The Mini Submarine coach has warned of the difficulty of Huesca, who have gone seven games without defeat
Villarreal B head coach, Miguel Álvarez, appeared at the press conference prior to the match against SD Huesca, corresponding to Gameweek 33 of the LaLiga SmartBank season, which will take place this Sunday at 6.30pm CET at the Estadio de la Cerámica.
Here are his key statements:
An extraordinary run of form
“We’ve got the hang of the division, which was our goal when we left the Mini. In five-and-a-half years, the Mini has been a fortress. The first two games at La Cerámica weren’t good, but now we’ve won three games and we’re playing well, which says a lot. We’re coming up against a team that hasn’t lost in seven games and hasn’t conceded many goals. They are a competitive team, a tough side because defensively they have a very strong structure and it’s difficult to score against them. When we do what we have to do, which is to be ourselves and focus on ourselves, we are a more difficult team.”
The keys to the game
“The keys to the game, from knowing that they are a difficult opponent, we have to try to prevent their strengths from appearing. They are very good at set-pieces, they dominate set-pieces very well. They’ve scored 12 goals that way. They have people with good feet and they shoot like animals”.
200 matches in charge
“The tribute is a collective tribute to Villarreal B. I’ve been working here for six seasons and a lot of people have worked with me and a lot of players have played for me. It’s not a tribute to Miguel Álvarez, but to all the teammates I’ve had, to all the coaches in the youth system… It’s impossible to do everything alone if you don’t have a team behind you. I am the last link in the chain. There are 200 matches of many people. Without them, this would not have been possible. I’m going to do everything I can to make it 200 more.”
What is the best moment from the 200 matches?
“I’ll remember everything. Enjoying the journey and trying to make sure there are as few obstacles as possible, trying not to hurt anyone. You have to try to be happy, but also try to help people to be happy. Trying to help kids achieve their dreams, their goals… giving them all the time in the world, all the resources… Satisfaction? Before winning there are other things, we have opted for education. The individual training of the coaches helps to achieve these objectives. We have had a lot of campaigns fighting to go up, two promotions…. The one from Segunda B to Primera RFEF is vital for me. Without that promotion, we wouldn’t be in the second division. I keep everything, but above all we have created a culture and a way of doing things. It’s important to leave a legacy as a person and a legacy as a head coach/coaching staff. It’s not an individual award, it’s a collective award for all this time and all these people. They are like my family.”
Migue Leal’s suspension
“We head coaches do what we believe in at the time. It’s impossible to make everyone happy. As coaches in theB teams, we have to get everyone involved. I feel proud. All the boys who have come up from the C have four or five games in the second division. If we continue next season, many of them won’t be starting from scratch.”
