MADRID, 30 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The coach of Real Sociedad, Imanol Alguacil, assured this Wednesday that Red Bull Salzburg had had “a lot of respect” for the good performance of the ‘txuri-urdin’ team in the Champions League, already classified for the round of 16, and highlighted that the change in system used by the Austrians for their match on matchday 5 at the Reale Arena is “not normal.”
In the press conference after the match, Alguacil pointed out that his rival had shown “a lot of respect for what this team is doing, and it is not normal.” “It is not usual for this team not to really put pressure on the top and I think they had a lot of respect for us. I was not surprised by the 4-2-3-1, we knew it because they had done it before. I think it speaks well of the team that Salzburg has decided to approach the game differently,” he argued in this regard.
Despite everything, the final 0-0 did not satisfy Alguacil. “It could have been much better, looking at the overall score of the entire game. I think they have done something that they usually don’t do, and I think that means that they had a lot, a lot of respect for us. I think they are a team that will always look for the rival, to push up, and today they have not dared to do it as they usually do,” he reiterated.
“Even so, I think we have done enough to win. There have been changes in the team, the people who have joined have done well, we have insisted until the end, we have not stopped trying, I also think that at times playing very Good. A shame, because what we wanted was to win; but well, we have not been successful in front of the goal and that is probably why we have not achieved the three points. But happy because the team’s work once again is a ‘chapeau’ “, said.
Asked how much “blame” he has for the good performance of ‘txuri-urdin’, Alguacil was blunt: “None of me.” “It’s the players’ fault. But hey, we’ve made a good start, there are five games and obviously I’m very happy. And I already said it at the beginning of the group, that the teams we had were powerful. What this team has shown, “especially in these first five games, he is capable. But there are five games and there is still a lot left,” he warned.
In addition, Alguacil praised the youngest members of his staff. “I think I said it last year. Before, when the reserve team players came up, they were required to because obviously if they went up it was to contribute and help; but now we are talking about competing in the Champions League, so you can imagine,” he said.
“They are guys who have a lot of room for improvement and the level at the moment of Real Sociedad is that of not having lost any game in the Champions League this season, of competing in every game as they are doing. So, of course the level and the demand is maximum. What we cannot expect is that, every time a player from the reserve team comes up, it reflects the level of these players who are competing as they are doing,” concluded the coach of the San Sebastian team.