Coach Discusses Player's Fitness Ahead of Match

The coach cut straight to the point on the eve of the game: his star is hurting, but he wants to play.

“He trained separately. He’s fine. He’ll travel. We’ll see,” he said in his pre‑match press conference, outlining a delicate balance between caution and the player’s own determination. “He had pain from a knock and is training separately. But he says he’s fine and could play tomorrow.”

The medical picture is clear enough. The decision is not.

“We have to wait to see if he plays tomorrow. We’ll decide. I don’t know if he’ll rest or not,” the coach admitted. “He wants to play. He doesn’t like to train separately. He’s in very good shape. His mentality and morale are improved. In the last match, he was outstanding.”

That last performance weighs heavily. For this player, rhythm matters.

“For him, playing is better than training. It’s the right thing for him to start so he can recover; I think it was good that he started the first three matches.”

The message is obvious: if the body allows it, he plays.

The coach also widened the lens to the challenge ahead. No complacency. No guarantees.

“It’s football, anything can happen. We have to focus our efforts where they matter. It will be tough. But we want to win. And we know it won’t be easy,” he said, underlining both the ambition and the respect for the opponent.

Behind the concern over one key figure, there is strong conviction about the wider group. Training has only reinforced that belief.

“When I watch training I always think that the quality of the team is very good, how we press, pass and compete. In each rondo you can see that it is the highest level but in the end the important thing is to win the titles in Barcelona. The quality of the squad is top.”

The standard in training is elite. The expectation, as always at Barcelona, is that it ends with trophies.