Today’s training consisted of continuous running, rounds, various physical exercises, ball possession practice, defence-attack work and a mini-match. The players from Tuesday’s Copa del Rey match had a less intense workout during the last part of the session. Argentinean-born Diego Buonanotte underwent continuous running alongside physical trainer, Enrique Ruiz, and also worked in the gym; whilst Baptista began the session in the gym, and later moved on to the pitch under the instruction of Hugo Camarero. Reserve players, Pol, Jurado, Fabrice and Sielva were in training this morning.
The team is back to work tomorrow morning at 10:30 at the Ciudad de Málaga Athletics Stadium.
Saviola
“Sunday’s match will be particularly special. I was with the Club for a while and have some great memories. I’m still in contact with my former team mates, and have been since the day I left. It’ll be amazing to see them all again. To see how powerful Barcelona are on the pitch and their amazing technical skills and style of play really will make for an exciting match for us.”
“It’ll be quite strange playing the same team quite so often, especially Barça. They’ll make us work extra hard on the pitch, and we’ll need to maintain our full concentration for the entire 90 minutes as everyone knows how well they play football. After these three games it’ll be interesting to see what happens, coming up against such a competitive team like Barcelona. It’s a great experience for us.”
“We’re really excited about Sunday’s match, to come up against the mighty Barça at our home ground. We’ve been performing pretty well against the big teams, but this match will be particularly difficult and there is absolutely no room for error. We’ll be looking for a win from the start.”
“I’ve been a part of a number of the teams we’re coming up against, and after several years I know how they play, what qualities they have, how the players perform on the pitch…It’s important on a personal level for me, as I’ve had fantastic experiences with all my former teams, like Benfica, Porto and Barça.
“We are absolutely determined for victory on Sunday. There’s no way you can speculate against a team like Barcelona. We’re aiming to keep the three points at home, and would never aim to settle for a draw, it’s just not in our nature. However coming away with a draw against such a powerful team will always be good, but our focus is on winning.”
“Every team in the world is set on finding different ways to win and outwit their rivals, and it can sometimes be tough. We need to focus on our style of play and what we need to do to win, without worrying too much about what Barça might do. We’ll be trying to create as many goal opportunities as we can and really step up our attack. From a defence point of view we need to give it 100 per cent, as just one mistake could cost us the match. Of course, the fewer the number of errors, the better.”
“We know how significant Messi is to the team, as does every other footballer in the world. I’m incredibly proud to be from Argentina, as the entire country is so proud of Messi. He’s so well-loved in our home country and everyone follows every match he plays and every achievement. He’s been compared to Maradona without even winning the World Cup. Imagine if he won that aswell?!”