Barcelona coach Hansi Flick celebrated the “special atmosphere” at the club going into Sunday’s Clásico against a Real Madrid side whose preparation for the game has been overshadowed by in-fighting.
Barça will clinch the LaLiga title with three games to spare at Spotify Camp Nou this weekend if they avoid defeat to Madrid.
However, the focus ahead of the Clásico has been on the explosive training ground bust-up between Madrid players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni rather than Barça being on the brink of back-to-back league championships.
It contrasts with the climate at Barça, with Flick lauding the bond between his squad as one of the key reasons for their success this season.
“The atmosphere, the connection between the players is something really special,” the German coach said in a news conference 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 young team would be unbelievable. The players have made a fantastic job and now we want to win the title, the second in a row, which is amazing — and not normal here in Spain.”
Pressed repeatedly on the fallout at 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 surprised? Maybe a little bit,” Flick added.
“These things happen in football, in life. I won’t say it’s normal, but it can happen and you have to manage it, you have to speak. It’s better to communicate.
“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’s also a Clásico this weekend. They will still be 100% focused, they want to win also. This is why the Clásico is so important for everyone — 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 only definite absentee and Andreas Christensen still a major doubt.
However, both Raphinha and Marc Bernal are in contention to start after returning to the squad for last week’s 2-1 victory over Osasuna, which took Barça’s winning steak in LaLiga to 10 matches.
“It will not be easy to pick 11 players tomorrow,” Flick said. “We have nearly everyone back. Everyone gives an amazing level.
“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.”