Quique S. Flores: “Mission accomplished; we’re excited to pass through”
“The Cup is an attractive competition for us”
Quique Sánchez Flores was pleased about qualifying for the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. The ‘rojiblanco’ manager made it very clear that “we accomplished our goal in this match. We’re really excited to make it to the next round. The Cup is an attractive competition for us. We knew that it was going to be a tough match and we played a solid game.”
Regarding the substitution of Valera for Ujfalusi in the second half, the head coach admitted that he did it as a precaution. “Those are extreme situations and these matches really tire you out. But we have Valera in that position and he also plays well.”
Asked if we was surprised that Luis García didn’t start because when he did come on he changed the match, Quique Sánchez Flores stated that “Espanyol has important players who didn’t start, but I have the feeling that they’re a squad that also sends on expert players every time they make a substitution. They’re a team that plays well and pushes you hard and against them you have to do things well to come away with something positive. I believe that Pochettino didn’t to anything to give us the qualifying tie, but rather that he contested it until the last second.”
He didn’t want to touch on rumours concerning possible signings, but did want to clear up what he’d said in his press conference before heading to Barcelona. “When I speak in the lead-up to a match I made that comment about how last year’s success might take 40 years in repeating itself, what I’m thinking is that playing in three finals in the same season is very difficult. Later, people’s subsequent interpretations of that go beyond what I said. I’d like to remind all Atlético fans, who are people that push us and have supported us to the max, people who are excited about this project, that I’m going to represent what I’ve represented from the first day: maximum commitment, maximum ambition and the drive to reach goals and win titles. I’ll point to the facts. We’ll keep working all season as hard as we can and pushing the team to its limit.”
To finish, Quique Sánches Flores said that he thinks it would be good if the winter signing period didn’t go as it has in previous years. “The winter market is infinitely more attractive than in previous years. The fact that any player can play in another team even though they’ve played X amount of games makes it a more attractive market than the previous one, in which I didn’t believe. Now it’s different. It’s clear to me that the front office is working as best they can against unpredictable situations that arise during the season.”
Regarding the substitution of Valera for Ujfalusi in the second half, the head coach admitted that he did it as a precaution. “Those are extreme situations and these matches really tire you out. But we have Valera in that position and he also plays well.”
Asked if we was surprised that Luis García didn’t start because when he did come on he changed the match, Quique Sánchez Flores stated that “Espanyol has important players who didn’t start, but I have the feeling that they’re a squad that also sends on expert players every time they make a substitution. They’re a team that plays well and pushes you hard and against them you have to do things well to come away with something positive. I believe that Pochettino didn’t to anything to give us the qualifying tie, but rather that he contested it until the last second.”
He didn’t want to touch on rumours concerning possible signings, but did want to clear up what he’d said in his press conference before heading to Barcelona. “When I speak in the lead-up to a match I made that comment about how last year’s success might take 40 years in repeating itself, what I’m thinking is that playing in three finals in the same season is very difficult. Later, people’s subsequent interpretations of that go beyond what I said. I’d like to remind all Atlético fans, who are people that push us and have supported us to the max, people who are excited about this project, that I’m going to represent what I’ve represented from the first day: maximum commitment, maximum ambition and the drive to reach goals and win titles. I’ll point to the facts. We’ll keep working all season as hard as we can and pushing the team to its limit.”
To finish, Quique Sánches Flores said that he thinks it would be good if the winter signing period didn’t go as it has in previous years. “The winter market is infinitely more attractive than in previous years. The fact that any player can play in another team even though they’ve played X amount of games makes it a more attractive market than the previous one, in which I didn’t believe. Now it’s different. It’s clear to me that the front office is working as best they can against unpredictable situations that arise during the season.”
