Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique insists his thoughts are on Saturday’s game against Eibar, not the Clasico against Real Madrid a week later.
It will be the first time Enrique has taken a Barca team to Santiago Bernabeu and will feature the return to action of Luis Suarez, but Enrique told a Press conference that the most immediate opponents demand his focus.
“I just worry about the next game, Eibar and their potential,” he said, AS reports.
“They are doing well and the problems they can cause are the only things that worry me.
“I consider everything when naming a team. I know there are a lot of games to come. I know there is travel, fitness and what I see in training. I try to take everything into account.”
Enrique also denied that Lionel Messi’s proximity to the Primera goal scoring record held by Telmo Zarra was a distraction.
“I don’t perceive that at all, neither a distraction or a relaxation. The players are used to this,” he argued.
“From what I see in training, they’re not relaxed. They give me confidence. We’ve trained together for two days, which is a lot when we play every other day.”
Enrique has the likes of Messi, Pedro Rodriguez, Neymar and Munir El Haddadi to choose from when naming his three forwards, with Suarez’s return only complicating matters further.
But he insisted every Coach would want such a selection dilemma, and gave an update on the fitness of Pedro, among others.
“Pedro has trained well, with the usual intensity. He’ll start tomorrow,” Enrique revealed.
“It’s a blessed problem to have, an ideal one for any Coach. Competition makes everyone do well. It’s fantastic.
“Thomas Vermaelen is doing better. He’s trained for a week at the same level as the others. His fitness needs to improve. But he has a proven level and he can help us.”
Gerard Pique made the news this week for an incident with the police for which the defender has apologised.
Enrique wants the situation to be at an end but doesn’t believe Pique has been bothered by the attention.
“It’s a personal issue and I don’t think about personal issues of players,” the Coach continued.
“He’s apologised to me for it and that’s enough. If someone is used to being in the spotlight, it’s Gerard Pique.”
On the subject of the evening’s visit of Eibar, Enrique said he hopes the Basques take the game to his side.
“They’re not a team who close up and have had good results away from home,” he added.
“I expect them to push high up the pitch, defend well and be good on the counter-attack.
“They have three players who were here with us. They’re bold and courageous. Camp Nou can change things but I expect interesting things from Eibar’s attack.”
