Statements from Pellegrini
Special week
“It’s been a really long week and we’re all full of nervous excitement, which the team has handled very well. Achieving Champions League qualification in front of our fans would be the perfect end to the season for us. Sporting will be performing as well as they can, in their last chance to avoid relegation to the Second Division. However they’ll be facing a very determined Málaga, who will be fighting to finish in the highest League position possible, and qualify for Champions. Málaga aren’t focusing their interest on any individual Sporting player”.
Determination
“We need to play a very good game, both collectively and as individuals, with a fantastic performance on home turf. We’re not obsessing about the referees at all, they are there to do their jobs. Every team is fighting for their different objectives in the last match of the season, and we just need to concentrate on playing the best football we can”.
The people of Málaga getting behind the team
“It’s amazing that the city has really got behind us. It’s no surprise though, as the fans have always supported the team. Having a perfect end to the season, and see our dream become a reality in front of our fans, would be wonderful. Pressure? The team copes well under pressure, and none of the players are affected at all”.
Feelings
“From a personal point of view, I’m really pleased with how much we’ve achieved. A win tomorrow would be a wonderful reward for everything we’ve done this year. We’ve had problems along the way, things you can’t plan for, but the team has faced everything head-on. The Champions League would be a big step forward for us, so we’ll see what happens tomorrow”.
Self-esteem
“It was a really important week as well for Valencia, we needed to score points from the match against Atlético de Madrid, which we failed to do despite playing a good game. The team is really excited about the possibility of playing in the Champions League, and I’m sure we can get three points from tomorrow’s match. Mathijsen? He’s in the line-up as he’s a great player, like the other 20”.