First team

BERIZZO: "IF WE DON'T UNSETTLE THEM THEY'LL MAKE OUR DEFENSE SUFFER"

19/12/2017
Berizzo spoke to the media and confirmed he will travel to San Sebastián on the road to lead the team

Eduardo Berizzo dropped by the press room at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán to talk about the last Sevilla FC match of the year and the future for his team: "It's the last match and then we'll have a few days of calm but the entire situation is an opportunity to take advantage of and an opportunity to refind that good feeling. We are aware that results can and should push you on. Bolstered by a good spot in the table we have to go for it without falling into the nervousness that impedes our best game. Sometimes that nervousness ends up hurting you but within a real calm and when you look at the numbers, we should play better".

He gave his perspective on enormous expectations: "It's inescapable to the situation when you occupy that spot. No one can satisfy the entire the world when you play well and with enthusiasm - or the other way round. When you pick a player, you leave another out who would have done better. It's a recurring challenge of a job which always puts you at a point of criticism from a lot of people who can say what they think. There's a wide spectrum for criticism. It's certain we can play better but I don't think the team is playing its worst, nor should we tear up all our plans in favour of a style I hope would improve us. We also do things well and we have good character. Against Levante we played pushing forward when we had that habit of playing wide and we missed a lot of opportunities - or had ones their keeper saved. We create enough chances and another team who made them would maybe have been able to play fantastically but self-critique forces us to do better".

"We can play better but we shouldn't tear up our style of play entirely"

He gave his opinion on what needs to be improved in the current context: "Here the passion with which you experience football is exaggerated and that gives you a complete and almost mystic atmosphere. The collateral damage is the demand. It makes up for it because sometimes the pressure is emphasised in that dynamic as well. To improve we need to make use of the pressure and create a more stable - less improvised - game. We're a competitive animal moving forward and sometimes you have to take the ball from one side to another, unfolding full-backs like we do at home and picking the best route in in every situation". 

He also talked about possible arrivals in January: "December signings are more thought out for timely solutions left over from summer - where there is large spectrum for making decisions without thinking just so everything is covered. It's for finding footballers that give you goals, a safe full-back, a centre-back who's good with the ball. They're specific qualities that solve deficiencies. In our case it could be a player that gives us more power in attack and we need a centre-midfielder if N'Zonzi leaves. We will work to find the best for the team. Those who arrive should improve what we have and we have to be demanding in the search. Anything that makes us better is welcome".

"A player could arrive to give us more power in attack and a centre-mid if N'Zonzi leaves"

The boss even gave the back-line - which will not feature Lenglet or Mercado - that will start in the Anoeta: "Geis has offered us safe solutions. Mercado drops out through injury and that forces us into a defense of Corchia, Geis, Kjaer and Escudero. Corchia is natural and Kjaer is there to make Geis more comfortable. We're already in a situation with our only available centre-backs but I don't think the team defends as badly as has been said. In Moscow they hit us on the counter and the same in Valencia in the final minutes. Every team can have a bad game and we have to be patient, but that's not necessarily a problem with the system".

On another subject - qualifying for the Champions League: "We're close to the Champions League spot. That not solved today nor was it when we were second. When you picture being fourth on the 38th game of the season then on that day I can say, yes, we did it, but on the 17th game of the season we're hoping to achieve it. We need wins but statistically speaking we're aiming to be close to that. I would love to have ten more points but I wouldn't like to have ten points fewer either. Opponents are beatable and our objective is achievable. We will have to have a solid second half of the season and in that half we play those who are above us at home - which encourages us".

"Are opponents are beatable and we still have to play those above us at home"

The coach confirmed he will travel to San Sebastián by car and touched on the subject of N'Zonzi: "My way of thinking of a collective game maybe sometimes didn't include him. I believe in a team game sometimes we have different opinions to those of the players but when authority is contradicted I have to act. I always do what I have to even though that means I have to sit here and answer uncomfortable questions. N'Zonzi is a fantastic player but I picture everyone believing in the collective effort. I prefer to give an ambiguous answer today and not expose the privacy of the team. It may be pragmatic and opportunistic but I prefer to protect the well-being of the group behind closed doors though I might be criticised for it. It hurts me to make these decisions when everything should flow naturally but that's what sitting here comes with. Win or lose, I have a human connection with the squad because a team is made up of relationships. Each one then plays as well as he can, but you can squeeze the best out of them if you know them well and can then improve in training".  

On Real Sociedad, he was clear that "they play great football and if we don't unsettle them and we let them play their game, they'll make us suffer defensively. We have to press them, taking control of the ball and being dominant through the ball". Finally, he made it clear what he is expecting in the new year: "It would be redundant to ask for ask for health for everybody and for people to find happiness with everything they're doing. We have to get away from momentary sensations and recognise we're privileged to be able to do what we do, enjoying the simplicity in life and living minute by minute".