Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique looks forward to Manchester City clash in Champions League

Record ID: 89418

  • Title: Barcelona Coach Luis Enrique looks forward to Manchester City clash in Champions League
  • Date: 27th August 2016
  • Summary: BARCELONA, SPAIN (AUGUST 27, 2016) (REUTERS) PLAYERS ON THE TRAINING PITCH VARIOUS OF BARCELONA FORWARDS LUIS SUAREZ AND LIONEL MESSI ON THE TRAINING PITCH VARIOUS OF PLAYERS ON THE TRAINING PITCH GOALKEEPER MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN TRAINING VARIOUS OF PLAYERS ON THE TRAINING PITCH GOALKEEPER MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN TRAINING VARIOUS OF PLAYERS ON THE TRAINING PITCH BARCELONA HEAD COACH LUIS ENRIQUE ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM LUIS ENRIQUE DRINKING WATER JOURNALISTS AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, SAYING: "Manchester City's one of the favourites for the title with the fascination generated by Pep Guardiola and and the arrival of Bravo. I like it that it's City because that way Bravo can also bid farewell properly when everything is clear and the fans will be able to thank him for his affection." PLAYERS TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, SAYING: "I would like to highlight and tell all the Barca fans that there is an excellent relationship amongst the three goalkeepers who are professionals, demanding and always competitive, with perfect behaviour I would say. You may hear lots of things and the rumours suggest worse but I am here to tell you the contrary." TER STEGEN SEATED ON A TROLLEY WITH TEAM MATES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) BARCELONA COACH, LUIS ENRIQUE, SAYING: "It's a very elaborate team, I love Athletic, I love what I see when they are competing, there's never been an easy game against them and it will never be easy at least not for now. The players are conscious about the difficulty of facing them." LUIS ENRIQUE LEAVING NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM
  • Embargoed: 11th September 2016 14:06
  • Keywords: Barcelona Lionel Messi
  • Location: BARCELONA, SPAIN
  • City: BARCELONA, SPAIN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA0014WWHLQ7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Preparing for their La Liga game on Sunday (August 28) against Athletico Bilbao, Barcelona's head coach Luis Enrique was asked first on Saturday (August 27) about the Champions League draw, which has pitted Barcelona against Manchester City.
    Manchester City's new manager is Pep Guardiola, former Barcelona coach, and their match at Camp Nou on October 19 will excite both sets of fans. There may be an added attraction as Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has just signed for City, and the match could see him return to play against his old club.
    "Manchester City's one of the favourites for the title with the fascination generated by Pep Guardiola and and the arrival of Bravo," said Enrique. "I like it that it's City because that way Bravo can also bid farewell properly when everything is clear and the fans will be able to thank him for his affection."
    Barcelona and City are in Group C of the Champions League and will also play Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic.
    Some media reported there had been a bad relationship between Bravo and German keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen when they were competing to start for Barcelona, but Enrique said there had been no such problem between the club's three goalkeepers.
    Barcelona will attempt to give Luis Enrique his 100th victory in his 125th game in charge of the team when they play at Athletic Bilbao in la Liga on Sunday.
    "I love Athletic," he said. "I love what I see when they are competing, there's never been an easy game against them and it will never be easy at least not for now. Our players are conscious about the difficulty of facing them."
    Lionel Messi, set to captain the team for the second week in a row with Andres Iniesta sidelined due to a knee injury, will be making his 350th league appearance.
    Marc-Andre ter Stegen has recovered from a knee problem and is expected to start in goal, while Javier Mascherano has recovered from a hamstring injury that made him miss the opening league game at Camp Nou against Betis.
    New Dutch keeper Jasper Cillessen is ruled out in Bilbao due to pending paperwork, Barca said on Friday (August 26). Jeremy Mathieu and Andres Iniesta are still out injured and will miss the game on Sunday.
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