Hansi Flick wants his Barcelona players to “enjoy themselves” in Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Inter Milan at San Siro with a spot in the European Cup Final on the line.
After a wild 3-3 draw last week in Catalonia the tie is wide open heading into the return match, and Barça have a golden chance to make their first trip to the Champions League title match in 10 long years.
Hansi Flick was asked in a press conference on Monday what his message to the team will be, and the coach urged his players to forget about the pressure, enjoy the occasion and play their brand of football in Italy.
“It’s what I’ve said before. They have to enjoy tomorrow’s game. Playing at this level, in a Champions League semi-final against Inter, is great. I don’t want to put pressure on my players; they have to enjoy themselves. I want them to be well connected, to complement each other well, and to play with a fantastic style.”
This is the same message Johan Cruyff gave to his teams as Barça coach back in the day, and it always worked wonders. Hopefully the players can listen to Hansi as well and try to treat this like any other game if they are able to. I know every Barça fan will be an emotional wreck and will be anxious leading to and throughout the game, but the players must find a way to block out the noise and just play a football match.
