Iraola: “It’s hard to lose like this, we were close…”

Are you aware of how happy you have made Vallecas?

It’s hard to lose like this because we all saw ourselves playing extra time, but it’s football. We can feel proud of this group of players, they have given everything and I feel bad for them. We saw it very close.

What did he tell them at the end?

I thanked them for the effort. This group is a luxury. I felt we could do it, we believed it until the end. It’s hard to lose like this because you don’t know when you’ll see yourself in one of these again, but I told them they can be proud. We have stayed close.

And what would you say to the fans?

We have opted for the Cup, but the people are the ones who have made us believe in it the most. The fan wanted to experience moments like these. And that permeated the players.

Did they deserve the loss?

We have played an intelligent game. We handle it well. To tie we had to risk a lot. We have stayed on the shore. Of rage.