Firstly, Schuster refers to the inclusion of ‘injured’ Angeleri: “We didn’t need to push him so much in training this evening, so he exercised in the gym to ensure he’s match-fit for tomorrow.”
The ‘Malaguista’ coach analyses the start of the League season, as well as tomorrow’s rival: “We’re focusing on one match at a time, and continuing to improve on several factors to gain as many points as we can. We were determined to come home with a win from San Sebastián, but it’s important that we still achieved one point. Tomorrow’s game will be tough, but we must take advantage of playing in front of our home crowd. We could make some changes to the starting-11 tomorrow, perhaps one or two to freshen things up a bit. It’s crucial that we maintain a good level of intensity and rhythm throughout. In previous matches, Almería have scored twice in each game, they always focus on a very upfront style of play which is why we need to give our all on the pitch. I think we need to respect Almería for the great team that they are, but we must focus on controlling the match at our stadium. Almería always perform well from set pieces, so we need to ensure there are no surprises.”
Bernd Schuster talks about Pawlowski and Chen’s part in the team: “They both need a bit more time, but will soon get their chance to shine. I don’t like to pile the pressure on the younger players and give them too much responsibility. It’s important that we find the ideal time for them to show what they can do.”
With regards to the possibility of pairing up Santa Cruz and El Hamdaoui, the German-born coach adds: “We need to be ready for matches when this pairing will work to our advantage. Perhaps not tomorrow, but there will be games in the future when we’ll focus on this formation.”
Schuster refers to Málaga’s heavy match schedule and the dominance of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid: “The calendar of upcoming matches is nothing out of the ordinary. We just focus on playing football. With regards to the top three teams, there are a lot of differences between them.”
Finally, Schuster refers to the possibility of Willy playing for his country: “He had a great season last year, and Argentina’s coaching team will see that. It’d be amazing if he got to play in the World Cup with Argentina.”
