El Clasico not about Mourinho: Puyol

(GSM) – Barcelona captain Carles Puyol insists that José Mourinho’s presence as Real Madrid manager does not add to the motivation of the Catalans to win over their arch-rivals.

Mourinho, who was once among the coaching staff at Nou Camp, is set to enter his first El Clasico when his Real side take on Barcelona on Monday.

Mournho is not a loved figure around Barcelona after upsetting the Catalan giants’ supporters following his Internazionale team’s victory in the Champions League semi-final last season.

But Puyol insists that the rival teams should be the point of focus on Monday and not the Portuguese tactician.

“We don’t need any extra motivation. Beating Madrid is always important, these are games that you want to play, against our biggest rivals, we don’t need anything more,” he told AS.

“It’s not (a match) with Mourinho, it’s against Madrid. We aren’t playing against Mourinho, it’s a special game against a team with great players and a great coach, but it’s Barca-Madrid.”

When asked if he expects Mourinho to employ a defensive system similar to the one he used with Inter, Puyol added: “A league game is always different to a knock-out tie. I don’t know how they’ll play, but I know how we’ll play.

“The style is not going to change, we are prepared for anything. We are up against a good team, with great players who if they have space are difficult to control.

“They (Madrid) are a team who are very strong defensively, who get back very well and on the counter they have very fast players who can make the difference. They are a very complete team.”

Puyol says the Barcelona camp is in confident mood and are looking to take over the Primera Division’s top spot on Monday.

“We are in a good moment, with confidence and few injuries. It will be a good game,” concluded Puyol.