Barcelona Basel Friendly Confirmed for August 16
The Barcelona Basel friendly is on. The Blaugrana confirmed on Saturday, as reported by Barça Blaugranes, that Hansi Flick’s side will travel to St. Jakob-Park to face FC Basel on Sunday, 16 August — one last hit-out before the club’s traditional home curtain-raiser.
The trip to Switzerland lands three days before the Joan Gamper Trophy against Al-Ahly on 19 August, and it caps a busy summer that has already taken in a draw at Birmingham City and the triangular in Udine, where Barça beat Nottingham Forest before losing 1-0 to the hosts.
Basel finished fifth in the Swiss Super League last season, and the venue carries history for Culés: it is where Barça won the 1979 European Cup Winners’ Cup final against Fortuna Düsseldorf, and the sides last met in the 2008-09 Champions League group stage.
“It’s an unusual preseason. We won’t be at 100% until after the international break.”
Hansi Flick, via Mundo Deportivo
What the Barcelona Basel friendly means for Flick
Flick’s full first-team squad will be available for the Barcelona Basel clash, with the World Cup contingent due back in training on Wednesday, though how many feature in Switzerland remains to be seen. After a low-key run of results in Italy, the Basel test offers one more chance to sharpen up before the Gamper and the start of the LaLiga title defence.
