Villarreal Women head coach Virginia García predicts a tough game against Sporting Club de Huelva due to the home side’s need for points (Sunday, 4pm CET)
Villarreal Women head coach, Virginia García, analysed the match against Sporting Club de Huelva (Sunday, 4pm CET). This is what she had to say:
A message of support for those affected by the flooding in Valencia
“We send our condolences and sympathy to all the victims of this catastrophe. These are horrifying and difficult situations we are living through. Last week, for example, we had a player miss training because her village was one of those affected. So we send all our support to those villages and to all the people who have been affected.”
A few weeks with a lot of uncertainty
“It has been a difficult and complicated few weeks in terms of emotional management, complicated because we didn’t know if we were going to compete until the last minute, but I think the group has responded very well and has adapted very well to the situation. We have a very professional group that is working very well and, taking away the uncertainty we’ve had these last few weeks, we’re back in competition and we’re coming back to play a game with a lot of enthusiasm.”
The rival: Sporting Club de Huelva
‘They are a team going through a bad situation, as they still haven’t managed to win a game in the league. We are expecting an opponent that is going to be very difficult at home, because they are a team that needs those points. We’re working, with almost the entire squad available, on how we can hurt Sporting Club de Huelva, who are a very direct team. And we’re also working on how we can continue to improve and strengthen our identity, we’re training very well and we want to compete now and get back to our routine.”
A Sporting Club de Huelva with an identity
“Antonio Toledo was my head coach at Sporting Club de Huelva and we know each other very well. He’s a head coach who knows a lot about football and has a great track record. At the end of the day, Huelva is an opponent that is very complicated when they need points. We have to be very focused and be very clear about the game plan we’ve been working on. Huelva have very good individuals, even though they haven’t won anything yet. We want to get three points which are vital for us. It will be a complicated game, but we’re going in with every guarantee that we’ll give 100 per cent and take the win.”
A brave team from the start
“The coaching staff are very happy with the way we’ve started the season. We’ve only lost two games and we’ve already played against many direct rivals. It’s good for us to have a good start with a good position in the table, although it’s true that at times we’ve shown our identity, but at times we’ve also struggled. We continue to strengthen our game, what we want from the team. We are happy with our performance, but with the ambition that we can continue to improve, we don’t have a ceiling and we want to go further. We want to keep proving that we are working well and we want to keep proving that with results we can be up there.”
The team’s good work is reflected in national call-ups
“The team is working very well and we have a squad with a lot of resources and a lot of talent. We are seeing calls from the national teams in the youth teams, both Luna González (Spain) and Maria Ferreira and Rita Almeida (Portugal), and we are very happy about that. We have a very young squad, but with a lot of talent. The good work of the group also means that these players can also be available for their national teams and increase their performance, because there is a lot of competition. We are very happy, both with the younger players and the veterans, as it is a very hard-working group and this is being reflected both collectively and individually.”
