Luis Enrique: I had to give my voice a rest

Omnisports

February 11, 2016 11:37 AM

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was notably quiet on the sidelines and admitted he had to give his voice a rest in their Copa del Rey semi-final against Valencia.

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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was notably quiet on the sidelines and admitted he had to give his voice a rest in their Copa del Rey semi-final return leg against Valencia.

While Barca needed an 84th-minute goal from Wilfrid Kaptoum to secure a 1-1 draw against Valencia on Wednesday, the defending champions advanced to the final of competition with an 8-1 aggregate win.

Barca assistant Juan Carlos Unzue was the main man on the sidelines at the Mestalla Stadium, shouting directions to the player's as Luis Enrique took a much-needed break.

"It was because of the state of my voice," the 45-year-old revealed.

"I don't have a voice every three days.

"However, Juan Carlos and I have the same idea and whenever he can help out, I like to let him do so."

With the draw Barca moved to 29 games unbeaten in all competitions - breaking the previous club record of 28 set by Pep Guardiola in the 2010-11 season.

Luis Enrique fielded a second-string side against Valencia - with no Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar in the squad - and their performance pleased the Spaniard.

"What interested me was to give the majority of the minutes to the reserve players, and that's why we played with that system," he said.

"We played without a number nine too, with [Ivan] Rakitic as a playmaker.

"I'm happy with the way my players competed."

Barca will face the winner of Celta Vigo and Sevilla in the final, with the latter holding a 4-0 advantage going into the return leg away from home.

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