Sports
Barcelona players having ‘open and honest’ meetings to arrest poor form – Hansi Flick
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said there have been “open and honest” meetings with his players as the Spanish champions attempt to steer their season back on track after back-to-back defeats.
Barça followed up last week’s 4-0 loss to Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal with a 2-1 defeat at Girona in LaLiga on Monday.
As a result, they have been leapfrogged by Real Madrid at the top of the table ahead of Sunday’s game against Levante at Spotify Camp Nou.
“After two defeats, and also not the best performances, it was good to have two days off this week,” Flick said in a news conference on Saturday.
“We have to get back our confidence. It’s normal when you lose, and you play not good, maybe you have some doubts about your performances.
“We spoke very honest, very open, two days ago and again today. This is the key for the next matches. We have to have the hunger to win these games.”
After Monday’s reverse in Girona, Barça’s players were given Tuesday and Wednesday off.
They returned to training on Thursday, when the first team meeting was held, with another discussion taking place before Saturday’s session as Flick sought input from the players about what has gone wrong recently.
“Everyone is convinced about what we are doing,” Flick added when asked if the players still bought into his style of play with an aggressively high line and intense pressing.
“We were very honest and very open, not only me telling them what to do; I wanted to ask them, too. It’s normal. It’s how I manage the team.
“It’s important because we need leaders on the pitch, so it’s important they can say something. I want the players to feel the responsibility about this situation and I think they do it.”
Saturday’s discussion overran by more than an hour, with training starting later than planned and slightly delaying the start time for Flick’s news conference.
“We receive too many chances from the opponents against us, so we spoke about that, what we have to make better, what is necessary to come back on our way,” he said when asked about the delay.
“It was open discussion, very important, but I have to be clear at the end and I was. This is important, to speak about situations. This is what we did. It took a bit longer than normal.”
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Barça will welcome Marcus Rashford and Pedri back from injury against Levante this weekend, while Gavi is also close to a return to action after training with the team this week for the first time since September.
“Rashford is back, Pedri is back and also with Gavi, it’s a huge step to be back with the group,” Flick said. “These are positive things.
“Pedri can play some minutes on Sunday. He’s an important player for us. On the pitch, he’s a different kind of leader because of his quality. .
“[With Gavi it’s] step be step. Hopefully he’s back soon. The physios do a fantastic job with him; it’s great to see him back on this level.”
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Star Kansas freshman Darryn Peterson scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half against Oklahoma State on Wednesday but was limited to just the first three minutes of the second half with a cramping issue that coach Bill Self called concerning.
Peterson removed himself from the No. 8 Jayhawks’ 81-69 win over Oklahoma State shortly after hitting a 3-pointer. He did not return for the final 17:22 of the game.
“It’s a concern,” Self told reporters after the game. “I thought we were past it, but obviously we’re not. It’s certainly a concern.
“You get into the NCAA tournament, you’re playing a team just as good as you and you need to have all your best players available, so to speak. All it takes is for one day like that to derail not only a game, but a season. It’s concerning, but I do think we’re making progress with it.”
Peterson, a guard who is expected to be among the first picks in the NBA draft later this year, has had a stop-start season for the Jayhawks, missing several games due to a hamstring issue while also sitting out due to an ankle injury and illness. He has previously missed or exited games early due to cramping issues.
“One thing about it is [cramping] has happened enough that our guys have learned to play without him, even though that’s not the way we want to play,” Self told reporters. “But that’s certainly something we’re not unaccustomed to right now.”
Against the Cowboys, Peterson made 7 of 12 field goals, including 6 of 10 3-pointers. He had shot 13-for-36 from the field combined in his previous three games.
Tre White scored 16 points, Elmarko Jackson added 14, and Bryson Tiller had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists as Kansas (20-6, 10-3 Big 12) bounced back from a blowout loss at Iowa State on Saturday.
Parsa Fallah scored 21 points and Anthony Roy added 16 for Oklahoma State (16-10, 4-9), which lost its fourth straight game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Bryce Harper will play for Team USA for the first time since 2009 in the World Baseball Classic, and he is very much “looking forward” to the opportunity.
But before the two-time MVP talked about the WBC during a recent appearance on “Bussin’ With The Boys,” Harper and the hosts, former NFL players Taylor Lewan and Will Compton, discussed recent comments by some American Olympians about how it has felt indifferent to represent the Stars and Stripes on the grand scale.
“That’s crazy,” Harper said simply.
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Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies bats in the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park on April 14, 2025, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia Phillies first baseman said that no matter where one may stand politically, it is always the greatest honor to represent the United States.
“Obviously there’s things that are going on in the country that, you know, aren’t good or people don’t believe in or whatever, right? Politics aside, for me, when you’re going and representing your country, you’re representing your country, man. Like, block all that out. It’s sports.
“We want to put something on the TV that is happy and good and just great for everybody to watch, right? So representing your country, there’s nothing greater than representing your country. There’s really nothing at all.”
Bryce Harper of the Philadelphia Phillies celebrates after hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Citizens Bank Park on June 5, 2022, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Freeskier Hunter Hess said he had “mixed emotions” representing the U.S. in Milan, while skier Mikaela Shiffrin said she wanted to represent her own “values,” and it was “tough to reconcile” violence in America while “competing for medals at an Olympic event.”
In an interview with Fox News Digital months before the 2024 Summer Olympics, Noah Lyles said representing the U.S. was “bittersweet” and came with a “heavy heart,” saying Black people in America have “a lot to deal with.”
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper celebrates his two-run home run during the first inning in Game 3 of baseball’s World Series between the Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
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Harper was going to play in the 2023 WBC but was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. This year, he joins a stacked roster alongside Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal and Cal Raleigh.
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