After an impressive start as FC Barcelona’s manager, Hansi Flick is ready for his first El Clásico as Real Madrid hosts Barcelona at Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow night. #ElClasico
Barcelona approaches the match in high spirits after winning 4-1 against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League this week. They currently lead Real Madrid by three points in La Liga. A victory tomorrow will strengthen their position at the top.
Before the game, Barça manager Hansi Flick spoke to the media during his pre-match press conference. He discussed his tactics and strategy for this exciting clash at the Bernabeu.
Starting off, Flick mentioned he isn’t focused on this being his first El Clásico and is concentrating on preparing the team well.
“To be honest, I don’t think too much about it, what matters is to prepare the team well, I can see that we are looking forward to tomorrow’s game. It will be a great game,” the Barcelona boss said.
Flick’s Barcelona generally uses a high defensive line this season, which Real Madrid’s quick forwards, like Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr., will test. When discussing his approach to this challenge, Flick commented:
“We have different ideas in our approach. Against Bayern we realised that we had to improve certain things. In this case we will have to adapt to Madrid. There are always players who go very fast.
“Now we are playing Madrid, who are a very prepared team but I trust my team because they are doing great. I liked to see how we went up after the 1-1 draw against Bayern.
“That’s the example of what we are doing well, with more possession and more confidence. That’s the key, to keep moving forward and adapting to different situations.”
When asked if having one less day of rest than Real Madrid affects his team, the German head coach responded: #ElClasico
“At the end of the day, this can’t be changed. They played on Tuesday and we played on Wednesday. Everyone does their own thing. The players will know how to adapt.”
The Importance of Fair Officiating in El Clásico
Additionally, Flick acknowledges the impact of referees on the game. He believes that fair officiating is crucial for both teams during El Clásico. Consequently, he has encouraged his players to maintain composure regardless of the referees’ decisions.
