Diego Martínez: “Real Sociedad is an admirable and exemplary team”

Medical part. “Machís will surely not arrive and the rest (Montoro and Vallejo) are going to see. In the medical part, estimates have been explained that we will later see on a day-to-day basis as they evolve. There are other headdresses ”.

The first leg in San Sebastián and its circumstances (Granada ended up playing only with four professionals). “One of the most painful moments of my time at Granada. A very surreal situation that we had to live. But it is already in the past. We look ahead and we have enough to continue surviving game by game in all the circumstances that we have to live to think about what happened a long time ago ”.

Rotations? “We will try to sustain performance and, at the same time, preserve availability for the next matches. Above all, depending on the sensations because it is only two days after the game on Thursday night. Still those feelings are a bit confusing. Therefore we will wait for tomorrow. We have been playing three games a week, but with much less to do rotations ”.

The Royal Society. “I think it is an admirable team. Imanol is doing an extraordinary job both in managing and organizing the team. It seems brilliant to me. He has very good players. I think it is one of the best organized attacks in the League in recent years and not just at one point. It is a team that is very consistent in its playing identity with the philosophy that they have been defending for a long time. And it is also an exemplary club because, really, one analyzes how they have recruited, developed and integrated talent. And it is exemplary. Not only by incorporating players from their quarry, where they make an important economic investment for a long time as we know in Spain, but also by making a firm and determined bet when they incorporate players. There we have the cases of Merino, Portu, Silva, Carlos Fernández… and in the end they are their heritage players in the short and medium term. They are a great team and we will have the opportunity to compete with them at a better level ”.

Praise from Imanol to Granada. “The appreciation is mutual. We have a very good relationship. We know what it took us to get here and talk to you in First Division and, above all, with both teams doing it successfully. They are very beautiful football stories. I am also very happy for him because he deserves it. You have endowed your team with a recognized and recognizable identity. What the Royal Society is doing is extraordinary ”.

Luis Milla more time off. “It is not a relapse. He has opted for a series of treatments and needs a little more time, also due to the situation of an operation that he had five years ago. Hopefully that tendon fixes and welds well. It is a very unusual injury. The best knee doctors in Spain told us that they had hardly seen him twice. Give our support and encouragement. Unfortunately it is an important loss, but the most important thing is his health, to encourage him and that sooner or later he can be with the team “.

Emotional hangover. “Tomorrow we have a very demanding game. More than the emotional hangover, what concerns us is the mental fatigue. We are a team that needs the maximum of attention and benefits of all levels and dimensions. On a physical, technical and mental level. The good thing is that we live unique and extraordinary moments. If they tell me at the beginning of the season that on March 13 we would have 33 points in the League, in a quarter-final of the Cup about to eliminate Barcelona and in a round of 16 in the Europa League we would have all signed it. The season is outstanding. The team is giving it all in the most unusual football season in its history. It is a very good and unique moment ”.

Two-game suspension after expulsion from Bilbao. “It seems disproportionate and excessive to me because I understand that everything was produced from respect. It must be assumed, but I do not share it. Is a feeling”.

Play time at 16:15. “It is not ideal. One of our values ​​is adaptation. We will give everything we have inside and hopefully the team can get a good result ”.

Reunion with Carlos Fernández. “He is a player for whom I have a special affection. He is the player I have managed the most in my life. He has a brutal learning ability. Extraordinary attitude and professional discipline and what I don't want is for him to have his day tomorrow. May he do very well at La Real because I think he will do very well. He is an excellent player. Once the game is over, it goes great. One as a coach is happy for players who overcome adversities who have known how to accept their role and their processes with humility and professionalism. Here he had his process, and look how the year ended. These players are an example ”.

Canteranos. “The kids, since I've been here, they work with us. I always put the example of Carlos Neva because he was with us in Second and had his process and in First he made his debut because he earned it. There are the cases: José Antonio, Juancho, Adri Castellano, Aarón. The consolidation of Neva, the subject of Pepe, Isma Ruiz, who played very good 10 minutes when he came out (against Molde), Aranda who played in the Copa del Rey. Each completing their training and biding their time. In Granada, this type of youth squad did not exist 10 years ago and we are helping them to develop. Because there was another type of Machís-type youth squad. Happy with everyone. Barcia, Joao, Arnau … “