The Barça Atlètic players do not fear the atmosphere that will greet them on Sunday at the Narcís Sala. The members of Barcelona’s reserve team are convinced they will be able to overcome all adversity and gain promotion to the Second Division A. 

The intensity and emotion is building amongst the players in the hours leading up to the encounter (18:00) on Sant Andreu’s pitch.

Jonathan Soriano and Marc Muniesa expressed in the press conference this Friday the positive mood prior to the last game of the season.

The need to score a goal

When anaylzing the key points to securing a result in this match-up, all agreed on the importance of scoring at least one goal.

Soriano, scorer of the only goal in the Miniestadi in the first leg, explained that: “If we score a goal, it would reinforce our position [giving us peace of mind] and force them to play differently.”

Muniesa stated that managing the emotions of the match will not be a problem of age: “We are younger, but we also have players who have a lot of experience and all are prepared to meet this wonderful challenge.”

The stadium factor

Both Muniesa and Soriano agreed that the stadium is an important factor, but not definitive. The forward from Pont de Vilomara dismissed talk of fear of a potentially hostile environment: “There is no fear, we play soccer and even though many people say differently, playing at the Mini is the same as playing at the Narcís Sala.” The defender from Lloret added that “once we are on the field, we forget about the crowd whether they pressure us more or less, this will not affect us.”

Artificial turf

The small dimensions of the Narcís Sala and the state of the artificial turf are also no worry for the Barça Atlètic locker room. Soriano recognized the differences with the Miniestadi, but declared there would be no problem: “It is a different field to ours, artificial grass is never the same as natural, but that cannot serve as an excuse.”

“We’ll have to get used to the bounce of the ball being different than on a natural grass field, but our training all week on a similar pitch has helped us,” added Muniesa.

Barça Atlètic has been training throughout the week on pitch #8 at the Ciudad Deportiva, an artificial turf field.

Joan Barbarà: “Whatever happens, we are proud” [A view of the match from the coaches' perspective]

The coaching staff of Barça Atlètic have said that their assessment of the season will not be determined by the result of Sunday’s match at the Narcís Sala. Luis Enrique and Joan Barbarà hope to gain promotion, but declared that even if they do not, ”we’ll be proud.”

There are only 90 minutes remaining of the season, and what happens on Sunday will determine whether Barcelona’s reserve side remains in the Second Division B next year, or if they’ll ascend to the silver division (Second Division A) of Spanish football.

Throughout the week, the coaching staff has been working to refine every possible detail before Sunday’s crucial encounter. 

The icing on the cake

Sant Andreu meets Barcelona Atlètic this Sunday, and it is a game that assistant coach Joan Barbarà acknowledges will be important: “It’s a final, a game that could be the icing on the cake of a great season.”

Ascending or not may come down to one moment of luck or misfortune, which is why the coaching staff will not judge the season on this one match result: “Whatever happens in the Narcís Sala, we will be proud of the players who had a great season, the team has shown throughout the whole year a superb image that won’t be affected whether or not we go up.”

Less pressure

Barbarà also differentiates the degree of demand to which the two teams are subjected: “From what I understand, Sant Andreu has been almost required to rise since the start of the season [by the demands from supporters and the club]. We, on the other hand, are a team where training is more important [preparation for the first team, etc] and nobody has required us to gain promotion.”

All this forms a picture of “more responsibility and demand for the Sant Andreu squad,” but Barbarà did not hide the fact that at this point the only goal for Atlètic “is to finish the season with a return to the second division A, this is what we desire.”

High-risk game

To minimize possible risks of incidents in a game of such importance, this match has been declared as ’high risk’, a fact that will facilitate improved security in Sant Andreu’s stadium before, during and after the game is played.