Squad news
REACTIONS TO THE HUMILIATION IN UEFA
19 Feb 2009
The disappointment after the defeat was evident, though Lotina and some of the players still talking about a possible miracle at the Riazor. Meanwhile, Aranzubia was assuring the penalty shouldnât have been called. At Aalborg, everything was happiness.
Coach Miguel ?ngel Lotina was very upset with his own squad during the press conference after the game, â?We lost the ball in several occasions and at dangerous zones, later we committed fouls that we should not have forced. We must correct this. Aalborg is a good team, but not a great team. The Nordes passed over us, but we must assume the defeat. We must admit we have our defects, though also some virtues.â?
Later the Basque trainer continued with his analysis of the match, â?The first half was equal, but we missed punch up front. They gave us the ball and we move it with certain tranquility. In the second half the first goal put us out of the game. We searched the equaliser but we were disordered and they took advantage of this to score the second, and we missed punch. We were wrong, it always passes the same. Later the penalty came, for me it wasnât⊠and if it was it, itâs a red card and the referee doesnât know.â?
The Me?±aka-born-trainer was trying to be optimistic for the returning leg in one week, â?I donât want to cheat anybody, but the series still alive. Itâs hard to explain the result. Against Brann in Norway, something similar occurred⊠I believe we still alive. I know itâs difficult, but these Danish or Norwegian teams, outside home, loss a lot, they move by impulse. Iâm sure weâll have our options at home and we must take advantage of the opportunities.â?
Finally, and as he always does when Depor has been heavily defeated on the season, he was requesting the support of the Riazor, â?Now we must look to Valencia. I am calling the fans in order to enjoy of their support and been able to give them a joy, because I can not discard to end eliminated from the UEFA.â?
Only three players talked after the encounter, the first one was Albert Lopo, the Catalan said that the decisive thing was the first goal of AaB, â?We werenât so wrong, but we lost more by our own errors rather than the merits of the rival. The result is not pretty at all, but now the remaining thing is the miracle of the returning leg. Against Brann they were giving as dead that we were dead, but we still have to play one game, we all know the difficulty of it and we will fight in order to stay alive in Europe.â?
Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Valer??n was also convinced that Deportivo lost by its own demerit, â?We missed the intensity of other opportunities and we canât say anything. For them things were pretty well after the first goal. They had two lines of four men in midfield to close the spaces, and they did a pretty job. The work of the referees in UEFA is normally favourable to the locals. The result is too big for them; they arenât as superior as it was seen yesterday.â?
El Flaco also left a door open to a possible reaction in the second-leg match, â?I believe is difficult to pass the series. We have faced a squad that knows really well what itâs doing, but they arenât so superior to us. We have a superior level to what we saw in this game. They just took advantage of the counterattacks and we missed the game there.â?
Daniel Aranzubia was trying to explain the play of the penalty, â?He passed the ball to himself and was running into the ball, same as me, I realised he was fighting for the ball, he put his arm on and fell down. For me it wasnât penalty. The fact that the referee didnât sent me off and that instead, he showed me a yellow card, demonstrates that he wasnât sure about the penalty. Later, who through it did a good job. I just hope we wonât remember this play later, because we canât justify the defeat on this game due this isolated action. We could only think of a comeback as against Brann. But now we have received one more goal and it looks more complicated. â?
At Aalborg, coach Pehrsson was now claiming the role of favourite on this series, â?We were very satisfied with the defense and the job done in the first half, but we more offensive in the second. That was what we talked during the break, and we advanced our position 10-15 meters ahead. Everything improved with the 1-0 goal, and then we were very sharp. I see the third goal as very important. It may lead us to a further qualification. I would not put percentages on our opportunities, but now we are probably favoritesâ?
Without doubt the hero of the game was Anders Due, winger that scored two of the three goals for his team, he confessed the final result was a surprise for him, â?It's fantastic. Something we had not expected. We played a smart match. We played not flashy, but creating five or six chances and they created almost nothing. We know they are dangerous at home, where they have won big. So the more goals we could score at home, the better.â?
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