Unai Emery underlined that Villarreal need to respect Real Valladolid
The Villarreal head coach appeared in front of the media ahead of the first game of the LaLiga Santander season, where the Yellows will face Real Valladolid (Saturday, 7pm CEST). Here are the standout quotes from his press conference:
Excitement and progress
“We are excited, we want to progress and improve in a great season. It has been a demanding pre-season. We have a very different start to the season than usual, where we’re going to play more away from home, so pre-season focused on playing against strong away teams to adapt as quickly as possible to the environment we’re going to live in over the next two and a half months.”
Difficulty and respect
“I admire Pacheta. He is a football man and knows how to manage. Real Valladolid are going to have confidence and perform well, they are going to respect us but they are going to go for us. Nowadays all teams compete, each with their own qualities. We have to maintain the strength we showed the pre-season and respect what they demand of us. It’s a difficult match. We want to find our game and be a team with guarantees.”
The burden of injuries
“Injuries are a constant problem. Alberto Moreno is doing really well, but we have to be cautious. Kiko Femenía won’t be fit tomorrow, his injury is less serious, but it’s weighing us down when it comes to integrating him on the pitch and getting the synergies of the team. Trigueros has a fracture and it should take about six weeks for him to recover. As for Danjuma, he has recurring discomfort that is being treated, but he is still not training on the pitch and will not be able to play against Valladolid. We have the resources to have a eleven and bench with guarantees tomorrow.”
The goals go beyond the sporting level
“LaLiga is what really matters, but we are not going to leave the Conference League to one side. When you talk about objectives you have to go beyond that, I want to be better, to grow, for the club to grow, to make the players better… That there are players who grow and can be sold is also a source of pride. Villarreal have always wanted to have recognition for their game and I, in two years, have been giving continuity to that. It is the basis. This project aims to play good football and maybe we have failed to break down some barriers”.
