Laudrup: “Atlético are a wounded team and are always dangerous”
“The Calderón is a tough stadium but we’re going there with no pressure”
Michael Laudrup, manager of Mallorca, hopes to earn an upset at the Vicente Calderón. Not in vain, his team has beaten Sevilla and Valencia in their stadiums and scratched out a draw at Camp Nou. He pointed this out at his pre-game press conference. “It’s a tough stadium, in which very few people think we can come away with something. We did so in Barcelona, winning at Sevilla and Valencia and losing in Villarreal. It’s good for us because the only thing we can do is surprise people. There’s no pressure. We’re going there to get something positive and we’re convinced that we’re going to do just that. We’re confident, not eager about going there to get the win because we’re visiting a tough pitch and they have to go out to win. We’re not going to give them anything for free, but we’ll have to play more on the counter-attack.”
The coach is happy with the first half of league play, which comes to a close after this round, in which his squad has tallied 27 points. Whatever happens during Monday’s clash, he stated that “it’s more than was expected. Sitting in eighth place makes you calm; I think that everyone has learned that calmness is fine, but getting comfortable could be dangerous.”
He believes that Atlético de Madrid is a bit down after losing in Alicante in league play and against Real Madrid in the Cup. “They’ll look for an immediate reaction. Atlético is in a delicate moment after the two losses, but one more isn’t definitive. Nobody likes it but they’re a wounded team right now, but they’re always dangerous. They’ll want to change the dynamic after two losses like that. You have to keep Agüero, Forlán and Reyes, in mind; quality is quality. If they have a good day they can create lots of problems for us.”
The coach is happy with the first half of league play, which comes to a close after this round, in which his squad has tallied 27 points. Whatever happens during Monday’s clash, he stated that “it’s more than was expected. Sitting in eighth place makes you calm; I think that everyone has learned that calmness is fine, but getting comfortable could be dangerous.”
He believes that Atlético de Madrid is a bit down after losing in Alicante in league play and against Real Madrid in the Cup. “They’ll look for an immediate reaction. Atlético is in a delicate moment after the two losses, but one more isn’t definitive. Nobody likes it but they’re a wounded team right now, but they’re always dangerous. They’ll want to change the dynamic after two losses like that. You have to keep Agüero, Forlán and Reyes, in mind; quality is quality. If they have a good day they can create lots of problems for us.”
