“It´s going to be a quite levelled qualifying round compared to the previous ones”
“It´s going to be a quite levelled qualifying round compared to the previous ones”
Gaizka Garitano is aware of Athletic Club being of an upper category than Elche, but he highlights the level of the rival and assessed the 16th round of Copa del Rey
“We’ll see in the training session planned for today, because there are several players with hits and doubts, and from there we’ll design the most competitive squad to win the upcoming match.”Gaizka Garitano expressed his views in Lezama before the last training session to be held before the clash tomorrow (Martinez Valero, 19:00) 16th round of Copa del Rey against Elche CF.
The red-and-white manager assessed the match as follows before the team makes its way towards Alicante: “The further we get, the more difficult the rival is. This is going to be a difficult match, even more complex than the previous ones because Elche is already a leading team in the Second Division and they are also having a good season. We’ve prepared the match as if it were against Real Madrid because if we want to get far in the Cup we can’t miss any opportunity to continue in the competition. We are seeing quite levelled qualifying rounds and that’s why we have to play a good match to win the round.”
When analysing his rival, Garitano has pointed out the following: “It’s a team that plays quality football, on one of the biggest fields in Spain in terms of size, and it’s usually in good condition. In that sense, we have no excuse. Pacheta likes to kick the ball well and has players of that style of play. We have to respect our opponents, but we know that we’re of a higher category and that we have to get through the round.”