Friday, June 5, 2015

Barca hopeful on Iniesta injury

Luis Enrique is hopeful Andres Iniesta will recover from a calf injury in time to play for Barcelona in the Champions League final.
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The midfielder was taken off in the 55th minute of last weekend’s Copa del Rey victory over Athletic Bilbao and has been forced to miss several training sessions in the build-up to the showpiece clash with Juventus.
However, he was fit to train on Thursday and took part in an open session in front of the media at the Olympiastadion on Friday evening with his manager optimistic he will be ready to try to win his fourth Champions League medal.
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"We will have to see," said Enrique. "He trained perfectly well yesterday and I hope he will train well on Friday too."
Barcelona go into the game with Juventus as clear favourites and the 15,000 Spanish supporters in the stadium will be confident of repeating the treble they won in 2009.
But Enrique insists there will be no complacency from the players as they seek to make history.
He said: "I think there is some euphoria among the fans and we are delighted to see that.
"That has been around for some months. As professionals, the players, myself and the staff want to focus on this match with seriousness and responsibility. We need to play the game well and have a good day to overcome a powerful opponent.
"We hope the things we have done well so far throughout the tournament will be done well again tomorrow."
Star forward Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have scored 90% of Barcelona's goals this season, but Enrique insists Saturday's clash will require a team effort.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference in Berlin, he said: "We are all very aware that these three players are grabbing all the headlines.
"We have the best player of the world in Leo Messi and Neymar and Suarez are magnificent players.
"But to be here today and to have won the two titles in Spain, the players are aware you need a compact block that attacks and defends. We wouldn’t be able to get this far with just three strikers and without defenders.
"The fact we are here looking for a hat-trick of titles shows all the players are very important."
Enrique also expressed his desire to see plenty of goals on Saturday night, saying: "We hope to see a spectacular final like years ago when the scoring opened quickly and you saw two teams going for victory.
"I hope we see an open, fun game and the one that wins will be the better side.
"We can both write history for our clubs. That means we have done our work well. Each team has its own identity, virtues and weak points.

"I think this is going to be one of the best matches you can watch. The champions of Italy and Spain playing each other is going to be a spectacle for football."
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