Barcelona fear the curse: Ancelotti threatens the best version of Raphinha
Brazil's Raphinha has been one of Barcelona's most prominent weapons this season, following his unprecedented goalscoring explosion.
Hansi Flick has succeeded in deploying Raphinha through the middle as a centre-forward, plugging the gap left by the exits of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.
The plan has worked. Raphinha has turned into a relentless goal machine, scoring 14 goals in his first 8 matches this season across all competitions, with a total of 626 minutes played.
Twelve goals put him top of the La Liga scoring charts, and he added two more in Barcelona's 5-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League.
Sport newspaper report that Raphinha faces a 34,000-kilometre trek from next Monday to play two friendlies with Brazil in Australia and a third in India. On his last two call-ups with the national team, he came back injured.
Right now the Brazilian is enjoying an exceptional spell in front of goal. He has never shone this powerfully before. Flick's ideas have made him a complete forward, having spotted the spirit, quality, finishing ability and passion needed to play as an out-and-out striker.
Fear of the international break curse
Everything is going as happily as possible for Raphinha, but there are clouds on the horizon. The season's first international break has turned into a real threat to the Brazilian winger, and by extension to a Barcelona side enjoying an exceptional campaign.
Carlo Ancelotti poses the biggest danger to Raphinha's triumphant run. The player faces one of the most exhausting trips of his career to take part in three friendlies with Brazil, all of very limited sporting value.
Brazil play two friendlies against Australia, on 25 and 29 September, before facing India on 3 October.
Sport noted: "It is an exhausting trip that causes enormous physical strain, unnecessary and dispensable. The Barcelona player will have to cover 34,000 kilometres by air, which is roughly the equivalent of circling the globe once."
The football itself offers Raphinha nothing. Australia crashed out of the 2026 World Cup in the round of 32 to Egypt, while India languish 138th in the FIFA rankings.
Serious past incidents involving Raphinha
Raphinha's last two Brazil call-ups have ended the same way: with an injury.
The first came during March's international break, when Ancelotti named him for a short tour of the United States featuring friendlies against France and Croatia. Raphinha broke down in the first half against France in Boston.
A tear in the biceps femoris muscle of his right thigh kept him off the pitch for five weeks.
Barcelona paid the price. Fresh off a physically brutal few months, the Brazilian missed the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against Atletico Madrid and the Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid too. Barcelona crashed out of both.
Losing their winger at the decisive stage of the season hit Hansi Flick's side hard, though they still went on to lift the La Liga title.
Ancelotti then called Raphinha up again for his second World Cup with Brazil. In the second group game, against Haiti, the pain returned and he limped off in the 38th minute. Tests confirmed a muscle injury in the back of his right thigh.
Intensive treatment followed, but he never made it back onto the pitch before Norway dumped Brazil out of the tournament.
