On Valladolid-Barça: “I fully trust that people honor the profession”
BARCELONA, 23 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The RCD Espanyol coach, Luis García, acknowledged that against Atlético de Madrid, this Wednesday on matchday 36 of LaLiga Santander and at the RCDE Stadium, they will have to be “very fine” to try to continue the team’s good moment and overcome some ‘colchoneros’ whom he sees as the best team of the second round.
“It’s very fine, no, Atlético is the best team in the second round. They are doing extraordinary numbers, they have improved a lot in their game and we know how intense they are because their coach transmits it like that and it has enormous merit,” he said in a conference press.
That is why he believes that they will have to be better than ever to win this ‘final’ for them, in their fight to get out of the red zone. “We will have to be very sharp, attack and defend very well against an opponent who does things very well,” he warned his players.
“It’s a game of height, we trust and we plan to move forward despite the rival, we cannot think that we have a great team in front of us in a great dynamic. We think of ourselves and of doing things well”, he reiterated, in this sense.
Of course, this complicated duel comes to them after winning in Madrid against Rayo Vallecano (1-2) and taking a breath. “We are fine, recovered, and on a mental level we are strong. The victory on a mental level has come in handy. The team was eager to reverse the situation, very united and eager for victory that would bring us closer to the goal. The other day it was we deserved. The team played a great game”, he celebrated.
“The other day for us it was a final, but the skill is similar. Without winning the other day tomorrow would be more complicated. It is key to be mentally strong and free ourselves to get 3 points but the player has to manage it and it is not easy “, he explained.
Facing salvation, he assured that the best stimulus is to win. “The stimulus is us, it is to think about tomorrow, to do things well to win against a great team. We cannot lose energy in something that we do not control, we have to be one hundred percent focused on our own,” he argued.
On the other hand, regarding Valladolid-Barça this Tuesday, he assured that he trusts his colleagues and does not think that Barça, his neighbor and rival, will let himself win against some Pucelanos who are fighting, like Espanyol, to save themselves.
“I always trust the professional footballer and the coach obviously. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t go out to compete and win and give their best. We can’t do anything but I fully trust that people will honor the profession,” he claimed.
On a personal level, he acknowledged that it is not a “simple or pleasant” moment. “When you’re a coach you have to be prepared for these moments. I’m a strong person on a mental level, and when you coach the club of your life you have an added feeling that gives you more responsibility,” he opened up.
As for racist insults in football, he was blunt. “Normality is given to things that should not be normal. More than an insult, it is something reprehensible and that should not happen. We should eradicate it, not from football, but from life. It doesn’t matter the color or religion, we are all the same. I send a hug to Vinícius and those people with these thoughts cannot appear on a football field,” he said.