Sara Monforte praised Real Sociedad, Villarreal Women’s next opponent, how they play and their club model
Villarreal Women head coach Sara Monforte appeared this lunchtime in front of the press ahead of the tie against Real Sociedad this Sunday (12pm CEST) at Zubieta. Here are the highlights of what she had to say.
Morale of the team
“The team is in a good place. We’re conscious of the division we’re in. We aren’t going to draw conclusions from the result. The 0-8 hurt us, but the team showed character, they’re strong and they’re keen to get back out there. We have to be positive and think about the next game. They’re a good group and that makes us stronger.”
Psychological work
“Psychologically, you work before and after. They’re aware of that. The game is now behind us and we need to continue. When you see you’re giving 200% and they’re so much better, you don’t have a good time. It happened to me as a player. We work daily to be ready.”
Real Sociedad
“You can see how they play. Their coach likes positional play, to have the ball, to press high, to press quickly after losing the ball, to take the game into the opposition half… It’s a style of football I like a lot. I recognize that I really like Real Sociedad. They play really well. They’re also very direct. They have 12 points from a possible 12 but we’re going to try and come away with the game.”
The opposition model
“Real Sociedad have been in the elite of Spanish women’s football for a number of years, with the team getting a lot of support and doing things well. It’s true that a lot of players have left, but they’ve signed very well. They’re an example to follow.”
Absences
“We’ve got Tere, Zaira and Estefa out. Elena de Toro also ended the last game with discomfort. That’s why we have such a deep squad. We have resources for situations like this.”
Key to the game
“It’s difficult to know exactly because in a game various things could happen, but they are very comfortable with the ball, and we need to try and get it and keep possession, stop them from being able to play associative football and connect with their players up top. We know that we’re direct, and they will also prepare transitions. We want to try and use our pace up front.”
