MADRID, 20 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
RCD Espanyol manager Manolo González said that it is “important” for his career as a coach to get to the Santiago Bernabéu stadium to face Real Madrid this Saturday in LaLiga EA Sports, although he believes that the pinnacle for him would be to be able to repeat it for many years because it would mean that the blue and white club remains in the elite and without any more visits to Segunda.
“The highlight will be to be at Espanyol and in the First Division for many years. For the club to be where it deserves to be. If I achieve that, it will be a highlight for me. But tomorrow a special stadium is coming, but the idea is to be here for a long time and for the club to improve day by day. Getting to the Bernabéu is an important point but I would like to repeat it for many years. It would be good for the stability of the club,” he stressed in a press conference.
In this sense, he said that he did not expect to be able to coach a top-level team in a Bernabéu. “For a person who has lived since childhood to be a top-level player, and who was not able to get there… And as a coach, I got involved because I liked coaching and I liked football but you don’t expect it, because I had no ambition… This is because I have been training with what has come up, having had good years the career has gone by itself and not forced,” he added.
Now, he is convinced that his RCD Espanyol can win at the Whites’ ground. “We are convinced, as we have been to every game, that the team is going to win. We are going out to win. The game is very difficult, just like the one against Atlético, but we believe a lot in what we are doing and we are convinced that we can win there,” he said.
“The idea is that they don’t run us down. When they suffocate you and attack you with an avalanche, which will surely happen, it will be important to control it and not let it take its toll. We will have to run more than our opponent, that’s what tomorrow’s game will depend on. And have personality, too,” argued the ‘perico’ coach.
For González, whose team has two wins and a draw in the last three LaLiga games, “effectiveness is very important” to worry Real Madrid, both conceding as little as possible and causing damage in the ones you can get to. “If you get there and don’t manage to score, it will affect you. You have to play a perfect game, be very effective and have the defensive mentality to think ‘nobody can get through here’ and that when one doesn’t get through, another does,” he added.
Looking ahead to the season, and given the recent good results, he believes it is good that the fans have some euphoria. “We have our feet on the ground and so do the Espanyol fans, but euphoria is not bad. The fact that people are happy and motivated with their team is good, it is what it should be. The year is hard and difficult for us and for a lot of teams. I don’t think people are in another movie, they are aware of what there is. But the fact that people are happy is fundamental. If the players are at their level they can do great things,” he said.
As for the question of whether he will be able to count on defender Fernando Calero for the match, it remains a question. “Calero will depend on today. He did part of the match with the group yesterday, he will train with the group today and depending on that, he will be called up tomorrow or not. If not, he would definitely be called up for Villarreal,” he commented.
“I’m not a big believer in rotations. We’ll field the best starting eleven possible. The type of team we field will allow us to change the game without having to change the lineup in the first half. We’ve always approached it like this and we’ll field the best starting eleven to win in Madrid,” he said about his starting eleven.