Quique S. Flores: “As Champions we want to give our best against Rosenborg”
“We expect a very different match from the one at the Calderón”
During his the press conference held before the ‘rojiblanco’ squad hit the pitch at Lerkendal Stadion, Quique Sánchez Flores highlighted that Rosenborg isn’t going to be the same team that we saw in Madrid and that he expects a complicated match. Furthermore, he stated that his side has to play a great game to obtain a good result. “We expect a very different match from the one in Madrid, with a more aggressive team and more direct play. But we’re also going to play a match that is different in some way. We know that it won’t be the same.”
The home team’s manager, Nils Arne Eggen, compared Agüero to Messi during his pre-game press conference, saying that Kun is as important to Atlético as Messi is to Barcelona. Quique Sánchez Flores responded by pointing out that “Agüero is an important and different player for us. He’s amongst the best players in the world, but he’s still very young and has to do some things to be like Messi. We don’t compare Agüero with anybody. We expect him to give his maximum performance and without comparing him to anybody.”
The Norwegian media wanted to know if Forlán would be ready to play against Rosenborg. “We won’t know if he’ll be ready to play until right before the match. I don’t usually give my starting line-up early but if he’s healthy, he’ll have the same possibilities of playing as the rest.”
With respect to the Uruguayan, the ‘rojiblanco’ manager indicated that “all of the players who made a big effort during the World Cup have problems during the first months of competition and we knew that it was going to happen. That’s why we’re trying to prepare the best space possible for the recovery of the footballer.”
He stressed that both he and the team are focused on the Europa League match before thinking about Sunday’s classic. “We want to continue in the competition and everything goes through getting a favourable result. The derby doesn’t mean anything before this match and between games we can get a sense of the situation and what might happen. For me, there’s no other match except the one against Rosenborg until Friday.”
He again touched on the Uruguayan striker, stating that “with Forlán we’ll see where we’re at after the final training session. He admitted that it wasn’t anything big after Tuesday’s practice and that he was feeling better after having stopped working out. It’s an important enough match that we wouldn’t leave a player back in Madrid unless he was really hurt. It’s a serious enough match and Forlán, if healthy, could help us to resolve situations in this encounter. There was no medical, personal, technical or tactical reason to think that Forlán might stay in Madrid. On the contrary, if the players are ready for Thursday then they’ll be ready for Sunday and that’s the dynamic. He wants to play against Rosenborg because he wants to play on Sunday.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager spoke about the injuries that have plagued the team recently. “We’re having very bad luck with traumatic injuries. It’s not logical for there to be knee sprains because one was struck with the ball, that there are ankle sprains in the final minutes of an Under-21 match. Those are situations that are out of our control, just like a player who trips on a chunk of turf and gets a sprain. You have to take precaution, make sure a potted plant doesn’t fall on us in the street, and we’re going to try and go match-to-match with as much craftiness as possible.”
He was asked what was more important for the organization, the match in Trondheim or the match at the Bernabéu. “If we want to nobly defend the history of Atlético de Madrid, we have to value both matches greatly. As champions of this competition we want to give our best against Rosenborg and as an historic team that knows how to play in derbies, we have to play another great match on Sunday. The schedule wanted it this way and we have to be up to the challenge. If we feel proud about anything, not just us but our supporters, in recent months, it’s about being a squad that has given its all and which is doing the same thing this season as well.”
Rosenborg still hasn’t lost in its stadium this season in either league play or in Europa League. “We have to imagine that walls are there to be jumped. We have to be strong and see if we’re excited enough to jump over and overcome difficulties. It surprises me when I’m asked about Rosenborg almost pejoratively. Sometimes it seems like people treat Rosenborg like a team that hasn’t beaten anybody. Rosenborg has fantastic numbers this season. We can’t underestimate our opponent and if we don’t underestimate them and are really focused, we’ll be close to reaching our objective, but it’s not going to be easy. We’ll have to have the feeling that we’ve played a great game to obtain a good result.”
The home team’s manager, Nils Arne Eggen, compared Agüero to Messi during his pre-game press conference, saying that Kun is as important to Atlético as Messi is to Barcelona. Quique Sánchez Flores responded by pointing out that “Agüero is an important and different player for us. He’s amongst the best players in the world, but he’s still very young and has to do some things to be like Messi. We don’t compare Agüero with anybody. We expect him to give his maximum performance and without comparing him to anybody.”
The Norwegian media wanted to know if Forlán would be ready to play against Rosenborg. “We won’t know if he’ll be ready to play until right before the match. I don’t usually give my starting line-up early but if he’s healthy, he’ll have the same possibilities of playing as the rest.”
With respect to the Uruguayan, the ‘rojiblanco’ manager indicated that “all of the players who made a big effort during the World Cup have problems during the first months of competition and we knew that it was going to happen. That’s why we’re trying to prepare the best space possible for the recovery of the footballer.”
He stressed that both he and the team are focused on the Europa League match before thinking about Sunday’s classic. “We want to continue in the competition and everything goes through getting a favourable result. The derby doesn’t mean anything before this match and between games we can get a sense of the situation and what might happen. For me, there’s no other match except the one against Rosenborg until Friday.”
He again touched on the Uruguayan striker, stating that “with Forlán we’ll see where we’re at after the final training session. He admitted that it wasn’t anything big after Tuesday’s practice and that he was feeling better after having stopped working out. It’s an important enough match that we wouldn’t leave a player back in Madrid unless he was really hurt. It’s a serious enough match and Forlán, if healthy, could help us to resolve situations in this encounter. There was no medical, personal, technical or tactical reason to think that Forlán might stay in Madrid. On the contrary, if the players are ready for Thursday then they’ll be ready for Sunday and that’s the dynamic. He wants to play against Rosenborg because he wants to play on Sunday.”
The ‘rojiblanco’ manager spoke about the injuries that have plagued the team recently. “We’re having very bad luck with traumatic injuries. It’s not logical for there to be knee sprains because one was struck with the ball, that there are ankle sprains in the final minutes of an Under-21 match. Those are situations that are out of our control, just like a player who trips on a chunk of turf and gets a sprain. You have to take precaution, make sure a potted plant doesn’t fall on us in the street, and we’re going to try and go match-to-match with as much craftiness as possible.”
He was asked what was more important for the organization, the match in Trondheim or the match at the Bernabéu. “If we want to nobly defend the history of Atlético de Madrid, we have to value both matches greatly. As champions of this competition we want to give our best against Rosenborg and as an historic team that knows how to play in derbies, we have to play another great match on Sunday. The schedule wanted it this way and we have to be up to the challenge. If we feel proud about anything, not just us but our supporters, in recent months, it’s about being a squad that has given its all and which is doing the same thing this season as well.”
Rosenborg still hasn’t lost in its stadium this season in either league play or in Europa League. “We have to imagine that walls are there to be jumped. We have to be strong and see if we’re excited enough to jump over and overcome difficulties. It surprises me when I’m asked about Rosenborg almost pejoratively. Sometimes it seems like people treat Rosenborg like a team that hasn’t beaten anybody. Rosenborg has fantastic numbers this season. We can’t underestimate our opponent and if we don’t underestimate them and are really focused, we’ll be close to reaching our objective, but it’s not going to be easy. We’ll have to have the feeling that we’ve played a great game to obtain a good result.”