Quique S. Flores: “To win we have to play a match similar to the one in Bilbao”
“Our goal is to get into our positions as quickly as possible”
Quique Sánchez Flores appeared optimistic about the match against Real Sociedad. The ‘rojiblanco’ had to decide amongst those in the squad to discard players for the first time in a while, as only Borja González remains in the infirmary. At his press conference, the manager spoke about this week’s opponent, what he expects of his team and the Copa del Rey, where they will take on Espanyol in the round of 16.
It’s been a long time since Quique Sánchez Flores had the entire squad available to play. With respect to this fact, he stated that “they’re all capable. We’re very pleased and satisfied about getting the players back and being able to choose from amongst them. Now things are starting to get difficult for the coach. I've had to drop players and it pains me to do so, but the positive thing is that we can count on all of them. Each match is going to continue being very tough. I’d like to clarify that, in a certain way, we haven’t had a series of injuries, but very traumatic and punctual injuries that, fortunately, don’t affect the preparation that we’re carrying out. They’ve been very unlucky injuries.”
Atlético de Madrid hasn’t ever won at Anoeta and hasn’t won in San Sebastain in a long time. Quique Sánchez Flores qualified the match as being “extremely difficult. They’re a team that has a single tool: the team. They’ve made things tough on all of their opponents at home. They only lost to Real Madrid, unjustly. If we want to win we’ll have to play a match similar to the one we played in Bilbao or in Valencia. If we don’t hit that note we’re going to have a bad time.”
It was precisely in Bilbao where they earned their only victory away from home this season. Perhaps that’s what’s at the top of Atlético’s list this year. “Since we won the last game at home, we’ve been mentally preparing ourselves that to be near the top and for nobody to bring us down from there we have to win away from home. It’s a very tough stadium to play at against a very intense team, but we’re going to try to give our all. Our goal is to get into our positions as quickly as possible because that will allow us to play with an absence of pressure that’s very necessary for this team. In any case, this season is going very well for the team, playing loose.”
With respect to how Forlán is going to feel after getting back on the score sheet last Sunday and playing with Uruguay on Wednesday, the ‘rojiblanco’ manager said that “he’s fine, very involved in what he has to do, and has all the intention of continuing with his streak.”
Another big name this week has been that of De Gea. To this regard, he was categorical. “De Gea’s brain is quite German, he doesn’t have any interference, he stays within himself, is a hard-worker and does things as well as he can. Those are his two main qualities. We’re completely calm with David. He feels like a real ‘atlético’. He’s always felt that way.”
Regarding whether he’s going to make changes in defence, Quique Sánchez Flores highlighted that “we have everyone and they’re all feeling differently. We’re going to try and put out the best possible. This is a match that requires strong and aggressive players, who know how to defend aggressively.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager gave his opinion on the Copa del Rey draw, although he didn’t want to speak beyond the round of 16 and prefers to focus on Espanyol. “It’s a draw that, at the start, will put us under more pressure than last year because last year people put us in the final before having won the qualifying rounds. This year it’s going to be a difficult Cup. Espanyol is the surprise team of the season and after them everyone we might face is a candidate for the final: Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal or Sevilla. They’re the best of the best. So we have to go match-to-match and start with Espanyol, who won’t be easy.”
Regarding Paulo Assunçao, who has gone from being an undisputed starter to the bench, the head coach had an answer. “We noticed a small problem in Norway, where we didn’t see the Assunçao that we were used to. The truth is that we’re used to him being a Swiss watch, a guy who never drops below his exact performance. But he lost an important loved one and he’s a bit down, which is affecting him. We’re behind him and paying close attention to him, but his performance has clearly dropped. Between that and that he’s not used to not playing, we have to try and get him back as soon as possible. He’s extremely important to this team; I’d say crucial.”
It’s been a long time since Quique Sánchez Flores had the entire squad available to play. With respect to this fact, he stated that “they’re all capable. We’re very pleased and satisfied about getting the players back and being able to choose from amongst them. Now things are starting to get difficult for the coach. I've had to drop players and it pains me to do so, but the positive thing is that we can count on all of them. Each match is going to continue being very tough. I’d like to clarify that, in a certain way, we haven’t had a series of injuries, but very traumatic and punctual injuries that, fortunately, don’t affect the preparation that we’re carrying out. They’ve been very unlucky injuries.”
Atlético de Madrid hasn’t ever won at Anoeta and hasn’t won in San Sebastain in a long time. Quique Sánchez Flores qualified the match as being “extremely difficult. They’re a team that has a single tool: the team. They’ve made things tough on all of their opponents at home. They only lost to Real Madrid, unjustly. If we want to win we’ll have to play a match similar to the one we played in Bilbao or in Valencia. If we don’t hit that note we’re going to have a bad time.”
It was precisely in Bilbao where they earned their only victory away from home this season. Perhaps that’s what’s at the top of Atlético’s list this year. “Since we won the last game at home, we’ve been mentally preparing ourselves that to be near the top and for nobody to bring us down from there we have to win away from home. It’s a very tough stadium to play at against a very intense team, but we’re going to try to give our all. Our goal is to get into our positions as quickly as possible because that will allow us to play with an absence of pressure that’s very necessary for this team. In any case, this season is going very well for the team, playing loose.”
With respect to how Forlán is going to feel after getting back on the score sheet last Sunday and playing with Uruguay on Wednesday, the ‘rojiblanco’ manager said that “he’s fine, very involved in what he has to do, and has all the intention of continuing with his streak.”
Another big name this week has been that of De Gea. To this regard, he was categorical. “De Gea’s brain is quite German, he doesn’t have any interference, he stays within himself, is a hard-worker and does things as well as he can. Those are his two main qualities. We’re completely calm with David. He feels like a real ‘atlético’. He’s always felt that way.”
Regarding whether he’s going to make changes in defence, Quique Sánchez Flores highlighted that “we have everyone and they’re all feeling differently. We’re going to try and put out the best possible. This is a match that requires strong and aggressive players, who know how to defend aggressively.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager gave his opinion on the Copa del Rey draw, although he didn’t want to speak beyond the round of 16 and prefers to focus on Espanyol. “It’s a draw that, at the start, will put us under more pressure than last year because last year people put us in the final before having won the qualifying rounds. This year it’s going to be a difficult Cup. Espanyol is the surprise team of the season and after them everyone we might face is a candidate for the final: Real Madrid, Valencia, Villarreal or Sevilla. They’re the best of the best. So we have to go match-to-match and start with Espanyol, who won’t be easy.”
Regarding Paulo Assunçao, who has gone from being an undisputed starter to the bench, the head coach had an answer. “We noticed a small problem in Norway, where we didn’t see the Assunçao that we were used to. The truth is that we’re used to him being a Swiss watch, a guy who never drops below his exact performance. But he lost an important loved one and he’s a bit down, which is affecting him. We’re behind him and paying close attention to him, but his performance has clearly dropped. Between that and that he’s not used to not playing, we have to try and get him back as soon as possible. He’s extremely important to this team; I’d say crucial.”
