Commitment at the Skyfi Castalia
“A busy week with three matches, but now we are focused. After two games with different contexts, good feelings, and important results, we face an away league match against a team coming off adverse results. They achieved three consecutive wins with Pablo’s arrival, which is not something every team can manage. We know them well after sharing the journey in Primera RFEF, they maintain their style with some nuances. They are one of the most physically strong teams in professional football, with the highest possession and initiative in play. Their performance doesn’t match their current league position, they should be higher, as is the case for many teams. That negative results streak happened away from home, so we hope to erase the sting of not being convincing and consistent outside La Rosaleda. It’s a tough match, and you have to empathise because we’ve experienced it. When you’re not performing well away from home, you’re on higher alert and face an extra challenge in front of their fans. They will play with courage, and we also need to be energetic. They are top-level physically in the league and reach the opponent’s area frequently. We need to focus on their goal to create uncertainty in their stadium.”
CD Castellón’s moment
“I have a lot of empathy, we have to put ourselves in the opponent’s shoes. In the Copa, we’ve seen that one top-tier team and four from the Segunda were eliminated. In the first round, you have to be 100% focused to advance, that’s the tricky part. Two weeks ago, they were the most in-form team in the league, and now, three matchdays later, they are behind us, with the anxiety we’ve experienced at our stadium. They have a higher level of tension, and their players will be mentally prepared to go after us. We have to know how to manage the game. At home, things have gone our way quickly, but if it were the other way around, doubts would have appeared. We need to reconnect with what we do at our stadium. I expect a match of high intensity, with many back-and-forth situations. We have to know how to stop the game, take the ball away from them, and stay organised. We must do this to counter their style of play and to inflict the maximum possible damage.”
Step forward from the players
“I’m very happy with the match we played the other day, because it was very challenging. Considering the pitch conditions, the opponent, and their motivation, it was all very even. We found game plans and knew we had to give players quality minutes. Dorrio, Aaron, and many others were involved, excluding three or four players. It was a team prepared to compete, and that’s what we did. Then we had that plan with Josue and Darko, who was suspended… I’m happy with everything, but especially with Dorrio, who has had problems since arriving with a virus. That affects the rest of the team and helps improve the synergy among teammates. We have to absorb all of this, the season is very long. Right now we have only one striker, so some players will need to take on the role of a false nine. We don’t have Chupe or Adrián, this will happen to all teams. It’s very important that they build those synergies and don’t overthink when they’re not playing. In daily training, performance emerges. Players have a process to reach their peak form, they will be better or worse at times, and they need to understand this for the benefit of the team.”
LALIGA HYPERMOTION
“This year is the most balanced of all, except for two teams like Racing and Almería, who have a more collective approach without last year’s top striker. Then there are many teams grouped together, moving from heaven to hell and back in a single matchday. It’s one of the most complex and exciting seasons, because some teams will produce surprises, both for the playoffs and in relegation battles. Daily work, being stable and consistent in the competition, will be key. We haven’t been consistent in terms of results, and this year there will be surprises due to the equality and complexity of the league.”
Analysis of the rival
“These are also about form. Castellón have a high ratio of shots for and against, they do everything at an incredible speed, and they’ve been lacking precision. They are one of the teams that generates the most, always creating many situations. Both their style and game model rely on individual performance, and the players haven’t been precise. We have to maintain continuity, at home, we’ve scored seven goals in two matches, and 10 if you exclude the game against Leganés, keeping a clean sheet. It’s going to be a match with goals, on the day they are precise, it’s hard for them to drop points. We need to take the ball from them and defend with high intensity, like in the last two home games. If we can sustain that over time, we’ll be closer to achieving a positive result away from our stadium, in this case at Castellón.”
Same points at this stage in 24/25
“This year we are going to lose and win more matches, due to the player profiles, our style of play, and the nature of the competition. Last year we drew a lot and lost a lot in the first half of the season. We are a team that will win more matches than last year, we need to work on being stable and consistent away from our stadium. We’ve been controlling most of the games, except for the Leganés match, looking forward, and we need to be more consistent. We have to seek changes without losing our identity in order to find the opponent’s mistakes. The two home wins help us maintain stability. If we can win, we will be in a situation we didn’t have three matchdays ago.”
