Rueda de prensa de Ernesto Marcucci previa al Sevilla FC-Levante
First team

MARCUCCI: "WE'RE GOING TO TRY AND TURN THE PAGE, WE KNOW IT CAN'T HAPPEN AGAIN"

14/12/2017
The coach warned of Levante's dangers and assured the press that the squad knows what happened in the Bernabéu was unforgivable - even with the merits of some recent results

Ernesto Marcucci spoke to the media this Thursday one day before Sevilla's final home game of the season against Levante UD. The coach assured the press that the clash against the Valencian side will be "a difficult game against a side that doesn't come with the greatest form but will undoubtedly be wanting to get something against Sevilla. We have to be ready to play against an opponent who plays well, counters well and will demand all our effort".

Beyond the opponents, Marcucci seemed conscious of wanting to give a better impression than was shown in the rout in the Santiago Bernabéu - which he said was not comparable to what happened against Spartak Moscow: "We know that the first-half against Madrid was bad and everyone knows we can't repeat it... I said to them the other day in the Bernabéu that when things like that happen, things are said, headlines that aren't deserved... The other day was really bad - we all know it, the players know it, anyone who went to the game knows it - but when we talk about Spartak we're talking about 20 minutes after Ben Yedder's opportunity was cleared off the line. What we showed at the Bernabéu was not the same as the Spartak game... The other day was definitely bad, especially in the first-half but every game isn't the same. There are tons of things to analyse... That's to stay we didn't compete and that's bad. Against Valencia was bad, also against Madrid but against Spartak we were in the game until the 70th minute. The other day was decidedly bad and we know it".

"The the other day was really bad - we know it, the players know it, anyone who went to the game knows it"

In that regard, when asked about the Chairman's words about the loss in the Bernabéu, he said that losses like Saturday's have no place at Sevilla FC: "the Chairman has every right to express his feelings, that's why he's the chairman. You don't need to be one to know how bad the first half against Real Madrid was. We've spoken about it, we know and we're going to try and turn the page because we know it can't happen again. To do that we need to work on what we do badly and reinforce what we do well - because this team has done a lot of things well.  We're as critical as we can be; we are the very first to criticise our first half against Madrid, but before the match you were asking me if we could fight for the title if won at the Bernabéu... We came in undefeated in nine games and having qualified in the Champions League..."  

"Before the match you were asking me if we could fight for the title if won at the Bernabéu"

On the health of Berizzo he said "Eduardo is still progressing excellently, as was predicted. What has happened is that they've forbidden him for travelling by plane and that rules him out for Wednesday but if the match we're here he'd definitely be here".

"It's going to be breath of fresh air to have Eduardo back"

Will he be around to train next week? "I hope so. We really really hope so, a lot. He's doing really well, I think it will be a breath of fresh air for everybody to see Eduardo back in his place" he said. 

Finally, on N'Zonzi, he said "It's still the same. On the occasions Eduardo and I have come to press conferences, we haven't said anything specific about the player or the circumstances. We've never singled anyone out. N'Zonzi has expressed himself in the way he has, he will have his motivations and he has his rights, this coaching team is used to solving problems in the changing room, not for the press".