"Carles will support us from above; we will play for him"

Although shocked by the sudden death of Dr. Carles Miñarro, Barça held their last training session on Monday before the Champions League match against Benfica, where the blaugranas are playing to qualify for the quarter-finals of the competition. After the session, Hansi Flick spoke to the media. The coach was the first member of the dressing room to speak publicly after the death. On Saturday, after the suspension of the match against Osasuna, it was president Joan Laporta who issued a small institutional statement of condolences.

"It's a great loss. Carlos was a great person but also a great doctor. This combination was truly incredible for the club and the team. He was a very important piece of our success. We will miss him. But life is like that. He will surely support us from above. We also want to play for him," said Flick. Before beginning his appearance, a respectful minute of silence was observed.

It has been a time of group therapy at Barça. On Sunday, both the coach and the president spoke with the players during training. "I see the team focused. They are handling it well. The match is important for the club, for the players and for the fans. We want to do well," added the coach.

Flick, who insisted that the team "is managing the situation well," tried to focus the press conference on football. He recalled that, despite the victory, nothing has been decided. "I already said in Lisbon that it was only the first match."

"The players are focused. In the morning talk we talked about the good and bad of the first leg. I don't think anyone thinks it's already done. The attitude is the right one," said Flick, who admits that this is one of the most important weeks of the season. "It's similar to what we felt in the week we played against Bayern and Madrid. We are in a good frame of mind and we have confidence in ourselves."