Despite being in a privileged situation, recording the best numbers in the entire history of the club and practicing the best football ever seen in Girona, Míchel’s speech remains as humble as ever. “Barça is a team, together with Madrid and Atlético, among the best in the league and we are not at the same level as them, neither in terms of squad nor in terms of club structure… We cannot compare ourselves to them”. declares the Madrid technician just starting the previous press conference, probably with the aim of taking all the pressure off him.
“As much as we are at our best and living a dream, because no one thought we would be here, it will be very difficult to get something positive out of Montjuïc. Barça have only dropped points at home against Madrid and are a very solid team”, he adds. Míchel is clear that they will have to suffer. More than in any other game, now that they have gotten used to being masters of the ball. “This is what worries me most of all. That we don’t have as much possession as usual. I expect a match in which Barça will put pressure on us up top and the man, therefore, they will not let us make the first and second pass”, he details after having dominated in practically all the matches so far, with the exception of the trip to Seville and in the visit of Las Palmas in the first days of the league and, more recently, in the field of Vila-real, another of the teams with the most offensive proposals.
“It will be complicated to implement our idea from start to finish, but I hope to achieve it in moments. We have to be able to get the ball to our feet more than in other games against Barça”, against whom they were unable to overcome the 40% possession barrier in the two matches they faced last season . “We have to try to make the opponent run back even though I hope they will come to find us”. To achieve this, Míchel will not make inventions and will bet on his gala eleven, with the only absence of Yangel Herrera due to injury. “His absence upsets our plans a little, but there are players who can perform this function such as Iván Martín, David López, Ibra Kebé or John Solís”. And he could have had more resources if the Barcelona club had not imposed any clause on Pablo Torre.
“We looked at it until the end, but we had to pay too much money (300,000 euros) for just one game. I also tell you that if it was a final or a more decisive match, I might have played”, he says. Fortunately, he will be able to count on Eric Garcia, also on loan from Barça and who has become a fixture since his arrival in Montilivi: “Eric has had a very good week, he is calm and looking forward to the game. It’s normal that Xavi doesn’t like that he can play, because Eric is his player”, declares the Madrid player about the fact that the center back from Martorell does not have the same fear clause as Torre, who has just completed a great performance in the cup
A match for which Míchel gave rest to those who accumulated the most minutes, such as Dobvyk, Gazzaniga or Aleix Garcia who, hours before, had declared his desire to one day play for the Culer team. The technician did not like it and was very forceful. “Aleix was wrong. We want the people of Girona to be only and 100% Girona, and we have started a project in which I believe that this is possible to happen”. It would also help if the Girona team ever managed to beat Barça, something they have not yet achieved in the six previous matches in which the two have met in Primera. “The numbers also tell us that winning them would be a surprise. Obviously in my head there is the possibility of winning, but few rivals visit them thinking that they can or that they are favorites to win”.
However, if they succeed, Míchel predicts that it could be a very important turning point. “It would be entering another dimension. We would leave them at 7 points and that would have a lot of repercussions. But I also want, if we lose the match, no one thinks that we will stop fighting for everything. I have the feeling that we can do well, but we need Barça not to have the day”.
