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JUANMA VELASCO
Updated
Athletic prepares for the classic of San Mamés, where the confrontation with Real Madrid is always a star event of the season. Valverde He adjusts his team for a game in which errors penalize more than ever. “We have to do everything well and you can never neglect yourself,” he says..
The moment of Real Madrid: “He is the League champion. They have recently lost to Liverpool and Milan in the Champions League, but in the League they are cutting points from Barcelona. It’s fine, as always. It’s a great team. Winning is not easy and maintaining a line of overpowering, which is what is asked of these teams, is not easy. The other day they beat Getafe with ease and for us it is a very difficult match. We look back and see that It is a game that costs us a lot. When a team has options to advance and the opponent fails, it is a mental boost, of course. Even if Real Madrid wins now and in a month takes 7 points from Barça, or that goes the other way around, LaLiga will not be finished.”
The incidence of Real Madrid: “I have to choose because If I pay too much attention to one, we might let go of another… Mbappé is one of the differentials, but they are all extraordinary players and you can never neglect yourself. But not only in the strategic actions that they take, also in those that you take because in the next action one appears in front of the goalkeeper.”
The key to the match: “We have to do everything well and you can never neglect yourself. They have resources. I watch other teams’ games and the same thing keeps happening: If you don’t finish the plays, Real Madrid will punish youbecause they are not going to fail. Going to the situation of one attack and them having another one will not go well for us. To the extent that we limit their attacks we will have possibilities”.
If goalkeepers have parapsychological qualities they could know who is going to play, but I haven’t told them yet
Athletic’s moment: “The season is long. As this progresses we feel good and in that sense we are happy. There are many games with different rivals and We are maintaining ourselves both in the League and in Europe and we are giving a good measure. We’re fine, I don’t know if it’s the best time or not. The match against Real Madrid is interesting because we are playing two teams that are doing well.”
The plan with the goalkeepers: “If they have parapsychological qualities they could know who is going to play, but I haven’t told them yet because there is no time between so many games. Is something I have to decide”.
Real Madrid or Villarreal, which is the most important match: “The three points are worth the same. It is true that Villarreal is a rival that is closer to us and a priori with which we have more at stake in the direct classification. We all know that Real Madrid will end up on top. But well, having said that, If we can both win, much better. We are not going to leave anyone aside”.
We want to give continuity to everything and in the same way that last year’s defeat was an accident, we do not want a good year like the previous one to be an accident.
The feelings since Real Madrid’s last visit: “It was at the beginning of a season that we started badly and with a defeat. They played very well that game. We are happy with how it went later, with how we got back together. We did what we expected we could do and we are very happy with what we did in a year in which we won the Cup. We want to give continuity to everything and in the same way that that defeat was an accident we do not want a good year like the previous one. be an accident.”
The most special match of the season: “The next one is always the next one. Each match has its incentive. When you start to think that there is a game that has no incentive, that is when you start to lose it. Obviously you always look when you play with Real Madrid, with Real, with the teams that are higher up and with which you have things at stake.”
The atmosphere of San Mamés: “We know what San Mamés is like at its best and we know what it is like when it comes to pushing.. We have to make the public push us even more, because the public gets hooked if we have things to say. “It feeds us.”
Fight until the end for the Champions League: “I would like to say yes, but I don’t know. We are in a good position, which is the important thing. We have to be close to or within the European positions and now that we are there we will try to stay. Then we’ll see how the season evolves and how we evolve. At the moment, we are growing”.
