26 November 2018
Valencia coach Marcelino and former Bianconeri goalkeeper Neto appeared at the pre-match press conference on Monday evening to look ahead to Tuesday’s clash against Juventus at Allianz Stadium.
Marcelino: "Juve are one of the favourites to win the final"
Valencia coach Marcelino and former Bianconeri goalkeeper Neto appeared at the pre-match press conference on Monday evening to look ahead to Tuesday’s clash against Juventus at Allianz Stadium.Marcelino described Juventus as one of the favourites to win the Champions League, but stressed that his side are in good form going into the match."We will work very hard because this is an important competition and we’re up against one of the candidates to go all the way and win the Champions League," said the Spanish coach. "Our future in this tournament depends on tomorrow. We’re in good form and we want to impose our intensity on Juventus. We need to keep focusing on our game, which is all about scoring goals. I’m confident – we have a very good team and right now the confidence levels are high and we’re showing ourselves to be very competitive."Marcelino also called for Valencia to bide their time at Allianz Stadium on Tuesday."We’ll need to combat the power of Juventus by showing patience throughout the game," he said. "It’s going to be a long match – a hard-fought, difficult one, as is to be expected. This is the Champions League and it’s going to be one of those evenings that could allow the team and the club to grow. I remember [Federico] Bernardeschi played instead of [Paulo] Dybala in the first game and he did very well. They’re both great players, just like all of Juve’s squad."He went on to stress the importance of playing to win against the Bianconeri."We need to focus on winning, without any distractions and without thinking about other results – and we can’t think about the Real Madrid game in a few days either," he said.Lastly from Marcelino, the Valencia coach was asked about Cristiano Ronaldo."He’s an extraordinary player who always gives 100% - he always wants to win and score," he said. "Apart from his talent, what sets him apart is his unerring desire to win every game. Tomorrow we’ll be up against the Cristiano we came to know in Spain."
Neto: "Happy to be here again"
Also appearing at the press conference was Neto, who will be returning to a stadium he spent two years at."I couldn’t pick a better time to come back," he said. "It’s going to be a fantastic game and I’m happy to be back here. It’ll be a tough atmosphere – Juve are a great side but we have the quality necessary to impose our game and get a result. I don’t think about what could have happened had I stayed here. I’m focused on tomorrow and on playing as well as possible. [Wojciech] Szczesny is a quality goalkeeper."The Brazilian also spoke about Valencia’s season so far."We’re in a positive spell now but we were doing well before too," he said. "The whole club is happier now. We could have got results earlier, but although that didn’t happen the team stayed true to its style and got through a tough period."
