Imanol: “The key will be to recover our personality”

Imanol Sheriff does not lose his smile. He is aware of the difficult moment his Real Sociedad is going through, but he wants to be positive, because he hopes to recover the daring and uncomplicated football they came to practice before all football stopped.

-Does Real Madrid arrive at the worst moment of the season?

No. Because against Real it is always difficult, especially seeing what they are playing now. The last match in the Cup against them we were able to get ahead, now they have come back very well, we have not done so much, but I think we are prepared and we are able to get the match going. You have to do many things well to win.

-Did these first two matches raise doubts after confinement?

No. It is normal that there are doubts outside because we were all excited and we have only got one point and at the game level we have not been comfortable. We are still very excited, we lack the game and we will try to recover it as soon as possible.

-But Real Madrid is not the best rival to recover that lost game …

I do not think about that. It is not a question of the rival, but of our game, our confidence, our bravery. There is a point of doubt, because it has not been us in recent games. Players know what we are failing and we are going to see if those doubts at the game level we can dispel and recover the game.

-How do you see Real Madrid after the confinement?

Well, like everyone, very well. There are the results. After the Barcelona draw, he has options to become the leader and that makes him a more difficult opponent than he always is. But both last year and this year we have shown that we can face them and we are eager to repeat it. I think they will come eagerly, we eliminated them in the Cup, last year they lost here …

-And what do you hold onto to think that you can repeat a victory against Real Madrid?

To our game. We have to recover the game, the audacity, that is my concern and I have made it known to the players. We need to be a daring team, a team that takes risks, that exposes. We need to be fine and after the return there are players who are not so fine at a technical and decision level and that is what has led us to do these two games. We must recover all this by being daring, trying, and thus we will be able to repeat the results that we have already done against Real Madrid.

-Has the main problem been low so that the attack players are?

Let's see, what is clear is that sometimes the rival also covers your best men, so it must be other players who take the risks and fix that last line. But other teams had played us like that and we were capable. It's about being us again. We can do it. For how the team plays we need to be at a maximum technical level and perhaps this is not the case, we are thicker.

-Real Madrid has already been like an aspirin for Real at other very difficult times …

Hopefully it will be like that. I am clear, we need to recover our best version, the excellence we have had this season. The team has been able to overcome other tactical and defensive difficulties. For this you have to dare, filter passes inside when they squeeze you, force one-on-one situations. We know what happens to us, a lot is a lack of daring. Let's see if we can find him in this match. There is no use regretting the previous two games. We know that if we are able to beat Madrid he will give us a kick, a rush to face the next one in another way.

– In that sense, have you noticed doubts in the players in this round of the league?

You doubt not. But what we do have to be is critical, and the players too, but you don't have to be pessimistic. Never. We know where the errors are. There are players who are not being the same as before the break. We all see that. We are going to give them confidence to come back. We can attribute it to a lack of confidence, that the break has not been good for us … But I really tell you that we have trained well and I do not see doubts in the players. We have spoken and the key is to recover our intensity, motivation, desire to take risks and try. If we do, we will be able to turn it around. If we continue to be a team that is not exposed, it will cost us more.

-What worries you most about this Real Madrid?

The potential in all their lines, because they are all top level players. He is able to play you to you without being well, and behind he has four players who are Ferraris. If there are two teams that can win without being 100% they are Madrid and Barcelona. But we cannot forget that we eliminated them from the Cup, and if we recover the game, we will be able to stand up to them, although when these teams are in shape it is difficult to get their hands on them. The key will be to recover our personality.

-The return of Mikel Merino is like a burning nail to hold on to …

We know how important he is to the team, he is a player with a lot of personality that gives the team a lot. The level he has does not need me to say it, he is the type of player the coach wants to have on his squad. We are happy with his return after his sanction.

-Finally, what do you think of the hydration breaks?

Well, nothing is good for us. We took the opportunity to change things but last day, in the second half, 20 minutes were played. A team like ours that plays 20 minutes between fouls, changes and stops, does not benefit us at all. Our team needs dynamism, that this flows, that the ball is on the field. But it cannot be an excuse, we have to adapt.