The Espanyol coach, Diego Martínez, will experience his first derby against Barça this Saturday, a game that he lives more intensely than the others. That is why he has tried to make his men aware of what this match means, but insisting on not getting carried away by an emotional factor that will be very present at the Camp Nou. In addition, he has confessed the party that he wants: "We want a party of areas, forceful in the areas", a very ambitious message.
Espanyol have not won at the Camp Nou for thirteen years, a fact that shows how difficult it will be to be able to attack the field of their eternal rival, who will arrive with many World Cup players without so much training under the orders of Xavi Hernández. “There is no good or bad time. We'll see after the game. It is theorizing about something we do not know. The best moments are the matches you win. If there are internationals, it is because we are talking about a team with brutal resources, ”Martínez confessed.
The coach recounted the importance that this match has for his team. “The derby is something special, I feel excited about it. Competing against the best makes you better and it is always important. But doing it as Espanyol coach makes him different and unique. It adds an emotional component, it is a feeling that is in the bowels of this club. We have tried to convey it to the players, ”he assured.
“It is a special and different game on specific dates, it is one more incentive for everyone. You have to be very successful and they are not. This game is always wrapped in an intense emotional context. You have to play it with a lot of head and believe in our weapons and our way of doing things. I see the team convinced and with the ability to maintain concentration in a game of such intensity, ”he summarized.
Something that has managed to infect his team is the courage to press high and go for the games. And he has promised to be brave, in his own way, at the Camp Nou. “Courage is associated with a game phase. We want a match of areas, of forcefulness in the areas. With a rival that we know he wants a lot of possession. When we have the ball we must be vertical and that they dare, generate damage, and that is also being brave ”, he claimed. In addition, he asked “to be chameleonic, which has to do with harmonizing the shortcomings we have. With Keidi and Vini we had harmonies, and now we have to readjust again. We have to bring out the talent in certain players without losing balance,” he noted.
Asked about the absence of Robert Lewandowski, although he has finally obtained the precautionary order to be able to play, Martínez warned of the danger of his rival as teams. “You can't focus on a single player, our options go through thinking about what we have to do as a team. The most important thing is not the rival but us. We have to be consistent during the 90 minutes. This is not only about proper names but also about teams, ”he added forcefully. In addition, he wanted to remind the children that yesterday they won the Promises League against Barça. “They have to look like our kids, it's inspiring. They have shown us a way.”
Lastly, this time he was more direct when referring to the transfer market and made some criticism of the different levels of the club. "I have expressed to them the risks we run, the needs, the profiles, the needs since the summer and those we have for the winter market. They ask me for an opinion and I give it, but I do not make decisions. I can express what I think what the team needs and I train and try to get the best out of each one", he concluded.
