Barcelona eye emotional win
April 02, 2016, Madrid, AFP
Catalans host arch-rivals Real
Barcelona will honour legendary former player and coach Johan Cruyff as they look to inflict more misery upon eternal rivals Real Madrid in the Clasico on Saturday.
The most watched game in world football is Barca’s first since Cruyff passed away at the age of 68 after a short battle with cancer last week.
A pre-match display involving over 90,000 fans at the Nou Camp will read “thank you Johan” with the same message carried on the Barca players’ shirts. “In what is a special match, it is without doubt extra motivation for us to try and win the game,” said Barca captain Andres Iniesta.
Indeed, the emotion surrounding the occasion supersedes its importance in the title race in La Liga with Barca 10 points clear of third-placed Madrid with just eight games remaining.
A 4-0 thrashing of Real when the sides last met in November put Barca well on course to retain the title.
However, with Madrid now under new management since Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez in January and with the front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema fit and in scoring form, Iniesta expects a much tougher task on Saturday.
“These games are different, it doesn’t matter how the teams are playing before because we all like to beat your biggest rivals,” added the Spanish international.
Bale in particular will be well-rested as he was given time off by Wales boss Chris Coleman during the two-week international break preceding the game.
However, tiredness could play an important factor with two of Barca’s deadly front three, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, only having arrived back in the Catalan capital on Thursday after playing World Cup qualifiers for Argentina and Uruguay respectively in the past week. Five-time World Player of the Year Messi could also register his 500th career goal having taken his tally to 499 with his 50th goal for Argentina in a 2-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday.
The most watched game in world football is Barca’s first since Cruyff passed away at the age of 68 after a short battle with cancer last week.
A pre-match display involving over 90,000 fans at the Nou Camp will read “thank you Johan” with the same message carried on the Barca players’ shirts. “In what is a special match, it is without doubt extra motivation for us to try and win the game,” said Barca captain Andres Iniesta.
Indeed, the emotion surrounding the occasion supersedes its importance in the title race in La Liga with Barca 10 points clear of third-placed Madrid with just eight games remaining.
A 4-0 thrashing of Real when the sides last met in November put Barca well on course to retain the title.
However, with Madrid now under new management since Zinedine Zidane replaced Rafael Benitez in January and with the front three of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema fit and in scoring form, Iniesta expects a much tougher task on Saturday.
“These games are different, it doesn’t matter how the teams are playing before because we all like to beat your biggest rivals,” added the Spanish international.
Bale in particular will be well-rested as he was given time off by Wales boss Chris Coleman during the two-week international break preceding the game.
However, tiredness could play an important factor with two of Barca’s deadly front three, Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, only having arrived back in the Catalan capital on Thursday after playing World Cup qualifiers for Argentina and Uruguay respectively in the past week. Five-time World Player of the Year Messi could also register his 500th career goal having taken his tally to 499 with his 50th goal for Argentina in a 2-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday.
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