First team

VITOLO: “GOING AWAY WITH THE NATIONAL TEAM IS THE PINNACLE”

17/03/2017

The Canary Islander highlighted "the good season that Sevilla are having" as the reason why "I still have the confidence of the manager"

Vitolo spoke to Sevilla FC media after he was selected by Julen Lopetegui in the Spain squad for the coming international break. He showed his satisfaction at once again receiving a call-up for the matches against Israel and France. The winger indicated that he was "very happy with the manager's confidence. You have to keep doing the right things with your club to keep having the chance to go away with the national team, which is the pinnacle. The confidence that the manager of the national team gives you is important because it means you're doing things well. I've already been called up several times, but the first thing to do is try to play well with your club, and Sevilla are having a good season. From there, the other things will come".

The Spaniard will in fact have the chance to face his club teammate, Rami, albeit in a friendly: "It will be a very good game. France are among the best national teams around and it will definitely be a great match. And obviously it's nice to see teammates like Rami".

Sergio Rico comes back into the squad, but Escudero was not called on this time, and Vitolo added that "hopefully he'll be back". Similarly, he argued that Iborra is at "the level to be there and hopefully he can go one day. He's having a great year, like Escudero, and I have no doubt that one day he'll be there".

Regarding Sevilla FC, Vitolo noted that "we're doing well despite being knocked out of the Cup and the Champions League. In the Champions League, for example, we played well in the group stage, but against Leicester we didn't have any luck and it was a blow for us all. But in the league we've even broken club records and we're having a good year".

Looking ahead to the imminent visit to Atlético de Madrid, the Canary Islander argued that the team "has plenty of firepower to try to win there. It's a tough ground, Atlético have been doing very well over the last few years and it will be very difficult, but we also have really good players and why can't we take the three points there?", he asked.

"We have to secure third place in any way possible"

It would be a huge three points towards defending third place: "It's difficult, but if at the start of the year we'd been offered where we are now, we'd have taken it. We're third because we're doing the right things and I agree with the president, we have to defend third place in any way possible. In the last few years, Atlético have been third, sometimes even Real Madrid or FC Barcelona, and it's because the three teams at the top rarely lose and it's very difficult. Being five points ahead of Atlético is not easy and we have to try, at least, to take a point from the Calderón to maintain that lead over them".