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Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman faced the press on Friday to discuss the Clásico ahead of Saturday’s long-awaited clash with Real Madrid.
The Dutch coach was asked if Antoine Griezmann and Jordi Alba would play, the Gerard Piqué interview and the recent run of Real Madrid results.
Here are the best parts:
Koeman on Griezmann
You have options to play. He is an important player and we want all the players to be at the best level. The team is the most important thing. We choose the players to get the best result.
Koeman on Real Madrid
It may be that Madrid in the last two days have not had good results, but that does not mean that their morale is low. They have very experienced people and they know they must win the game after the last two defeats.
Koeman on the Piqué interview
Gerard has been here for many years, I have only been 2-3 months. You have your opinion and I respect it. He is also a smart player who knows that if he does an interview like this, he will play the game tomorrow and do well.
Koeman on Ansu and Vinicius
They are two very young players, very good players who are learning many things. Their professional career has been very fast and they have shown not only in training but in games that they deserve to be where they are. Age is not important to me, what matters is how they play.
Koeman on El Clasico It is important. If you win, you can show confidence. Players deserve it for the work they do every day. They show a lot of ambition. It is an even game. In both teams there is a lot of quality and experience. These games are decided by small details, when you have the ball or how you push the opposite.
Koeman on playing youth
The most important thing is the performance of each player. I don’t see any problem in having young people. To have experience, they have to play. I only think about the best team for tomorrow, it does not depend on the age of a player.
Koeman where Jordi Alba
Players always have the last word on this because he knows if he is in the right condition to play or not. I will also speak to the medical staff. We need to see the reaction after training this morning. I see everything quite positive, but there is still time to wait and see if it feels good or not. If so, he has a good chance of playing tomorrow.
Koeman on rejuvenating the squad
We try to change things and the most important thing is the quality of the players. It’s good that we have changed the team a bit, with young players. Ansu Fati is already playing for the national team and will be a star, but he has to work hard. We are going to help him to be one of the best in the world, like the rest of the youth.
