The state of the pitch at the Estadio Metropolitano, home of Atlético Madrid, where Barcelona will play twice in the next 10 days, has been a talking point for several weeks and Barça’s coach is fully aware.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Hansi Flick was asked about the playing surface at Atlético’s home, which was a topic of discussion after their Copa del Rey clash and also after Atlético’s Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur, with many wondering if Diego Simeone’s side are perhaps making their pitch worse on purpose to make it harder for teams such as Barcelona to enjoy possession in a perfect surface.
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Flick said he’s already spoken to the team about the matter and told the players to be ready to change their equipment if necessary, but the coach is also aware that the bigger threat in both their Saturday league clash and in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie in 10 days will be the quality of Atlético’s players.
“We’ve talked about it. I’ve told the players that we need to look into this and they might have to change their boots. They need to prepare and adapt.
“Yes, it’s a match against one of the best teams in the league and in Europe. Therefore, they have a lot of quality and any player can decide the game. It’s very important not to make as many mistakes as in the last match there. I liked today’s training session and there are two very important months ahead.”
It can’t be a coincidence that two goalkeepers (Barça’s Joan Garcia and Tottenham’s Antonin Kinsky) made two gross errors in the exact same spot of the exact same penalty area that led to Atlético goals, so the state of the pitch is absolutely a cause for concern. If La Liga and UEFA won’t do anything about it, then Barça’s players must adapt and be ready for a bad surface.
