Vivian: “We’ll go all out for the win on Thursday”

Athletic Club defender Dani Vivian said the players “want to build up as big of an advantage as possible” when they take on Valencia CF in the first leg of their Copa semi-final on Thursday.

The Lions knocked FC Barcelona and Real Madrid out of the Copa during a four-match winning streak in all competitions, and the defender admitted confidence is high in the dressing room at the moment.

“We’ll go all out for the win on Thursday,” Vivian said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“There’s a lot of excitement in the changing room. Our approach is always to take it one game at a time and we like the challenge ahead of us. Yesterday we played Espanyol and that was the only thing on our minds.

“As of today, we’ll start preparing for the Valencia game to the best of our ability.”

Vivian has been in good form since returning to Athletic from a loan spell at Mirandés last season. From his first 13 appearances for the Club he is still yet to taste defeat.

“I came to Athletic with a plan to work hard, keep learning every day and give all I can,” the defender said.

“I’m really happy with how it’s all going and with the results we’re getting. My only aim is to keep competing and working hard to give all I can for Athletic Club.”

The 22-year-old defender recently signed a contract extension keeping him at Los Rojiblancos until June 2026.

“I’m very happy. I couldn’t have been more excited to sign it,” Vivian added. “I was very happy throughout the entire negotiation process.

“All involved wanted to get it done as soon as possible and we thought it was the best for all. So, I’m very happy with it.”