The coaches of Juvenil A and Juvenil B at Barça, both former players, know all about clásicos at the Camp Nou. Òscar Garcia and Sergi Barjuan tell us about Monday’s match.
“It will be a very nice match because they are both by far the best teams in the league and
I’m convinced Barça will win”, said Òscar Garcia, coach of Barça’s Juvenil A, a
team that has it own particular derby against Espanyol this weekend in the Division of Honour.
“Like all clásicos, whoever is wherever in the table, won’t matter a thing”.
Superiority all round
On Barça and Real Madrid’s players, Òscar Garcia says
“Madrid don’t need many complexities, they are fast players that know how to use space
and are very effective… but for me, Barça are better not just up front, but in the middle and
in defence”.
Confident of home win
Asked who he thinks will be the star player at the Camp Nou, the Juvenil A coach
said “it is hard to say who will stand out in games like this … I am sure that the
everybody in the Barça first eleven will play well and they’ll win the match”, said
Òscar Garcia.
Everyone wants to play
The Juvenil B coach, Sergi Barjuan, referred to his own personal memories. “I
remember that every player wanted to play games like this, you need no extra motivation from the
manager or anybody to play these games because you can already sense the tension going into it
… I remember the Camp Nou filling and putting pressure on the opposition and that makes it
harder for the other team”.
Need for points
Barjuan added that “these are three very important points, but if
you win this game and then lose at grounds where you shouldn’t lose, it all counts for
nothing … but you can’t afford to drop these points, you have to win because as things
stand, they are crucial points … Barça and Madrid are even winning at grounds where
it’s usually hard to win, Barça are getting points all over the place. But the way things are
going, any points dropped in the clásico will make a big difference”, said Sergi Barjuan.
Photos: FCB archive.
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Òscar and Sergi against Madrid
When he played for Barça, Òscar Garcia was involved in three Barça v Madrid league games at the
Camp Nou and they all ended in 3-0 home wins. Those were in 1995/96, 1997/98 and 1998/99, and Òscar
Garcia remembers “there is nothing quite like winning when you play against Madrid. I have
been lucky enough to win at the Camp Nou and the Bernabéu, it’s a great feeling and the first
team squad have also experienced that a lot”.
Sergi Barjuan played in no fewer than eight games at the Camp Nou and won all but one, which
was a draw. Those were between 1993/94 and 2000/01. Sergi Barjuan has especially fond memories of
“when we won 5-0. It was very special day for me and the club.” That was actually his
first ever clásico, and what a way to start!