“Everyone wants to be there to compete and play, not just for the photo”
MADRID, 17 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Sevilla FC coach, José Luis Mendilibar, acknowledged that playing “well” in the first leg of the Europa League semifinal against Juventus (1-1, in Turin) gives them power to face the second leg at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán and dream of accessing a new final of the competition whose track record they dominate.
“The most important difference is that we played very well in the first game against Juventus, I think. We didn’t play so well in the first leg, against United. But, look, the result was the same, a tie. I think than playing so well the other day, because it gives us that confidence that we can have to be able to play just as well here at home,” he said at a press conference.
However, he assured that the dressing room isolates itself from the “euphoria” that may exist in the environment. “For me, it seems good to me that the fans can be euphoric at a certain moment, because it is something that is there and we will see it tomorrow in the game. But neither the coaching staff nor the players are going crazy,” he acknowledged.
He does see a lot of desire to play this duel in his players. “Everyone wants to be in these games and it’s good for me, that they all want to be there to compete and play, not just to be in the photo. I have to choose with certain doubts whether or not they can finish the game or have to put at the beginning or not”, he valued.
Whoever plays must be prepared for all kinds of tactical battle. “I don’t think a team like Juve will give you the ball. They will also want to have the ball and they will want to hurt us with the ball. That’s why I say, if we are very successful when pressing, when defending, when time to make it difficult for them to get the ball out and if we do it well, we have our options,” he acknowledged.
“We will have to be successful when it comes to pressing, defending and making it difficult for them to get the ball out. If they expect us to be the ones to control, we will have to be patient. We have to start with patience without getting comfortable. It is not having the ball for the sake of it, we want to get there,” he added.
A match that, due to the media commotion, could be the most important in Mendilibar’s career. “If I answer you for the people in front of me right now, well yes, it’s one of the most important games. But I’ve always said the same thing. They’re all important. When you go up from the regional preferential division to the third division, it’s the most important, because If we hadn’t done that, we weren’t here anyway,” he relativized.
In addition, in the first leg he already took off any kind of pressure and was able to get to know Juventus up close. “We played against them a week ago, we have it quite fresh, so I think it’s something that we don’t have to influence too much either, because if not then we could get nervous or worry too much about the rival. We worry more about ourselves “, he clarified.
And, above all, he does not want to think now about the possible end. “First we will have to qualify. First is tomorrow. And when we qualify and if we qualify tomorrow, we will talk about the final,” she commented. “We are in the semifinals, the final would be nice and win the seventh but you have to have respect against Juve, which is a great team that as soon as you get there they remind you of all the trophies they have and they remain engraved in your head, and there are few teams that have those trophies”, he qualified.
“What matters to me is to finish well what we started well. And that is what is most important to me. That for whatever Sevilla is not (does not renew him)… Well, if we do things well here, they will surely call from somewhere else and if not, then we’ve already been unemployed more times”, he commented on his future at the Seville club.