Valverde downplays big win over Roma in UEFA Champions League
- hace 6 años
Rome (Italy), Apr 9 (EFE).- (Camera: Jorge Ortiz). Barcelona's Spanish coach Ernesto Valverde on Monday downplayed the team's 4-1 win over Roma in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.
"We have won nothing. It is true that we achieved a good result, but nothing more. We have an advantage, but we should play as if the result (of the first leg) were 0-0," Valverde said at a press conference on the eve of the second leg, scheduled at the Olimpico stadium.
"We know that in a match anything can happen," Valverde said, adding that the team should avoid allowing "something extraordinary" to occur during the game.
Valverde said he expects a game plan similar to the first leg, with Roma taking more risks, and he urged his players to put on a good performance to get through the quarterfinals.
"What we should try for is to get onto the field, play a good match and try of course to win the match," Valverde said.
The coach, who is seeking to steer Barça to the semifinals for the first time since 2015, declined to comment on the future, considering Tuesday's match to be the priority for the squad.
"I have spent enough time in soccer to know that extraordinary stuff happens. What we have to do is to try (to ensure) that nothing extraordinary happens," he added.
"We have not won anything yet. We have three competitions, where we have been competing well and right now we have to get through an important knockout round," he added.
Barcelona tops the La Liga table with an 11-point advantage over second-place Atletico Madrid and will play Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final.
SOUNDBITE: ERNESTO VALVERDE, FC BARCELONA'S HEAD COACH.
TRANSLATION: 1.) We have won nothing. It is true that we achieved a good result, but nothing more. We have an advantage, but we should play as if the result (of the first leg) were 0-0 because we know that in a match anything can happen.
2.) I have spent enough time in soccer to know that extraordinary stuff happens. What we have to do is to try (to ensure) that nothing extraordinary happens.
Keywords: efe,europe,soccer,champions,league,roma,barcelona
"We have won nothing. It is true that we achieved a good result, but nothing more. We have an advantage, but we should play as if the result (of the first leg) were 0-0," Valverde said at a press conference on the eve of the second leg, scheduled at the Olimpico stadium.
"We know that in a match anything can happen," Valverde said, adding that the team should avoid allowing "something extraordinary" to occur during the game.
Valverde said he expects a game plan similar to the first leg, with Roma taking more risks, and he urged his players to put on a good performance to get through the quarterfinals.
"What we should try for is to get onto the field, play a good match and try of course to win the match," Valverde said.
The coach, who is seeking to steer Barça to the semifinals for the first time since 2015, declined to comment on the future, considering Tuesday's match to be the priority for the squad.
"I have spent enough time in soccer to know that extraordinary stuff happens. What we have to do is to try (to ensure) that nothing extraordinary happens," he added.
"We have not won anything yet. We have three competitions, where we have been competing well and right now we have to get through an important knockout round," he added.
Barcelona tops the La Liga table with an 11-point advantage over second-place Atletico Madrid and will play Sevilla in the Copa del Rey final.
SOUNDBITE: ERNESTO VALVERDE, FC BARCELONA'S HEAD COACH.
TRANSLATION: 1.) We have won nothing. It is true that we achieved a good result, but nothing more. We have an advantage, but we should play as if the result (of the first leg) were 0-0 because we know that in a match anything can happen.
2.) I have spent enough time in soccer to know that extraordinary stuff happens. What we have to do is to try (to ensure) that nothing extraordinary happens.
Keywords: efe,europe,soccer,champions,league,roma,barcelona