depend on his relationship with with Florentino obviously um but also at what point does this start real do the results not come in Europe um they haven't had performances if you will in the Champions League against Inter Roma but guess what uh they had two incredible comeback wins so um I I think this is could go on this could actually go on a while frankly >> now obviously that's the drama on the field with Jose Mourinho however for Real Madrid and Javier Tebas. There seems to be more drama off the field once again. Gab, what's going on? >> Yeah, so um Tebas, who you know kind of never waste an opportunity to troll a little bit and and weigh in. He was uh reacting to uh an an article that appeared in online publication debate which you know kind of took a very pro- Real Madrid um look at at some of the officiating some of the same themes that we've had from uh from Real Madrid TV. Um basically questioning the officiating in La Liga and whatnot. Also questioning um the Negra case and um you know why uh the Spanish FA hadn't looked into it. The reason is of course um that uh they couldn't inquire because um it was beyond the statute of limitations. Uh although the UEFA inquiry is still ongoing as is uh the one the the the the criminal or or the civil inquiry in the Spanish courts. Um but anyway he reacted to this by saying oh you know this is kind of an example of the tactics that we see uh from Real Madrid and from Real Madrid TV and some commentators out there. uh tactics that are reminiscent of of Ysef Gobles. Uh for those who don't know, Yseph Gobles was the propagandist uh for uh for Hitler and for the German government. Um you know, during the during the Nazi era, Debbas did go out of his way to say, "Of course, I'm not saying Real Madrid's methods are, you know, like those of Nazis or the Real Madrid fans." Um, but basic rule number one, it's really never a good idea to compare somebody uh to uh to the Nazis or Nazi methods unless you're really willing to go all the way and they give you very good reason. Uh, Real Madrid fired back, asked for his resignation. Um, and you know, we've been here before. We know there's they're at loggerheads. You do wonder though about Tabas's judgment. You could have made the same point. um in many different ways without bringing up Yseph Gobles. >> Yes. So to that point, Gab, will we expect to see any type of punishment? >> I mean, Debbas isn't going to punish himself, right? There's there's a there's an early report uh a which is the uh national news agency in Spain reporting that um essentially uh the acronym is CSD. is it's sort of the um and sort of a cross between the the Spanish Olympic Committee and the Spanish Ministry for Sport. They're evaluating whether they should open an investigation in this if they could somehow censure uh Tabas. I don't think they have the power to uh uh to dismiss him. Of course, he's the head of the Liga. He's also the vice president of the Spanish FA. Um as far as being head of La Liga, that is an elected position and he won that in a landslide. I think he got every single vote from the first and second division clubs bar one. no prizes for guessing who did not vote for him. Uh, Spanish FA may be a different matter. Um, but but it's a it's a thorny question. Um, and you know, if they just sort of censure him uh and ask him for clarification, apology, you know, Tebas is going to stay is going to stay exactly where he is. All this is just it just ramps up the pressure I think even further in La Liga and the Emity between the guy who runs the league and um the league's biggest club. >> Yeah, no doubt. And as for Real Madrid, their appeal for Vinnie Junior's 4-ame ban has been rejected against Sevilla and the next three, including Eláico. All of these games this weekend available as always on the ESPN app. Real Madrid against Sevilla is also available on ABC. Lots of the newspapers surrounding Manchester United right now. A sorry State clown show and Martinez sorry for his rant. Well, Michael Carrick has addressed the Landro Martinez situation in the pre-match presser ahead of the leads game, saying that there is no dressing room divide. >> Um, yeah, it's done really. Um, moved on from that. It's kind of um it was one of those things. I think um each has come out and and acknowledged the situation and um as a group we've moved on. It's um it's really not a drama for for us as a group. I think the boys have trained really well as this morning. There was a really good feeling around the the squad. Um, a really good feeling. I have to say they they were in really good spirits and and trained really well. So, uh, we've moved on pretty quickly. >> Trained really well today and take you at face value on that. But how >> I'm telling you the truth, >> but how how do you >> do not believe me? Well, how when Landro comes out with something like that, how can people believe that there is unity in the squad when what he said was so damaging? He didn't apologize for what he actually said. He said it he apologized for how it came out. There's a lot of fans, a lot of people within the game, not just supporters, but exos that are in agreement with what he said. So, how when you're saying the things that you're saying? >> A lot of people that say a lot of things in experienc but why should people believe you when there is so much >> the player the player the players totally believe me. Um I've said you know it just because people talk from the outside that doesn't mean that's the truth. I'm telling you the truth. The the squad today was in a fantastic place better than I've seen it for a while actually. Don Hutcherson back with us to talk more about this. Let's get to this situation and what Carrick had to say there, Don, in that press conference. He's denying that there's any problems. Journalists putting it to him that looks like there might be. Where are you on it? >> I've got to say, I watched the whole interview that Michael done and I thought he was very, very impressive. He he he tried to squash it as quickly as possible, which is what you do when you're in house and you and you want to just get rid of that question as quick as possible. The journalists had a every right to ask the question because it was pretty big news. But I think Michael was saying even the meeting didn't take that long between the hierarchy, Michael and Landra Martinez. It was there's two ways to look at this from from what he said. I don't know Landra Martinez at all, so I'm not judging his character, but there's one or two things you can look at it. either he's really emotional and he was really upset and everything just came out after a game or he knew exactly what he was saying to Angle for I which I I think is the real reason why he done it. >> So that's how you look at it. >> What do you What do you think? >> I think so. K. >> I think he knows exactly what he's doing. I think he's an intelligent guy who missed out on his move in the summer. I think he was hoping for a move to Spain or Atletico Madrid, I think, was his was his favorite destination. That didn't come off. He's got one year left on his contract. I think he probably believes that he served his time and he's being a good pro. Um, but he doesn't see the club going anywhere. So, I think it's a bit of a bit of a chess move from his point of view that he's just sewing that seed to say, "Well, I've only got a year left. I might cause a little bit of trouble. I'll apologize after because it's not a thing you should say." Um, but it would not stun me whatsoever if we get to this point either in January or in the summer and he has been moved on. You know, in terms of Lando Martinez, I mean, we we spoke about it yesterday, but I have to say, listening to Michael Carrick, what is he talking about? The players, in fact, actually, I've noticed they're in a really good place. >> So, you don't agree with John that he that he said what he had to say here and handled this pretty well? At least >> obviously, he's tried to downplay it, but you can't come out and say the players are in a fantastic place. They've just they've lost they've lost three of the last five and they've drawn two of the last five and both of them are against the two teams that are bottom of the league at Old Trafford. So how can you possibly turn round and try and tell anybody that the players are in a fantastic place? How can Manchester United as a club sitting in 13th position having lost three and drawn two of the last five and as I said against the two bottom clubs in the league Fulham and Spurs and they're in a fantastic place. How does that make one ounce of sense for Manchester United? If it was Fulham or if it was Ipsswich then we'd be like you know what yeah 13th. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. It's Manchester United. I'm sorry. Well, I that makes no sense. What he said is absolutely ridiculous in my head. >> What should he have said? Because you were saying on the show this week that you think that he would deal with this. He needs Landro Martinez. He'd say, "Why did you say that? Let's get this out the way. Let's move on." What should he have said given that you were kind of partly on his side in that situation that he's probably going to be able to deal with this, >> right? But but then everything he everything he said, he's trying to