Barcelona return to Udine after 21 years for experimental three-team pre-season cup

Barcelona will take part in an innovative new three-team international tournament in Italy this summer, marking the club’s first visit to Udine in more than two decades as Hansi Flick steps up preparations for the new season.

The Spanish giants have confirmed they will play in the inaugural Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup, a triangular friendly competition to be staged at Udinese’s Bluenergy Stadium on Saturday 8 August.

The match day will feature a non-traditional format designed to maximise game time for players and give coaches flexibility in pre-season.

Unusual format with 45-minute mini-matches

Unlike standard friendlies, each of the three clubs will face the other two in single halves of 45 minutes rather than full-length matches.

Every fixture that ends level after 45 minutes will go straight to a penalty shootout. Under the tournament rules, the winner of a shootout will receive two points, while the losing side will still collect one point – a scoring system that differs from usual friendly formats and is intended to keep all games competitive.

The Bluenergy Stadium, home of Udinese, has a capacity of around 25,000 and will host all three mini-matches on the same day.

Barcelona say the structure of the competition has been “designed to give participating teams the chance to test as many players as possible during the build-up to the new campaign”.

First trip back to Udine since 2005

The appearance in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup will see Barcelona return to Udine for the first time in almost 21 years.

Their last visit came on 7 December 2005, when the Catalan side faced Udinese in the group stage of the Champions League. That fixture formed part of a European campaign which featured some of the club’s greatest names of the era and remains a reference point for many supporters.

This summer’s outing, however, will be framed as part of a rebuilding phase under new head coach Hansi Flick, rather than a high-stakes European night.

Flick’s pre-season plans take shape

Barcelona have outlined the competition as a key element in Flick’s wider pre-season programme, as the former Bayern Munich and Germany manager looks to imprint his methods on the squad ahead of the 2024-25 season.

The German coach is expected to use the triangular tournament to rotate heavily, trial tactical systems and test different combinations across the pitch against opposition of varying styles.

Club sources have indicated that the priority in Udine will be conditioning and tactical cohesion, with the format allowing multiple players to gain competitive minutes in a condensed timeframe.

The Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup will sit alongside other friendlies and training camps in Barcelona’s summer schedule, as the team aim to arrive at the start of the competitive calendar fully prepared for domestic and European challenges.

Further details on kick-off times, broadcast arrangements and the identity of the third participating club are expected to be confirmed closer to the date of the tournament.