Barcelona motivated by memory of late team doctor
Hansi Flick said Barcelona will honour the life of its team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia by giving everything to win its Champions League last 16 tie against Benfica.
Barcelona's LaLiga fixture with Osasuna last Sunday was postponed after Minarro died suddenly in the team hotel just hours before kick-off at the Camp Nou.
Flick said it has been a difficult last two days as the team mourns the passing of its doctor, but said his players were dealing with the situation very well.
He added that his team would find extra motivation against Benfica, which it leads 1-0 from the first leg, to pay tribute to a man who was well-respected in the changing room.
"The team is handling the situation well. We are very focused on the game, and we want to play for him. In this situation, it is very important to win for him," Flick said.
"We are ready for it. We have to move on and go ahead. It's our job.
"It's an important situation for the club to advance in the competition, and we want to do well to honour him. It's a great loss. He was a great person and a great doctor.
"He was unbelievable for the team and for the club. He was a fundamental part of our team who will be dearly missed."
Just prior to Flick's press conference, Barcelona held a minute's silence to pay its respects to Minarro.
The LaLiga giant holds a slender advantage in its tie against Benfica, earning a hard-fought victory after Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the 22nd minute of the game.
It has already beaten Benfica twice in the Champions League this season, with both victories coming away from home (5-4 in January and 1-0 last week).
Benfica has never previously been beaten three times by the same opponent in the same European campaign, though Flick was confident his team could keep the momentum going and advance to the quarter-finals.
Flick's side is unbeaten in its last eight games in the Champions League (W7 D1), the longest run in the competition.
It last had a longer unbeaten run within the same Champions League campaign in 2018-2019 (11 games), when it was one game away from reaching the final (eliminated by Liverpool in the semi-finals).
Barcelona is also on a 16-game unbeaten run across all competitions and in contention for three major titles.
The Blaugrana lead LaLiga and have reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals in which they drew 4-4 with Atletico Madrid in the first leg before the 2 April return.
"We are in a very good moment, in a fantastic dynamic. We hope to continue like this," Flick said.
"I see the team very focused. This morning, we had a talk, and we went through all the good things they had done lately.
"Nobody has taken anything for granted. That's the most important thing. The team, if it has a good dynamic, for me, that's the most important thing."
