Marcelino: “It would be a tremendous success to beat Madrid”

Marcelino García Toral is proud to see Athletic in the fourth final that they play under his aegis and, despite recognizing that Real Madrid is the team in the best form at the moment, he does not rule out giving a surprise in the decisive fight for the Super Cup Spain. «It is a short competition, which with this format has encouraged it. Now it is more attractive. All teams want to win. Their alignments show it, which is attractive. For Ahletic it meant that they beat Madrid and Barça with their best elevens. That gives greatness at a competitive level. It would be a tremendous success to win against Madrid, “said the Spaniard.

The Athletic coach sees his team ready for the fray, despite the exhaustion accumulated in the semifinal against Atlético. «Emotionally, unbeatable. You come to play the Super Cup against three great clubs. We were able to deservedly beat the current league champion and the mood is unbeatable. On a physical level, we will see this afternoon. I think that for tomorrow we will recover everyone because in principle we do not have any player as a possible loss. The state of mind is going to overcome all that tiredness that we may have, “he stressed.

He analyzed the two clashes his squad had with Real Madrid in December. «Real Madrid has very powerful starts to matches. He showed it at the Santiago Bernabéu, where he subdued us, and penalized us at San Mamés, where in six minutes he had scored two goals. There is no doubt that we have to be at a high level to try not to concede a goal. Because Real Madrid is a super powerful team in the finals and if we allow the rival to get ahead on the scoreboard it will make it very difficult for us. But we come with that extra energy that gives you to overcome adverse results like against Betis, Osasuna and Atlético”, he explained.

Marcelino valued the fact of playing four finals in just one year. “It has incredible merit. Athletic, in current football, being able to play four finals is incredible and the fans should be proud of these players. Winning a final if it comes against the odds, as happened to us against Barça, is incredible. Let’s try. We are going to give up everything to win the final, although we know how difficult it is because Real Madrid is the fittest team in La Liga. Our experiences tell us that we are going to have choices. The success is going to be fundamental”, he stressed.

signs of identity

Marcelino assured that Athletic will maintain its signs of identity, despite the size of the rival. «We did not change many things in terms of concept. We are going to press high when the ball is close to Courtois, then try to group up when it is our turn and we are going to have moments in the game where we have to defend in a low block and suffer. When we have the ball, since they alternate different positions, we will have to attack judiciously. In both phases it is important to be intelligent in how we have to act and, above all, to do it quickly and in an organized way”, he explained.

What would Marcelino ask for to work well for Athletic and what would he want Real Madrid to do wrong?, they asked him. «We, have success, effectiveness, which is the problem we are having in many games this season. And Real Madrid the same, not having it. They have two footballers who have 38 goals and the fact that these footballers do not have their best day is going to help us win,” he replied.

Lastly, he stressed that only victory passes through his head. “If I thought about something other than winning, I wouldn’t be on the right track. I have to always be positive, optimistic and ambitious. This is how my own footballers make me feel. We can’t think of anything else other than winning. We only think about victory, “he completed.