LOPETEGUI: “IT'S BEEN A YEAR IN WHICH THE WORD TEAM HAS TAKEN ON A LOT OF MEANING”

18/08/2020

“Here there is no other secret than the day-to-day work and trying to always face the next curve”

An interesting and extensive interview from Julen Lopetegui on SFC Radio, just three days before his first cup final as manager of Sevilla FC. He firstly spoke about our opponents in Friday's final, Inter Milan, after they secured their place in the final yesterday evening: "They will oblige us to play an extraordinary game. They are at a magnificent level, a team made to play Champions League football who finished just one point off Juve in Serie A, they have magnificent players and an experienced manager. We're aware of the opponents that we'll face and we have to prepare well".

He continued: "The team has a very characteristic way of playing, all Conte teams have it. It is not easy for such high level players to play in such a peculiar collective way. The squad is full of players with a lot of talent, they will oblige us to play an extraordinary game".

Ahead of the clash, Lopetegui confirmed the team will go into it ready, both physically and mentally: "Every day that goes by we'll be better. Mentally the team will go into it well, excited, with desire, ambition and excitement to play in such an important match. They'll have the legs to, we recover more every day. The excitement overrides any other less positive circumstance. The team has done a very good job physically, which has caused us to end the league the way we have".

"We are proud of the group, they have often put the collective ahead of the individual"

Julen then took a look back, and mentioned the exact day that the team had their first training session of the season: "We had our first training session on 3rd July and we began the competition against Espanyol a year ago today. It's been a tough, difficult year, but a nice one too. The team has had the possibility of continuing to grow, by overcoming adversities. It's been a year in which the word team has taken on a lot of meaning from the start, and they have been the architects of that thanks to their collaboration, hard work work, solidarity and collective feeling. All of this has helped us a lot to overcome challenges. We are proud of the group, they have often put the collective ahead of the individual, something which isn't easy. It's one of the most important values of this dressing room".

He also emphasised the daily hard work: "I'm big on the day-to-day work, here there is no other secret than the day-to-day work. We have always tried to face the next curve. Logically, then with a long-term goal".

"It's human to disconnect, but it's the wrong way and all of them have always chosen the right way

A third key aspect in the dressing room is everyone's commitment: "We are very satisfied and happy. They have understood that healthy rivalry should exist, in a competitive team aren't all little sisters of charity, they all want to push and play... But it has been done in the correct way. In many cases, without having a continuous presence in the dream, they've not dropped their arms, that's important for the group and the manager. The one who disconnects also disconnects from himself. Of course, it's human, but it's the wrong way. We're happy because they have always chosen the right way", after which he used the examples of Bono, Suso and En-Nesyri, who have played crucial roles in the final straight".

"We feel the spirit, support and presence of our fans and our families"

As well as highlighting the commitment of the team, particularly Banega, Julen Lopetegui wanted to send a message to the fans: "The team won't lack that spirit because we have it with us here. Although the stands are empty, they're not, we feel the spirit, support and presence of our fans and our families. That makes us feel like we're always covered. We even have a powerful, noisy singing section (he smiled). I want to say to the fans that we have them with us and that spirit that they will put into this match, we will feel it even though we're thousands of kilometres away".