José Alberto finalizes the preparations for the duel of the second round of the Copa del Rey against Rayo Majadahonda. And he does it with a new casualty, that of Paulino, who will miss the shock due to a bilateral bacterial pneumonia, as reported by the club itself. Thus, Malaga will appear at the cupbearer stake with a total of eight absences. Antoñín, already recovered from his viral process, will miss it due to knee discomfort, and Ismael Gutiérrez is not recovered either. Both are kept in the infirmary with Luis Muñoz, Ramón, Jozabed, Juande and Kevin.
The Blue and White coach acknowledged in the press conference prior to the clash that the match did not come at the best time given the numerous physical problems that the squad is dragging on.
Paulino, new low: “It seems that the midfielder position is cursed. Player who appears and gives performance, falls. There are eight casualties already, many in that position. They limit us in the face of possible rotations. We are clear about the objective, which is the League, but we want to compete in the Cup. The game comes at a bad time due to the many casualties ”.
Priority to the League: “We are clear that the objective is the League and the game on Saturday. For tomorrow we will try to make a competitive eleven and distribute the efforts. Right now we are caught by pins. We have to be very careful to protect the players we have in those positions heading into Saturday. We are very fair ”.
Rayo Majadahonda: “It is a completely professional team, it could be competing in the category for structure and players. It has a squad with players with experience in First and Second. The First RFEF has a lot of experience and level. They are third or fourth in their group, that says a lot about their squad. We know them. It has varied in its playing structures and that makes it difficult to prepare for the game. We look more for ourselves than for the rival. We have to go with the ability and idea to compete and pass the tie “.
Rotations: “It is an opportunity for the people who have had less minutes and are having. We saw it with Jairo in the matches against Peña Sport, then it continued. He has stayed on the team because he is delivering performance. The moment there is a game our ambition is to win. Every time they put on the Málaga shirt they have to compete to the fullest. They have to compete for a spot in the eleven. That is the idea, it is what they have to have in mind ”.
Few surprises in the first round: “This season there have been few surprises and I think it has been because many of the Second RFEF teams have had to change their local fields due to the RFEF requirements. It is difficult for any team to compete in those conditions. In this tie there are going to be many surprises. The difference will be less. The prize for the next round can be huge. We are what we want, to prove ourselves against a First Division. If it can be at La Rosaleda and that our people enjoy it, much better ”.
Wardrobe condition: “The costumes are always good. It is balanced. There are games that can affect your performance. The Eibar game has to be a reinforcement for the team. We had one of the best away games, of a high level, it is close to what I want to see. That is the path, the one that will lead us to compete, competing to the limit will give us regularity ”.
System change in Eibar: “I already told you from day 1 the important thing is not the systems but that we have the capacity to adapt. That we have the ability to see the best for the team. We have worked on several systems and based on that we choose one and the other. We don’t always play the same way. That is known to the players and those of us inside. There are small nuances that vary. We have played 4-1-4-1 sometimes. We have done it more times, we did it in Eibar and it is a possibility that we handle in any match “.
Hicham: “I’m happy for him. At the end of the game we both gave each other a spectacular hug. We really wanted him to play. Possibly it has been the dream comeback for his adaptation. The 20 minutes he had were key. Have peace of mind and add minutes, weeks … the best thing is that it is yet to come. May it come to stay ”.
Dani Lorenzo: “We were clear about what he was going to do. He has a lot of personality and individual capacity. It is not easy to do what he did the other day, in the three games that he has participated. Now it has to be maintained, regularly. In the end, there are people who are easy to reach and difficult to stay with. In professional football it is performance and every day to give the level. Competitiveness is high. An opportunity has appeared with the casualties, let it continue now and at that level we are happy because another kid is coming out. They are a few. It is very easy for the coaches when we are in the first team to get the medal to make it debut, that work comes from many other coaches below. It’s everyone’s job. There are many people behind. The important thing is that they arrive prepared ”.
Málaga’s call-up for the second round of the Cup match against Rayo Majadahonda is as follows: Dani Barrio, Dani Martín, Víctor Gómez, Javi Jiménez, Lombán, Brandon, Jairo, Hicham, Chavarría, Genaro, Peybernes, Ismael Casas, Iván Calero, Sekou Gassama, Escassi, Cufré, Andrés, Larrubia, Haitam, Roberto, Moussa and Dani Lorenzo.