It’s been 20 years since Espanyol beat Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. A time that makes clear the difficulty of the challenge that is presented to Espanyol by Diego Martínez this Saturday (2:00 p.m.). Even above, the whites accumulate three negative results, something that increases the pressure on the whites and complicates the blue and white task even more.
But when it comes to a team like the blue and white, anything is possible. Already in the Camp Nou and in the Metropolitan they showed their faces and managed to tie. Espanyol is a resilient team to the limit when seen with water up to its neck. And it is in these fields, where defeat lurks relentlessly, their ability to adapt is usually much greater.
That is why, despite being realistic, Diego Martínez has not wanted to lose his usual optimism in any scenario. “We have always said it, regardless of the rival and the field, we believe in our possibilities. We have to go out and compete at our best level. He is a rival from another dimension and in that field you have to be with honors and they don’t have their day, ”he acknowledged.
The blue and white coach wondered how many times teams like white have several negative results. “But they are not so much. It comes from winning Liverpool 2-5, which in turn beat United 7-0, which in turn has scored four against Betis ”, he summarized to explain that everything possible.
The coach is aware that his assets to get something positive out of the match go through minimizing his own mistakes. “These are special matches due to the type of rival, we must not make mistakes that penalize us, but with full conviction in our possibilities, this is a matter of everyone’s mentality. We can beat any rival and anyone can beat us because of the equality that exists in the league, ”he repeated.
Asked about the absence of Benzema, the coach was elusive when referring to what happened against Barcelona in the Lewandowski case. “The last time we talked about a nine not playing, the next day he played, so until we see him…”, he settled.
Espanyol could use a defense of three again against Madrid, a strategy that has been another option for Martínez, but that does not change his mentality. “What we want is to win, and you need the generosity of the players. A team needs to harmonize in many ways. Today it is common to play with a defense of three. But it’s not just that, many factors influence the game, such as emotion, trust, complicity… this greatly influences the game”, he assured.
“I don’t sign anything before a game. But these are scenarios of maximum demand. If in this League the margin of error is minimal, against these rivals it is minimal multiplied by 100. There are neither good nor bad moments. It is a brutal, maximum demand ”, summarized the technician.
Finally, he praised the level of Vinícius but did not want to refer to the controversies that have surrounded him lately. “Vinicius usually comes out on the inside, but if you pay too much attention he comes out. If you focus on him, others appear. He only interests us in sports because he is the only thing in which we have some influence that we can control ”, he assured that some regret.
