Barcelona enters Sunday’s first Clásico of the 2026/27 season from the familiar setting of Camp Nou, with a six-point advantage over Real Madrid in LaLiga and a coach determined to keep the focus away from old rivalries on the touchline.
The news from the club
Hansi Flick spoke warmly of José Mourinho on the eve of Barcelona’s meeting with Real Madrid, praising the Portuguese coach’s long record at elite clubs after his return to the Spanish capital at the start of the current campaign.
“I have enormous respect for him,” Flick said. “To lead teams at that level for so many years and achieve success shows real quality. He has proved that at every club he has managed.”
The Barcelona coach recalled meeting Mourinho in Madrid while he was Joachim Löw’s assistant with Germany. Flick and the German staff had visited players based in the city, including Sami Khedira and Mesut Özil, who worked under Mourinho during his first Real Madrid tenure from 2010 to 2013.
Flick said every Germany international who had played for Mourinho spoke about him with respect, describing his opposite number as “a very, very successful colleague” and a great professional.
Sunday will be only the second competitive meeting between Flick and Mourinho as head coaches. Their first came in 2019, when Flick’s Bayern Munich beat Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 in the Champions League group stage.
Mourinho’s earlier years at Madrid were marked by a fierce succession of Clásicos against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona. This time, he returns to Camp Nou against a different Barcelona coach and with Real trying to close ground in the league.
The Camp Nou calendar
Barcelona host Real Madrid on Sunday at 17:00 Brasília time in the season’s first league Clásico. The Catalan side leads LaLiga with 27 points, while Atlético Madrid is second on 22 and Real sits third with 21.
For Flick’s Barcelona, the fixture offers the chance to widen an already significant early gap. For Mourinho and Madrid, the trip east is an opportunity to alter the shape of the title race before the season moves deeper into its autumn schedule.
