Marcelino García Toral has emphasised that the derby against Valencia will be a really tough game
Villarreal CF head coach Marcelino García Toral has assured that his team will try to get back to winning ways to give their fans something to cheer about in the derby against Valencia (Sunday, 4:15pm CET). A very special match in which the Yellows will have just a few hours rest after the European clash against Olympique Marseille last Thursday.
Few hours of rest and a lot of motivation
“We’ll see how we recover because we only trained yesterday. Today everyone will be working together as a group. Today we’ll see how tired the players are ahead of tomorrow’s game. Based on this training session and the players’ feelings, we’ll see who we can field to win.”
Analysis of Valencia
“We are expecting a good team. They are doing very well. Baraja is doing an excellent job. Young players from the youth academy and with quality. It’s a team that runs a lot, fast and very dynamic. They make good use of long play and counter-attacking. They are united. They have a very clear identity. They are exceeding expectations. They were far superior to us at Mestalla in December and now we want to be. We have improved a lot since then, as shown by the results and the way we have played. We are coming from a good run in the league and we did well against Marseille to reach the quarter-finals. But the success in the penalty area tipped the tie the other way. Now we have to think about LALIGA, try to win and give the fans something to cheer about in a match that is always special.”
Constant improvement
“The team has had a lot of difficulties. Not winning has made the team suffer, suffer, lose confidence. With their work, they have managed to get back to what they were, to enjoy football, to make the fans happy. We have to maintain this performance and this progression. We always preach ambition, enthusiasm and the ability to improve. I am very satisfied with the reaction of the squad since we have arrived here.”
Changes intothe game plan
“We have adapted to the players and the style. We have tried to adapt to the players we had and to what these players know best. The squad was set up to play 4-3-3, which gives you a lot of players to play in specific positions. Against Betis and Real Sociedad, we were very good. And against Olympique Marseille at home we played an extraordinary game. We have extraordinary players and a great capacity to adapt.”
Options until the end
“We’ve gone eight games unbeaten in LALIGA. We’ve won at very difficult grounds like Barça, Betis and Real Sociedad and we’ve played some very good games at home where we didn’t manage to win. The dynamic is good. We’ve only lost one game out of the last ten. It’s an indication that the team has a good level of football. You can have a bad game at any moment and Valencia are a tough team and they make the most of their opponents’ mistakes. I like to act rather than talk, and I like to have immediate objectives in mind. The immediate thing is the game against Valencia. Not what we are capable of doing in the future. We have to win a lot and think about the most immediate match. And we’ll see how far we get in the final stretch.”
The keys to winning
“We have to do the opposite of what we did at Mestalla in December. We have to play at a much higher level. They went over our heads. Especially in the first half hour. We have to be more intense, creative and attacking. If we can do that, we’ll have a better chance of winning.”
