Barcelona are not experiencing the best of periods right now, having failed to win their last two matches against Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
The Catalans are on the brink of elimination from the UEFA Champions League while their defeat to Real Madrid in El Clasico served as a major blow.
In light of these poor results, manager Xavi Hernandez asked former Barcelona goalkeeper and coach Juan Carlos Unzue to come to the club. Unzue, who is suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), was asked to motivate the players in this apparent sporting crisis.
According to Mundo Deportivo, a major reason behind Unzue’s arrival at the Barcelona camp is that the players are “touched emotionally”, in the aftermath of their poor performances of late and a likely elimination from the Champions League.
The report suggests Barcelona players have also not recovered from not only their recent losses but also the historical debacles against the likes of Liverpool and AS Roma, even though not many players were a part of those results.
Unzue urged the Barcelona troops to be brave and courageous, backing them to get back to their best sooner rather than later. He also praised the technical quality of the team.
In addition to praising the current Barcelona troops, Unzue also uplifted the spirit of the team by urging them to ‘conquer the world’.
Unzue’s motivational speech may come to the fore later this evening when Barcelona take on Villarreal at Camp Nou. It is a must-win game for the Catalans, in their quest to keep up with Real Madrid at the top of the league table.