Rayo has already started the countdown to their visit to the Bernabéu. Their coach, Andoni Iraola, knows how difficult it is to storm the home of Real Madrid and that this inevitably happens to offer his best version. With motivation and his feet on the ground, the Basque analyzes one of the most difficult matches of the course. “To have options to get something you have to do everything right,” he says. The franjirrojos have not won there since 95-96. A challenge.
– How can you stop Real Madrid?
“It’s not a matter of doing one or two things right to stop them.” There are many to do. Make a little mistake. To have options to get something out of the Bernabéu you have to do practically everything well. It is a team that when you let it play and find its moments of brilliance, more or less lasting but in all games, they are differential.
– Who is the most decisive Real Madrid player?
“It’s impossible to stay with just one player.” They have many who are among the best in the world in their position. Perhaps those who have been unbalancing the games the most lately are Benzema and Vinicius, but practically in all positions they have elite footballers.
—The strength of Rayo at home contrasts with the numbers at home …
—I don’t think we are a team that changes too much from playing in Vallecas or abroad. The level that we have shown in the exits has been very high. We have had very complicated scenarios. Surely in the second round, as it happened to us last year, you will ask me why at home we are finding out more. Possibly because the calendar has wanted it that way. There are fields more complicated than others and we are going to one of the most, if not the most. I do not know how many options we can have, but we must try to take advantage of them.
– Can the deed of Barcelona be repeated?
—When you play in a field like that, you always dream of being able to get something out and do things well, that they go a bit on your side. On Barça day we could have played the same game, they would have gotten the penalty and left with a draw, which changes the movie for you. We are going to do what we can and we do not know if that will succeed. We have to get closer to our best version, which is competitive to make things difficult for Madrid.
– What has to be done differently with regard to Barça to win?
—They are completely different games, because of the stage, because of how the rival plays … We are not going to have the support of our fans, unfortunately. Playing at the Bernabéu, in a bigger field, with more spaces, more back and forth … It is a team that in these transitions hurts you a lot, we have to control it better.
– Where were you in 1996, the last time Rayo won at the Bernabéu?
“He was fourteen years old.” I do not remember what I would be doing, but it is true that they are scenarios where winning is very complicated and surely the statistics of other teams also say it. In the end, you can go a lot of years without winning. You must be correct in the areas, not make mistakes, be accurate on occasions, but above all you have to give your maximum level. Everything that is not that limits us a lot and makes it very difficult to compete there. We have to think about our thing and trust that they do not have their best day.