First team

SAMPAOLI EMPHASISES THAT FOR ATHLETIC “IT’S GOING TO BE A DEFINING MATCH”

01/03/2017

The boss warned that Athletic will arrive in Nervión needing to win away from home and to take a big step towards achieving their European ambitions

Jorge Sampaoli is wary of Athletic Club. The Argentinian manager made that clear this Wednesday at the press conference ahead of the encounter with the Basque side: “It’s a very important match and also a very difficult one…We’re always playing teams who are going through decisive periods for their future. Bilbao will be looking to qualify for a European competition, the only aim for the year that they have left, and tomorrow will be a defining match for them and since they’re such a competitive and difficult opponent, it will definitely be for us too”.

The boss pointed out that “now decisive moments are coming up that are about understanding our aims and being aware that we’re going to encounter a lot of obstacles that we have to overcome to keep up the pace that we’ve maintained until now. That’s the only way to stay in the special position that we’re in”.

"Now decisive moments are coming up that are about understanding our aims"

One of those obstacles is the absence of NZonzi this Thursday, something that the manager admitted himself: “Steven not being there will be something that the team will have to accept, because he normally plays, he always plays very well and he allows us to bring the ball out cleanly. But he won’t be there, he’ll be suspended…The team’s progress has a lot to do with NZonzi. Hopefully whoever steps in tomorrow will be at the level of a team that’s fighting for the chance to stay at the top”.

One man who definitely will be there is Vicente Iborra, a player increasingly deserving of a starting place, as Sampaoli recognized: “It’s a possibility because he’s earned it in a number of matches where he's come on. I’m still not totally certain today but a player who has changed so many negative scorelines is always good to have there”.

"A player who has changed so many negative scorelines is always good to have there”

Speaking of individuals, he noted that Franco Vázquez is clearly not at his best level, something which obviously has an effect on the team’s collective performance: “He’s at a stage where he’s not able to offer what he did at the start. The Franco who started here performed incerdibly and now, as he’s not going through his best period, the team feels it hugely”.

Another name that came up was that of Walter Montoya. The boss wants to be patient with the ex-Central player, although he indicated that, due to the absentees, he could be in the matchday squad this Thursday: “He’s going through an adaptation process, the thing is that with the team having so many issues it’s very plausible that Walter could be called up, but you have to choose your moments well as well as the place for a player who's only just arrived to be involved already".