Marcelino: “To win a final you have to do much more”
Marcelino: “To win a final you have to do much more”
The coach expressed his disappointment after the defeat against Barça: “We are sad because, once again, we didn’t compete at our maximum level.”
Athletic Club manager Marcelino García Toral admitted the Lions did not do enough on the night as they lost the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona.
Four Barça goals in a 12-minute second-half spell saw Athletic fall to anoter Copa final loss in April.
“We’re sad and disappointed that once again we weren’t able to compete at our best level,” Marcelino said during his post-match press conference.
“Barça were superior, they won very deservedly and we have to congratulate them. As for ourselves, it’s clear that to win a final you have to do much more than what we did.
“In the second half, after their first goal, we faded away and were unable to react. If you don’t make four or five passes in a row, it’s impossible to create dangerous chances.
” We lacked mobility, we didn’t move, the ball seemed heavy at our feet. It’s not easy to explain, but that was the reality.”
The boss said Athletic will need to improve their competitive level if they want to win final in the future.
He said: “It’s very important to reach finals, but then you have to compete to have a chance. We did it three months ago against the same opponent, but today we weren’t able to do it.
“It’s clear that the team played these two finals well below the level it showed a few months ago.
“We tried our best and I am still proud of my players, but maybe at this moment we have to increase our competitive level continuously and not sporadically to be able to win finals.”