Marcelino: “Head and heart. That’s they key to victory”
Marcelino: “Head and heart. That’s they key to victory”
Marcelino is confident ahead of the big game against Barça: “We are very hopeful we can bring the Copa back to Bilbao.”
Athletic Club manager Marcelino stressed that his side will need to play an intelligent game with lots of courage in order to defeat FC Barcelona in Saturday night’s Copa del Rey 2020-21 final.
“Head and heart. That’s the key to victory,” Marcelino said at a press conference in La Cartuja. “We have to concentrate on our own game and performing to the best of our abilities, because that’s the only way we’ll win the final.
“We have to show the players how to play the game and give them the confidence and the resolve not to think about the result, but to play the game.
“The result is a product of the game and to get the result we want we have to do our best both physically and mentally. And we’re going to do it.
“These players and these fans deserve this.”
After suffering defeat in the 2019-20 final against Real Sociedad, Athletic have an unprecedented opportunity to win the same trophy only two weeks later.
“The final against la Real is already history,” Marcelino insisted. “We’ve analysed why we weren’t ourselves and now we’re only worrying about the 90 minutes in front of us.
“We’re very excited about this final. We’re up against an extremely difficult opponent.
“But that won’t take away from our belief that we can win and bring the Copa back to Bilbao.”
When asked about the physical condition of the Athletic squad, Marcelino said: “In principle, we believe all the players will be available.
“After training, we’ll speak to everyone and make a definitive decision.
“This is a final and we can’t let any physical doubts distract us from the game plan.”