As if facing Barça was not a big enough challenge, Athletic faces the clash this Saturday with the weight of the final of the Copa de Rey lost two weeks ago against Real Sociedad. But Marcelino García Toral assures that he is clear about why his team did not perform as expected against the eternal rival, and for this reason he optimistically faces a duel in which he naturally assumes that his team is not the favorite, but that it can be carried out of “game and hit”.
” The last final is history , what concerns us is what happens tomorrow for 90 minutes. We are very excited and sure that we have found why we did not go ourselves against Real and why our performance was lower than expected,” he began saying the Asturian technician.
“We are excited to face a great team that is very used to playing this finals and winning them, which does not take away our illusion.” Nor does it take him away from reality: ” It is impossible to win a game against Barça without suffering . Humility, enthusiasm and sacrifice. We are convinced to put those values on the field.”
For Marcelino, during the final against Real, his team was generating doubts and discomfort that translated into fear of losing. “When you experience that mental sensation you forget what you have to do. We will try to prevent that from happening. We are going to achieve it,” he harangued.
Muniain, Yuri and Yeray’s doubts
The coach does not want doubts, neither physically, so he did not dare to guarantee the presence of the three men who arrive between cotton wool this Friday at the last training session at La Cartuja: Yuri, Yeray and Muniain . The rojiblanco captain has expressed himself just before “optimistic” regarding his options to play.
“I feel fine, waiting for this last training session. Some discomfort, but the usual in this phase of the season with so many accumulated minutes, which is typical for a player,” explained Muniain, before ensuring that tonight he will consult with the pillow if he touches the trophy again when jumping onto the field .
Marcelino will have played four finals in two years . The first, in the Cup, he won against Barça at Villamarín just before going badly at Valencia. The dismissal of Gaizka Garitano ‘gave’ him the participation of a Super Cup that he won against all odds, after defeating Madrid and Barça in three days (again in Seville), in addition to the Cup final against Real, which escaped him . This Saturday he aspires to knock down Barça for the third time in the capital of Seville .
“The Athletic fans should be proud of playing three finals in three months . Now we think of turning this success, success, into absolute happiness, which will be to win the Cup,” said the Asturian coach, convinced that the image will be very different the one from 15 days ago. ” They played with a huge backpack on their shoulders . I’m sure it won’t happen to us tomorrow.” ” I’m like a cannon , and my players the same,” he ended up expressing.
Did the classic show you the way to defeat Barça? Marcelino is clear about what he can aspire to and what not. ” Wanting to have a possession like his is to separate us from reality . Neither PSG nor Madrid were able to match it, but there are other options,” he predicts.
“We know where they create difficulties for us and, as for any team, they are very difficult to stop. We have to stop them and at the same time hurt them, in addition to being effective . We must have the determination that we showed in the final in January. in that order. ”
Messi’s role
Nor is he worried about not being a favorite (“No team in the League would be against Barça”) or the tactical disposition that Ronald Koeman chooses . The Asturian coach tells that Piqué will play the final, although it had to be he who, of his own accord and in the last question of the press conference, remembered who the 10th looks like at Barça, whose name had not appeared until then: ” In my opinion, that the offensive players do not reach their maximum level, and especially Messi, is what can be most decisive in the final result “.
