Hansi Flick spoke at Tuesday’s press conference ahead of Barcelona’s Copa del Rey second-leg tie against Atletico Madrid, where the Catalans face the daunting task of overturning a 4-0 first-leg deficit to reach the final.
“Everyone knows what awaits us. We are four goals down and must make the impossible possible. That is our objective,” Flick said. “We know it won’t be easy, but we won’t give up. Keeping a clean sheet is crucial and we must believe it can be done.”
The German coach emphasised the power of belief and fan support. “All the fans in the stadium will be behind us. We can take inspiration from our performance against Dortmund. We need to score two goals in each half. Our opponents are fantastic and hurt us badly in the last match, but I believe in our team.”
Pedri, who missed the first leg through injury, emerged as a key focus. “We need to manage him carefully. There are many matches ahead. We will see how many minutes he can play,” Flick explained.
Another absence is the injured Robert Lewandowski. “We’ll have to cope without him. He took a knock to the shoulder while turning, though he still scored. Losing a player like him is difficult, but it gives others the chance to step up,” he added.
Flick also underlined the importance of focus and unity. “It’s always better to concentrate on the first goal. We need to be smart and hungry. We saw a very different team in the last match, playing with intensity. We must play as one. That’s the key.”
While Barcelona fans look back at the historic 6-1 comeback against Paris Saint-Germain for inspiration, Flick remains grounded. “I’m not thinking about the past or future. The most important thing is tomorrow’s game. We didn’t play well in the last match, and we want to see our best version.”
On Ronald Araujo’s possible involvement, Flick said: “Yes, he’s performing very well in defence. We have a strong squad. Whether he starts or not, I can’t say yet; I haven’t finalised the XI. I know their strengths, but I need to consider everything.”
Flick concluded with a message of determination: “I’ve never faced a situation like this before, but I’m not afraid. We will fight, and we will give everything for our fans.”
