Marcelino stresses the importance of the match vs Real Sociedad (8:30pm CET, El Madrigal)
Villarreal CF manager, Marcelino García Toral, analysed the upcoming match against Real Sociedad (Sunday 8:30pm CET, El Madrigal) stressing the importance of the fixture, as it is one of the “finals” the team has left to play. “It’s the most important game we’ve played so far. It’s the match that can start to guarantee what will be an outright success. We’ve been leading up to this moment all season and now’s the time to finish the job. It’s a final after 34 fixtures of giving it our all. To finish in fourth place would be an incredible achievement”.
The manager wanted to encourage the fans to be the “12th player” against the side from San Sebastian: “It’s a final and we all have to understand that, the fans included. The team needs their support, the players are tired and so it’s even more important that they feel the encouragement from the stands. There will no doubt be tough moments in Sunday’s match and if the crowd is behind us it will be a big plus”.
Marcelino also analysed Sunday’s rival, who come to El Madrigal after losing against Getafe away, but only a few weeks ago were good enough to take down FC Barcelona: “Real Sociedad could be up there with us in the table, but their inconsistency has prevented them from doing that. They’re a team that can beat anyone on their day and have a lot of quality in their side. They have great individual talent too. What we have to try to do is make sure they don’t reach their maximum level of performance”.
Finally, the Yellows’ manager also talked about the importance of Thursday’s Europa League clash against Liverpool (9:05pm CET, El Madrigal), but reiterated that their dream to finish fourth is also hugely important: “There’s no doubting that the Semi-final is around the corner. We all have that feeling of eagerness knowing that we’re on the verge of make history at this club, but we also have another dream and that’s to finish fourth in La Liga and secure the Champions League spot for next season. The Semi-final has to wait to one side for now because first we’ve got to play Sunday’s final”.
