The FC Barcelona manager speaks to the press the day before his team faces Real Madrid in the first Clásico of 2016
With Luis Enrique speaking just over 24 hours before the Clásico at home to Real Madrid, it was no surprise that the pressroom at the Ciutat Esportiva was even busier than ever on Friday evening. Here’s a selection of quotes from the FC Barcelona manager ahead of the Saturday 8.30pm CET kick-off:
The tridents
“They are the ones responsible for making the difference. But more than a game between tridents, this is a game between teams. We need good assists, we need help creating pressure. We need to be compact and complete and for each of the players to find their best form.”
Johan Cruyff
“What Johan Cruyff would like, more than tributes, is for us to win the game because we deserve to, by playing good, spectacular football.”
“The idea of 4-3-3 or 3-4-3 has been at Barça for a long time. It’s something that has become a part of the club and I hope it stays that way for a long time.”
“Our idea of football is all about putting on a show. Not just winning, but winning with style. That’s why we sign a certain kind of player. We look for individual flair through command of the ball and a clear idea of how to play. There have been different managers over the years, all with different approaches to the same method. It’s not easy to do. Other teams have tried it, but you need to stay faithful to the idea, even when the results aren’t going so well.”
Fitness and motivation
“We’re going into the game in great form. The game needs everyone to be at 100%, and apart from Jérémy (Mathieu), all the other players have come back from international duty in perfect condition and thinking about tomorrow’s game.”
“Games like these generate so much energy in the players that I have absolutely no concern about the number of miles they might have travelled this week.”
Two form teams
“From what we can tell from Real Madrid’s last few games, they have different options. They might try to put pressure on us in our half, we’ll find out tomorrow. But we won’t change our way of playing. We’ll try to control the ball. There is only one ball and we’ll try to make it ours. And try to stop them from showing their qualities, because they have no shortage of those.”
“The Barça players have shown time and time again how competitive their spirit is. They need to be fully charged for this, but not too much. They need to keep themselves under control. We are playing to hold onto our lead in the league. It doesn’t matter how many points behind Real Madrid might be, we are still two of the best teams on the planet. This will be a difficult game for both teams.”
The Ciutat Esportiva was exceptionally busy for the Friday conference / MIGUEL RUIZ-FCB