The Yellows’ goalkeeper expects a tough match against Olympique de Marseille
Villarreal CF goalkeeper, Pepe Reina, appeared before the media in the press room at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground to talk about the tie between the Submarine and Olympique de Marseille in the last 16 of the Europa League, the first leg of which takes place this Thursday at the Stade Velodrome, kick-off at 9pm CET.
This is what he had to say:
The growth of the team
“We are in a positive dynamic. We’ve been doing things well for several weeks now and we hope to continue on this path. We want to continue to give joy to the people in a year that has not been as we expected and there is a competition that is a great hope for the club, the people and that we face with great enthusiasm knowing how difficult it is.”
Excitement for the Europa League
“It is a competition that has always been important for us. We did a good job in the first part of the competition, qualifying as group winners and now we face the Round of 16 with enthusiasm, knowing that this tournament is a way to fight among the best teams in Europe and lift a title.”
On the tie
“It’s a very even tie. Marseille are a team that have great players, who are in a good run of form and who, like us, are looking forward to this tie with a lot of enthusiasm. It is crucial to get a positive result in the first leg to face the second leg with confidence and to be able to get through the tie.”
Winning another title with Villarreal
“Winning titles is the dream of every footballer. It will be very difficult, we know that, because it hasn’t been an easy year and there are great teams in the competition, but we’ll do well if we get our hopes up, compete and try.”
