The ‘Malaguista’ coach is confident Málaga Club de Fútbol will achieve its objective against the ‘Colchoneros’ tomorrow: “We had two fairly accessible possibilities to reach our permanency goal before now, but we weren’t capable of doing so. Tomorrow’s match is going to be difficult, but it’s a match that every professional footballer wants to play, and we’re going out there to defend our colours. Our obligation is to win, and if we don’t manage it then we’ll be making it easier for other teams. We will be faced with two tough tasks against Atlético; defending as well as possible and generating as many goal opportunities as we can. We’ve been training well and the boys aren’t sitting back and relaxing at all, like they may have been in recent games. Following our last two matches we need to show our professional pride. It’s not just about our placement, but about regaining our 200% competitive spirit.”
Bernd Schuster looks at the team line-up travelling to the Spanish capital, with significant absences in defence: “We’re having a lot of problems at the back, and unfortunately Gámez, Flávio and Sergio Sánchez are still out of action. We’ve been focusing on a line-up that I’m comfortable with and I’m confident will work well for us. Angeleri will be centre-forward, and with regards to Eliseu, well that’s going to be a surprise. We’ve also got Amrabat back with us, who will strengthen our attack. I’m excited about tomorrow’s match.”
The Blue and Whites’ manager refers to Diego Costa: “He really is Atlético de Madrid’s star player, and really makes the most out of every opportunity available to him. I’m not relying on the fact that he won’t be on the pitch tomorrow, no matter what Cholo says. We’ll see what happens, as he could make a miraculous recovery.”
Schuster is only focused on winning at the Vicente Calderón: “It doesn’t matter to me who takes the League title, it’s got nothing to do with us. I would really have liked Málaga CF to win above anyone obviously, even though Atlético deserves to after such a successful season. It would also be good if another team wins this season, other than Real Madrid or Barcelona.”
Finally, Schuster addresses some current issues at the Martiricos Club: “Following the match against Elche, there were no problems and everyone understood what happened after we talked. It was something that depended on how a question was asked and how it was answered, there was never any malice intended. With regards to interest from other teams, I shall be with Málaga until next Friday, which is the last game of the season. It’s true that there has been interest from other squads, but the most important thing now is Málaga and resolving everything here. Then we’ll see what the future holds.”
