- Title: Enrique focused ahead of La Liga decider with Granada
- Date: 13th May 2016
- Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (MAY 13, 2016) (REUTERS) BARCELONA PLAYERS TRAINING FORWARD LIONEL MESSI ARRIVING FOR TRAINING FORWARD LUIS SUAREZ ARRIVING FOR TRAINING FORWARD NEYMAR ARRIVING FOR TRAINING MESSI, SUAREZ AND DEFENDER GERARD PIQUE ON FIELD GOALKEEPER MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN TRAINING SUAREZ DURING TRAINING MESSI DURING TRAINING WIDE OF FIELD BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, ARRIVING FOR NEWS CONFERENCE CLOSE OF ENRIQUE WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, ON GAME WITH GRANADA, SAYING: "A difficult game because of the tension of arriving to the last day in order to decide the championship. We know it depends on us and we have to set out like we set out for the previous 37. Focusing on things that I think will be important on the field, the phases of the game that we would like to dominate, getting ahead in the score would be a great advantage of course, but in football you never know what will be decisive, no matter what happens in the first minutes, getting ahead might not be key. By this I mean that it will be difficult but our hopes are very high. We really want to conquer another Liga title and to play a good game." PLAYERS DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, ON THE SEASON, SAYING: "I had good feelings, throughout the season. This doesn't mean that at some stages we could've played worse or that we may not have been at the (best) level. It's part of a football season. I think that the team several weeks ago went back to the level we are used to and that's all. I'm going to say the same thing I always say: we have to do our homework with Granada, we must be better than our rival, we must generate lots of opportunities for goals, we must let them generate few in order for everything to get closer to what we want: three points." NEYMAR DURING TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, ON DISCONNECTING FROM FOOBTALL, SAYING: "It's not easy to disconnect because it's practically impossible. Because a coach, once the season is over, will not be thinking… well of vacations of course, we won't see each other for a while - as we said before - but there's another season to plan, and it takes months to plan it and we're always thinking of how to strengthen the team, always thinking about these sorts of things. I mean, as a coach, you get very little rest, even in the summer, with mobile phones, you're always connected even if you're on a beach or wherever you are so… this is the profession and we accept it." ENRIQUE LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE
- Embargoed: 28th May 2016 18:17
- Keywords: Barcelona La Liga Luis Enrique
- Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Soccer,Sport
- Reuters ID: LVA0014HN7G3J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said on Friday (May 13) he trusted his team to handle the occasion of this weekend's season finale at lowly Granada, where a win would guarantee their 24th La Liga title.
Barcelona are top on 88 points, one ahead of Real Madrid who visit mid-table Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday (May 14) hoping to pounce on any slip-up by their rivals and snatch a first title since 2012. Both matches kick off at 1500 GMT.
"A difficult game because of the tension of arriving to the last day in order to decide the championship. We know it depends on us and we have to set out like we set out for the previous 37. Focusing on things that I think will be important on the field, the phases of the game that we would like to dominate, getting ahead in the score would be a great advantage of course, but in football you never know what will be decisive, no matter what happens in the first minutes, getting ahead might not be key. By this I mean that it will be difficult but our hopes are very high. We really want to conquer another Liga title and to play a good game," Enrique told a news conference.
Barca have scored 21 goals in their last four games since ending a winless streak of four that threw their title hopes into doubt, and the coach believes his players have fully banished the demons from that barren run.
"I had good feelings, throughout the season. This doesn't mean that at some stages we could've played worse or that we may not have been at the (best) level. It's part of a football season. I think that the team several weeks ago went back to the level we are used to and that's all," Enrique said, adding "We have to do our homework with Granada, we must be better than our rival, we must generate lots of opportunities for goals, we must let them generate few in order for everything to get closer to what we want: three points." - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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