Marcelino: “The players are ready”

Athletic Club head coach Marcelino García Toral is confident his side are fully prepared for their LaLiga Santander 2021-22 opener against Elche CF on Monday night (22:00 CEST).

The Lions travel down to the Martínez Valero after an impressive pre-season which ended with a draw with Liverpool FC at Anfield last week. What’s more, Athletic racked up wins over Dynamo Kyiv (1-0), Borussia Dortmund (0-2) and Southampton FC (1-3).

“The players are ready. We’ve been very pleased with their attitude during pre-season and we hope it continues tomorrow in the first official match of the season,” Marcelino said at his first pre-match press conference of the campaign.

“We’ve trained well and we showed a good level against top teams during what was a good, and at the same time very demanding, pre-season. Tomorrow the season starts and we want to win the first game.”

Elche CF and the Martínez Valero await the Lions, in what is repeat of last season’s final fixture, a match which Athletic lost.

However, Marcelino is hoping for a different outcome this time around. He also spoke of how the game in general is becoming increasingly competitive.

He said: “There’s not much between teams nowadays because there’s so much quality in football worldwide. So we have to approach every game as if it were the last.

“Let’s see if we can convert some of our chances and score one more goal than Elche.”

When asked about whether he would give more minutes to the young players who have played a prominent role in the team recently, Marcelino’s response was clear: “Of course. Last season they progressed well and we believe they’ve accepted our ideas and also improved. as players. 

“There are phases they have to go through. But people are coming in with their feet firmly on the ground and increasing the squad’s competitiveness.

“For me it’s a privilege to give debuts to boys who have wanted to play for Athletic since they were little.”