José Alberto López appeared in the San Francisco stadium’s press room after Málaga CF qualified to the second round of the Copa del Rey, defeating Peña Sport FC in Tafalla by 0-3.
Analysing the match in Navarra, the coach said, “we took this match very seriously,” as we “came here to compete, do our best and qualify to the next round.”
In relation to facing a rival from a lower division he said, “in this type of match you have a lot more to lose than to win.” He talked about the Malaguistas’ performance: “I give a lot of credit to the team’s game, to the seriousness and intensity with which they played, with all due respect to Peña Sport.” He concluded his response by underscoring that “it was a very complete match.”
About the Cup, he stated: “It’s a competition I like, it keeps the squad active and grants you the possibility to play against First Division teams. We need to try and get as far as possible, without losing sight of our main objective, which is LaLiga SmartBank”. José Alberto is aware that he represents “a big, important club with a lot of history, and in every match we play to win or move to the next round.”
He also had a few words of praise for the players who took part this evening: “There are those who performed at a great level, who’ve had very few minutes and played a good game. This is why I like the Cup, as there are people who show you that you were wrong and that they can play well. The way to do this is to prove their level on the pitch.”
Finally, he talked about homegrown midfielder, Dani Lorenzo’s first team debut: “I watched him play very well, with self-confidence and the ability to seek out the rival goal. It wasn’t easy going out there and doing that.”
