True to his habit, Jules Koundé shared a curious message on Instagram stories with an indirect dedication to Hansi Flick. The full-back of FC Barcelona joked about punctuality, one of the strictest rules of the German coach.
"People who are late tend to live longer and be more successful", says the image reposted by the Barça full-back. The phrase popularized by the American actor and comedian Steve Harvey gave rise to the morning greeting by the '23' of Barça.
"Good morning! Great news 😂", added the French international. In the 24/25 season, Jules was punished in three League matches by Flick (Alavés, Espanyol and Rayo) for being late to the technical talks.
Koundé and the squad are clear: delays are costly at Flick's Barça
Fearing new infractions, Koundé even asked the Barça security personnel to warn him a quarter of an hour before each technical talk to arrive on time for the coach's call.
Beyond Hansi Flick's excellent relationship with the Barça squad, the coach considers punctuality as an undisputed rule and, therefore, any violation of this premise is considered disrespectful.
"If you arrive five minutes late, they have to wait for you and it's a lack of respect", commented the German coach at the time. In addition to Koundé, Iñaki Peña also suffered the consequences of a delay during the second half of the season.
Luckily for the Parisian, the squad did not have another right-back with sufficient quality to take away his starting place. The Alicante goalkeeper did not have the same luck, being relegated to the bench by Wojciech Szczesny once the Pole regained competitive rhythm after coming out of retirement in October.
Jules Koundé, ready to return with Barça in the pre-season
The truth is that, looking ahead to next season, Jules Koundé is ready to reappear with FC Barcelona. The Frenchman missed the last month of competition due to a distal injury to the biceps femoris of his left thigh suffered in the first half of the first leg of the Champions League 'semi' against Inter Milan (3-3).
The 26-year-old defender also did not travel with France for the 'final four' of the Nations League, with which he was able to fully recover from his ailments in his leg. In the 24/25 season, the '23' played 53 matches (4,423 minutes) in which he scored 4 goals and provided 8 assists. No other defender of the team participated in more goals than the Frenchman.
Like the rest of the squad, Koundé must report to training on Sunday, July 13. After two weeks of work at the Ciutat Esportiva, Barça will travel to Asia to play three friendlies in South Korea and Japan.