Hansi Flick must be wondering what he has to do to catch a break after signing on as first-team coach at Barcelona.
In the opening five La Liga games, his side will travel to Valencia, Rayo and Girona, whilst hosting Athletic Club and Real Valladolid.
Four of the five are likely to prove to be reasonably difficult matches if recent results are anything to go by, with the Valladolid fixture perhaps being the only ‘banker’ with the greatest respect to La Pucela.
Getting his ideas across during pre-season in order that his players can hit the ground running from week one was going to be a tough ask anyway, but the Copa America, European Championship and Olympic Games have simply added to his woes.