Jonatan Giráldez’s Farewell Classic: A Triple Blow for Madrid in the Spanish Market

FC Barcelona’s coach spoke ahead of Sunday’s match against Real Madrid.

Jonatan Giráldez will lead his final Classic as FC Barcelona’s coach, boasting a perfect record so far. One of his goals before leaving the Blaugrana bench and heading overseas is to secure another victory against Real Madrid, the opponent he has faced the most over these three seasons.

Of all the eleven Clásicos won – Sunday’s match could be the twelfth – the Vigo native, who spoke at the pre-match press conference, is clear about which one he cherishes the most, beyond the Champions League clash at the Spotify Camp Nou: “With last year’s Supercopa. We were practically an hour with one player down [Irene Paredes was sent off for a second yellow card].” He explained, “Emotionally, we were able to work on things that we had never been able to work on; we managed to score two more goals in extra time, which was a significant boost of adrenaline, excitement, and confidence” and it was a “turning point in a year when we won the Champions League.”

“A Madrid in a great moment” Giráldez, who always highlights the different versions of Real Madrid before Clásicos, expects a rival “that is currently in a great moment, that has changed things, that has another pair of center-backs, with Linda Caicedo playing different roles and with several players assuming goals and assists.”

He points out that in the two previous encounters this season, in the league match at Montjuïc and in the Supercopa match in Leganés, the context for Toril’s team was different. “Olga wasn’t one hundred percent, Bruun wasn’t available… Now they are in a different position. With almost everyone available and in great form.”

A statement victory If Barcelona wins on Sunday, they will go twelve points clear of Madrid, who are second in the standings, with nine matches remaining. “It would be a very big gap, from a mathematical point of view. We can’t predict, we have to focus on playing well and deserving the victory,” says Giráldez.

And the Classic comes amidst a Champions League quarter-final tie against Brann, which wasn’t settled in Bergen (1-2 for the Blaugranas). “It always conditions us. I take it game by game and now I’m thinking about Madrid, but we have the tie open, we can’t forget that we have a very important match next week, and the priority is to qualify. But now we have an unbeatable opportunity to make a statement in the league.”