Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praises ‘special atmosphere’ at club ahead of El Clasico
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick celebrated the “special atmosphere” at the club going into Sunday’s Clásico in opposition to a real Madrid facet whose preparation for the sport has been overshadowed by in-fighting.
Barça will clinch the LaLiga title with three video games to spare at Spotify Camp Nou this weekend in the event that they keep away from defeat to Madrid.
However, the main focus ahead of the Clásico has been on the explosive coaching floor bust-up between Madrid gamers Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni fairly than Barça being on the brink of back-to-back league championships.
It contrasts with the local weather at Barça, with Flick lauding the bond between his squad as one of the important thing causes for his or her success this season.
“The atmosphere, the connection between the players is something really special,” the German coach mentioned in a information convention on Saturday.
“We have players with a lot of quality, world class players. The connection between everyone is amazing — [especially between] the academy players because they have known each other many years.
“Winning a second title with this younger crew could be unbelievable. The gamers have carried out a improbable job and now we need to win the title, the second in a row, which is superb — and never regular right here in Spain“
Pressed repeatedly on the fallout in Madrid this week, Flick admitted he was surprised by events in the Spanish capital.
Valverde and Tchouaméni were both fined €500,000 ($589,000) by their club after getting into an altercation at the training ground on Thursday which led to the Uruguayan midfielder being taken to hospital.
He was later diagnosed with a concussion and ruled out of Sunday’s game, but Tchouaméni is expected to be involved.
“Was I stunned? Maybe a bit of bit,” Flick added.
“These issues occur in soccer, in life. I will not say it is regular, however it might probably occur and you need to handle it, you need to communicate. It’s higher to speak.
“I don’t want to speak about Madrid, it’s not my job. It’s always about the team, the ‘we,’ not the ‘me,’ it’s not about the ego, it’s always about the team.
“But for them it is also a Clásico this weekend. They will nonetheless be 100% centered, they need to win additionally. This is why the Clásico is so vital for everybody — for Real and for Barça.”
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Barça have never mathematically clinched the title in a game against Madrid previously. In fact, it has only happened once before in the history of the fixture, when a 2-2 draw in 1932 led to Los Blancos winning the first of their 36 league trophies.
Flick has the luxury of a nearly fully fit squad as Barça go in pursuit of their 29th title on Sunday, with Lamine Yamal the one particular absentee and Andreas Christensen nonetheless a significant doubt.
However, each Raphinha and Marc Bernal are in rivalry to begin after returning to the squad for final week’s 2-1 victory over Osasunawhich took Barça’s successful steak in LaLiga to 10 matches.
“It won’t be simple to select 11 gamers tomorrow,” Flick said. “We have practically everybody again. Everyone provides an incredible stage.
“We want to play our game and not focus about other things. It’s clear what we have to do and we want to show it. We are in this situation because we played a fantastic season as a team.”