Unai Emery sees Austria Wien as a ‘modern team in terms of their ideas’
Villarreal CF head coach Unai Emery appeared in front of the media ahead of the match against Austria Wien this Thursday (9pm CEST, Ciutat da València). He underlined that he sees the game as a chance to secure their place at the top of Group C of the UEFA Europa Conference League. However, he emphasised that overcoming the Austrian team will not be easy.
Excitement and respect
“We’re approaching the game full of the excitement that Europe is about, with respect for every team and hoping to top the group. We got a hard-fought victory in Israel and that’s why we’re trying to balance the difficulty of the game we’ll face tomorrow. All matches in Europe are difficult, but we want to be strong at home and even more so in front of our own fans. At the moment, we have a good record in Europe and tomorrow we want to live it all over again.”
Winning to consolidate our position
“The first objective is to win, to have nine points to be close to the objective, which is to be first in the group. Also, the management of the players, so that everyone feels involved.”
Alberto Moreno’s return
“Alberto is a player who gives us tremendous energy, he is very much loved in the dressing room and transmits a lot of vitality. I love to see him training and in the group because that positive energy is necessary for the dressing room. He was a very important player for us until his injury and he has skills that help us a lot.”
Continuity in the team
“We’ve done pre-season work where we have tried to build a team and we are constantly looking for improvements, finding the virtues that we have. We want everyone to play their part, like Dela, a B-team player who will be with us tomorrow. My idea is to give the team continuity and find performance based on confidence and demand.”
Opposition analysis
“Austria Wien are a modern team in their style of play, they play a lot of combination football. They have a very identifiable system that presses high and within that modernity, they make the most of things. We have to find our strengths that are above and beyond those characteristics.”
A message to the fans
“The fans are being loyal to the team despite the adversity of having to go to Valencia. We want everyone to make a that last bit of effort. Seeing yellow in the stands is very important for us.”
