FCBARCELONA.CAT

08.04.2010 11:43

“Winning at the Bernabéu is an overwhelming joy”

Pau Ramírez

Not all of the players that have been involved in the 111 years of Barça history have been able to win at the Santiago Bernabéu.

One team that did achieve such glory was Terry Venables’ 1984/85 title winning side, which won 3-0 in the Spanish capital.

Not all of the former players we spoke to had the same predictions regarding the match on Saturday, but they all agreed that there would still be much to play for whatever the result.

'Tente' Sánchez: “There is a before and after”

The 1985 captain, Vicente 'Tente' Sánchez, who played 326 matches for FCB between 1975 and 1986 considers that “there is a before and after this game, as the League is so tight, but every game is important and there will still be seven games after Saturday and the smallest of errors could cost dearly. You have to think of every game until the end of the season and worry about yourselves and not what the other team does.”

Gerardo Miranda, sure we’ll win

Somebody who is convinced of Barça’s possibilities is Gerardo Miranda. The Canary Islander was at the Camp Nou between 1981 and 1988, and feels this season is much like last’s: “A similar thing happened last year and if Barça won there, it decided the League. The team did what they had to do and I think if Barça want to win the title again this year, they’ll need to hit the Bernabéu with a win, and I’m convinced they’ll do it”, he said.

Carrasco: “it will be decisive for morale”

Francisco 'Lobo' Carrasco, a wide attacker from 1978 to 1989 feels a win in Madrid would boost morale. “It would be a tough blow for them” he said. “I don’t think it’d decide the league because the title is decided at grounds like Mallorca, Xerez and Osasuna, lower level grounds, but the Bernabéu is about self-esteem, it is an overwhelming sensation to come back from there with a win and boosts your morale for the rest of the season”.

Carrasco says that if Pep Guardiola’s get three points on Saturday it would be “a tough blow for Madrid, like what Olympique Lyon did. They only have the League left and it would be tough for them to se Barça win it again. A win would give Barça wings and would leave Madrid very upset”.