Villarreal B take on Tenerife this Saturday at 7pm CET at the Mini Estadi

Villarreal B head coach Miguel Álvarez appeared in front of the media ahead of the game against CD Tenerife, corresponding to Matchday 20 of the 2022/23 LaLiga SmartBank season, which will take place on Saturday at 7pm CET at the Mini Estadi. The Mini Submarine will have a tough test against the Balearic side, who are in good form going into the game at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground.

Here are his key quotes:

The match against Cartagena

“We have been playing well for weeks now. Before, games slipped away from us because of small details. Against Cartagena, we improved a lot defensively and we were at our best on the ball. Even so, we almost let the result slip away because of a silly penalty in stoppage time. We can’t make those mistakes against an opponent like Cartagena at home, but we have the feeling that the team is getting better and that makes me, as coach, very calm because I see a reliable team.”

Youth

“They have to speed up the process because they are kids who go with the first team and compete so other team-mates don’t get put in the process. Now Hugo has come in because of the suspensions and he’s done phenomenally well. They have to compete closely with their team-mates, but you can’t give anything away in professional football. We know they are young people and we are empathetic with them.”

Pablo Iñiguez

“We have played a number of games without Pablo. He is a different player for us. The pity is that he’s been out for 15 games because he was on fire at the start of the season. He improves the people around him. He’s been unlucky with injuries, but in these two years with us he’s made a tremendous evolution as a footballer. It’s important for us to have him because the boys notice him. We have better footballing skills and better ball control. Now Hugo, who is 19, has played with him and he looks like a veteran.”

Rotating in goal

“Filip and Iker have grown a lot and Gianni is also doing very well. We are lucky to have three tremendous goalkeepers. Many people around me ask me how it can be that all three play every year and it’s because they deserve it, as it would happen with strikers. It is true that it is a specific position, but we have good goalkeepers and there is a similarity in quality and performance. Gianni is like Pablo, he is a phenomenal companion to travel with and a help to the coaches. He helps us to guide the boys.”

Tenerife

“Todos los partidos son importantes. Es un equipo que debería estar arriba, pero hay tantos buenos que alguno se tiene que quedar abajo. Vendrán con la moral muy alta tras ganar al Alavés. Espero de los chicos que sigan como estamos haciendo hasta ahora y en el crecimiento en momentos con balón y en los momentos que nos penalizan porque ellos tienen gente arriba de un nivel alto”.

“Every game is important. They are a team that should be at the top of the table, but there are so many good teams that one of them has to be lower down. They will come here full of confidence after beating Alavés. I expect the lads to continue as we’ve been doing so far and to grow at times when they have the ball and at times when they penalise us because they have players at a high level up top.”