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대한민국 - Soon
Julen Lopetegui wasn't in the mood to talk or think about recent good results. The coach, who hails from the Basque country, was fully focused on tomorrow's visit to the Mestalla, to face Valencia: "It's non-stop at the moment and the fixture list is heavy, especially tomorrow night against a team as good as they are. Valencia are a top side in every aspect, with a magnificent stadium that is going to force us to be at our best to compete with them. We will try to recover, we will hold off on picking the team as tomorrow we will have a much better idea of what it will be". He continued: "Every match is a challenge and obviously, what has happened in previous matches is ancient history. We are all focused on giving everything we have against a team like Valencia, who are going to ask a lot of us during the game. We have to turn up with this mentality".
LOPETEGUI: "VALENCIA ARE A TOP SIDE IN EVERY ASPECT"
Asked about the Clásico and the break that both Madrid and Barcelona have had, Lopetegui said: "I wouldn't use that word "corrupt", because it has been a situation caused by different reasons, and it certainly wasn't prepared or planned. We would all love to have the same amount of days to rest and recover, but I don't think that the league has altered it to benefit those teams". Getting back to tomorrow evening's game: "We will know the starting XI tomorrow. We will see and continue to manage the squad as best as possible, as we trust every single one of our players. The decision will be taken tomorrow".
He worked with Celades in the national teams and tomorrow they will come head-to-head: "Albert is a good friend of mine, we have a very good relationship and I wish him all the best in every game. I believe that Valencia are in safe hands with him". Although it'll be difficult, he is confident that his team can go there and pick up all three points: "We expect the demands of each game now and we accept it also. We like it the way it is. Every competition demands it of us and we have to be prepared and focused on what we need to do. We have to believe in ourselves and play well. Tomorrow is no exception".
"We have to believe in ourselves and play well. Tomorrow is no exception"
At the moment, Granada lead the way in La Liga and Lopetegui spoke about the league: "The good thing about La Liga is that it's equal. It has been said many times that there are good squads, good coaches and good teams. If they are where they are, it's because they deserve it. We already said it that whenever we played against them, they were a very tough side". In addition, he spoke about his team's performances of late: "I'm happy that my players are playing well at the minute, and I hope this continues for some time. The season is very long for everyone and the important thing, in football, is that you know what you have to do. Tomorrow, we come up against a top side and we have to be focused on them. We can't think about what we've already done".
Valencia appear to be a direct rival to Sevilla, but Lopetegui wasn't thinking of this: "The only thing that matters is the game ahead of us. There's no other way of doing your job than this way. We have to be pragmatic and make the most of it. Now isn't the time to do the maths because we have to place full importance on every opponent". To close off the press conference, he said: "I believe that there's not much between a lot of teams in the league, and anyone can beat anyone. Over the course of the 38 game season, we will notice the differences more and more, but there's a lot of equality in the league. I'm not looking into the future and I don't know what way the league is going to end up".