The FC Barcelona coach, Hansi Flick, has acknowledged that he was “a little” surprised by the fight between Fede Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni at Real Madrid, which they face this Sunday, but he believes that they are “that can happen in football and in life”, and has asked for concentration to face a Clásico in which they have the possibility of winning the second consecutive League, something “that is not normal in Spain”.
“These are things that happen all over the world, it is not something unique to Real Madrid. Did it surprise me? Well, a little yes, but in the end it worries me little because it is not my club, it is not my team and I don’t have to think about it,” he declared at a press conference. “There are things that happen in football and in life too. I wouldn’t tell you that they are normal things, but they can happen. You have to manage them and then you have to talk, because in the end it is better to communicate. That’s how we manage it here,” he added.
In this sense, he explained how he manages conflicts between players. “The most important thing, and it is something that I appreciate and that I see in this club, is that everyone moves in the same direction. When something happens, we talk, and we are on the same wavelength. Everyone has that same style,” he indicated, without wanting to draw a parallel with his phrase ‘ego kills success’ and the white locker room. “I don’t want to talk about Real Madrid or what happened there. It’s not my job. There are other people who can speak out. We have to focus on the team, on us, not on the self. It’s not about the ego, it’s about the team. Everything that is decided has to be positive for the team,” he insisted.
Thus, he stressed that they must focus on their game this Sunday. “We are in this situation because we have played a fantastic season as a team and that is what I also want to see in the Clásico. I know that the tension is high and that everyone wants to see the best. This is the best that Spanish football and LaLiga can offer. Everyone will have their eyes on this game, but it depends on us and what we want to do is play our game, with our style, play as a team, as a unit. I don’t want to focus on other things. It is very clear what we want to do and we must prove it,” he noted.
Even so, the German coach acknowledged that “it is not a normal and ordinary match.” “I know that for everyone it is a very special match, it is also for me, but I wouldn’t tell you that it is the most important match. It is important for the fans, for the club, for the players, also for us as a technical staff. We want to win this title, it would be the second in a row and it would be incredible. It is not normal to do it here in Spain and it is what we want to achieve tomorrow. Nothing more. We focus solely on our performance tomorrow. We are very clear about how we want to play and that is what I want to see,” he stressed.
“Our objective is clear: we want to win this game at home. We play at home, we have a fantastic team, quality players, the fans support us… But for them it is also a Clásico and everyone is going to give one hundred percent, they are going to be focused and want to show it, they want to win, it is normal. This is why the Clásico is so important for everyone, whether you are from Real Madrid or Barça,” he continued. “Winning LaLiga for the second time in a row is very important. But we have not yet reached that goal, we are close. Tomorrow we want to take that last step,” he warned.
Furthermore, he explained that in the last three or four weeks they have played “with a clear style.” “We have things very clear, we play with confidence and we are convinced of what we are doing. We have to do our best for this incredible club and its fans. When we see the games we have played at home, we see the connection that the team has with the stands, and for tomorrow’s game it is very important that everyone, both on the pitch and in the stands, is ready,” he wished.
Regarding the atmosphere in the locker room, he noted that they have “a fantastic relationship.” “La Masia plays a very special role, the players have been playing together since they were 12 or 13 years old, and this connection can be seen. The club, in coming years, has to follow that same style, that same philosophy, developing young talent. I will not say that there is no conflict in a locker room, everyone makes mistakes, we are all human. But you have to know how to react after situations that may arise. I am very happy with my team, I can always talk to them, I always try to listen to them to find out what what they think, what they think. Communication is very good and that is very important for this job,” he explained.
In this sense, he emphasized the connection between the La Masia players and those from outside. “We have very high-quality players, world-class players in the team who are not from La Masia. The connection between all the players is fantastic, incredible. The La Masia players are special, because they have known each other for many years, but the environment that is lived and breathed, the connection between players, is something very special. Winning a second consecutive League title would be incredible with such a young team,” he noted.
“They have done a fantastic job. These players have always trained well to improve day after day and that is part of our philosophy, our mentality, our attitude. Every day they show us that they can improve. Tomorrow will not be easy, it will not be easy to choose the starting eleven because almost everyone is available and everyone is at an enormous level. There are times that some players are a little disappointed because they do not play the minutes they would like to play during the last month, but what I see is that everyone is focused. They are all being great professionals, “I appreciate it very much,” he continued.
In another vein, he assured that Frenchman Kylian Mbappé “is one of the best players in the world.” “He brings tremendous quality in any situation. He is an unbalanced player, very dangerous, and inside the area he is incredible, against the goalkeeper he is the best with the quality he has there,” he analyzed.
Finally, Flick did not want to answer the question of whether Juanito, whom Álvaro Arbeloa gave as an example this Saturday, is the player who best represents the values of Real Madrid. “I’m not going to answer that question. I’m sorry, I don’t know. I wouldn’t know what to say to that question,” he concluded.