Luis Enrique not worried of tiredness ahead of Clasico

FC Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was not worried that tired legs would affect his players ahead of Saturday' s Clasico at home to Real Madrid.

The Barca squad as a whole travelled 100,000 kilometers further than Saturday' s rivals during the recent international breaks with key players such as Leo Messi, Luis Suarez, Dani Alves, Neymar and Javier Mascherano all playing World Cup qualifying ties in South America on Tuesday night.

They only trained with their companions for the first time on Wednesday evening, but the coach insisted tiredness would not be a factor in the Camp Nou.

"This type of game generates energy among the players, so I am not worried about tiredness," said Luis Enrique.

The Barca coach said he wanted his players to control the ball during the match, while adding that he had not thought about Tuesday' s Champions league quarter-final at home to Atletico Madrid.

"The only important game is tomorrow," he commented, before being asked whether the players would try and dedicate their performance to former Barca player and coach Johan Cruyff, who died on March 24th.

He warned that the will to perform well to give Cruyff a homage could lead to them trying too hard, but said that "what Cruyff would want more than anything would be for us to win with football and spectacle and for us to deserve it on the pitch."

Finally Luis Enrique spoke about Leo Messi, who is one goal short of his 500th professional goal.

"The total is from a different galaxy," he said: "what Messi has done some players haven' t even managed in training sessions. I have seen Leo and he is desperate to win and to give the fans something to cheer about."