BARCELONA // Luis Enrique laughed at the question. Was it true, Barcelona's current manager, was asked, that Real Madrid's ultras once made a whack-a-mole game with him replacing the mole?
He could not confirm the story. But the man who played for both the rival clubs was keen to stress the greatest goal he personally had scored in club football.
“Without a doubt, the goal in the 3-2 victory in the Bernabeu,” he said, smiling. “I scored second to make it 2-1. Madrid had a great team: Mijatovic, Suker, Roberto Carlos. My celebration was passionate and effusive. My teammates jumped on top of me, the crowd were throwing things at me.
“At that time, Barca hardly ever won in the Bernabeu. It was a really important game for me. We’d lost the previous game 2-0, and I had an overhead kick which hit the bar, so I loved that moment of scoring.”
Saturday, Enrique will coach Barca for the first time at the Bernabeu. He is relishing the occasion and has inherited a team that is far more used to winning than was he was in his playing days. Barca historically performed poorly in the capital, but Madrid have won just five of the past 17 clasicos in their home.
After a poor start, manager Carlo Ancelotti's side have hit form. Wednesday's 3-0 win at Anfield was impressive, and their main protagonist, Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted to both jeers and applause from Liverpool fans.
Like Lionel Messi and Neymar on Tuesday night, Ronaldo was brought off with the clasico in mind. The injured Gareth Bale will not play – not that it concerns Madrid fans, who have been underwhelmed by a perceived lack of form and his low pain threshold so far this season. Isco, who played well at Anfield, will likely start for Bale and play on the right of James Rodriguez and Ronaldo, with Karim Benzema ahead in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Sergio Ramos, who did not play against Liverpool because a calf injury, is expected to play behind Luca Modric and Toni Kroos in a defence comprised of Dani Carvajal, Pepe and Marcelo.
Enrique faces an intriguing selection choice. Aside from Luis Suarez’s potential return to action that matters, will Enrique start Xavi, who was excellent against Eibar last week and rested midweek, alongside Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta?
Will Claudio Bravo keep a ninth consecutive clean sheet as Barca seek to maintain that four-point gap over Madrid at the top?
“It’s going to be a spectacle,” Ancelotti said, smiling. “I’m lucky I’ve got a ticket to see it.”
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