The Catalan sun blazed relentlessly over Barcelona's Ciutat Esportiva training complex, turning the pitches into furnaces of sweat and steel.
Yet Hansi Flick refused to ease up. If anything, the sessions grew more brutal as opening matchday approached.
This wasn't just preseason conditioning, it was forging warriors for war.
This was no ordinary league, this was the premier competition of Spain, the Spanish La Liga, where the best players in the world compete to win.
For his team to replicate the success of last season and go all the way, pursuing greatness, Hansi Flick knew that he could not take it easy.
It was not a walk down the park. Rather, it was a grind.
"Press higher!" Flick barked, voice cutting through the humid air like a whip crack. "If one man rests, the whole system dies!"
On the pitch, Sam and the squad thundered through a relentless 11 vs 11 pressing drill. Every mistake triggered extra sprints. Every late press earned a sharp rebuke, no mercies from the coach.
Pedri, gasping for breath, battled to maintain his rhythm in tight spaces under suffocating pressure.
It was hard, tiring… his lungs screamed for reprieve, and yet, he thrived.
Gavi, ever feral, lunged into challenges with no mercy, bleeding intensity into the drill. Hansi Flick loved the boy.
Lamine Yamal, having just completed his 19th birthday, held his own against seasoned defenders, his dribbling still electric even after an hour of nonstop pressing.
Alejandro Balde bombed up and down the flank until his legs trembled, still firing crosses into the box with deadly precision.
And at the heart of it all was Sam Moses, leading the press like a conductor of chaos, his voice hoarse from barking instructions. He was not the captain. Did it even matter in the training ground?
And yet, Sam barked instructions nonetheless whenever he spotted a mistake or a misaligned positioning. He had the stamina for it.
Hansi Flick's system demanded more than just talent. It demanded lungs made of fire, minds like blades, and legs that never surrendered.
Next came was the high line drill, the riskiest, deadliest weapon in Flick's arsenal through which they butchered clubs last season.
Kounde and Araujo pushed up almost to midfield, Pau Cubarsi and Balde squeezing the defensive line like a vice. De Jong and Pedri were tasked with immediate counter pressing.
Every second, Hansi Flick screamed.
"Synchronize!"
"Step up together!"
"Trap them!"
Mistimed steps meant instant punishment; a defensive unit running the length of the pitch and back while the attackers rotated in.
When Vinicius and Bellingham's taunts about the "fraudulent high line" were replayed on a big screen during water breaks, Hansi Flick pointed at it and roared:
"They think we're a fraud? Prove them wrong!"
"Make this line f*cking unbreakable!"
It was stakes and hope all in one for the FC Barcelona squad.
The training ground vibrated with intensity, but beyond its fences, the world buzzed like an oncoming storm.
Media outlets from Madrid to Manchester debated endlessly: Could Barcelona defend their legendary quadruple? Could Sam Moses repeat his godlike season?
Social media burned with countdowns to opening day, clips of preseason highlights, and heated comparisons between Sam and Madrid's still new but adapted weapon, Mbappe.
Fans flooded the gates daily just to glimpse their heroes sweating under Flick's ruthless regimen.
Amid all the heat and hype of the new season, Sam missed his birthday celebration, August 6th but Kayla was not having it. She stressed that they would have a proper birthday celebration when his schedule finally allowed it.
Inside the locker room at the stadium, Sam addressed his teammates before their final session.
"They've called us frauds. Said we can't do it again. Said I'm just a one season wonder. But you know what?"
He looked each teammate in the eye, fire crackling in his voice.
"They're scared. That's why they talk. Now we make them silent. Not for a week, not for a month, but the f*cking entire season".
And then, the new season fixtures were revealed.
As the sim dipped and the final whistle blew, the squad collapsed in exhaustion, drenched in sweat yet sharpened like forged blades.
Hansi Flick gathered them in a huddle, showing them the opening fixtures.
[La Liga Opening Weekend – August 15th, 2026]
(Matchday 1:)
(FC Barcelona vs Real Betis)
…
(Real Madrid vs Sevilla)
Both home games for the giants, both played at the two legendary stadiums, the Spotify Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabeu respectively.
Hansi Flick's voice lowered to a growl.
"This season isn't just football. It's war for legacy. Madrid thinks they're ready. The world thinks we'll fall. But starting next week…"
He glanced at Sam, who nodded silently, every muscle humming with anticipation.
"…we show them the Football God hasn't even reached his peak".
"We show them what FC Barcelona is made of".
"Visca Barca!" He called.
"VISCA BARCA!" His players responded with exuberant energy.
As the team broke their huddle, storm clouds gathered over Barcelona. The season loomed like a colossus, ready to test giants and crush pretenders.
And somewhere in Madrid, Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham's smirks faded as they watched the footage of Barca's final training session.
They knew it was not going to be easy.
But they've said the words, and now, they had to dog the fight.
The battle lines were drawn.
The final day leading to the first matchday of the new season went in a blur for Sam. In the morning, he joined his friends like usual; Pedri, Gavi, Lamine Yamal, and Alejandro Balde as they continued their ritual of jogging through the streets of FC Barcelona.
They visited the gym and worked till their muscles burned.
Then…
DING!
~----~
[You have completed System Daily Quest: Mentality Monster!]
[You have been rewarded with a low-grade physical conditioning elixir!]
~----~
Bidding farewell to his friends, Sam went home and spent the whole day indoors, relaxing and enjoying the day with his wife, making sure that physically and mentally, he was fully prepared and at his peak for tomorrow.
The night passed in a jiffy.
And then… D-day was here.