Lola Gallardo: “The ‘courage and heart’ has been seen”
LEGANES (MADRID), May 28. (SportsFinding) –
The coach of the women’s Atlético de Madrid, Manolo Cano, praised his players for an “epic match”, “having faith in the impossible” to force extra time in extremis and win the Queen’s Cup against Real Madrid on penalties.
“Everything turned against us even with a good first half. The team showed mental strength and faith, in the end football is the king of sports for this. This does not happen in any other sport. An epic match, having faith in the impossible” he said at a press conference.
The rojiblanco coach described the title as “deserved” although they had to give up “everything” when in the 87th minute they lost 2-0 at the Butarque Municipal Stadium (Leganés). “A torrent of water, came the second goal. The easy thing was to give up, quite the opposite. These girls are warriors, they continued with faith, which is Atlético de Madrid. We had a more than deserved award,” he said.
“A month ago I said to start preparing the penalties. When they arrived I thought ‘we have this’. Lola helps us not only by stopping. Faith moves mountains and we had security. Atlético de Madrid is what we have seen. A team leaving everything on the field, fighting until the end, wasting talent. For now, we are champions again,” she added.
On the other hand, the goalkeeper Lola Gallardo, protagonist in the shootout and 2016 Cup champion, the first for the club, appeared at the same press conference. “The ‘never stop believing’, the ‘courage and heart’ has been seen more than ever. We are fair champions and we are very happy to dedicate this title to the fans, to Virginia (Torrecilla), to all the teammates, coaching staff and all the people who have followed us,” he said.
“I came from not saving a penalty all season. We have prepared it very well. I am very happy. It has been super emotional, because of how it has been, how things have turned out and how we have fought against the current. Each title is a dream,” he finished.