Gerard Piqué: "I've been playing very well for years"
Piqué's press conference ahead of the Italy - Spain World Cup qualifying match on Thursday 6 October 2016
Gerard Piqué headed out to face the press ahead of the vital Italy - Spain World Cup qualifying match on Thursday 6 October at Juventus Stadium (Turin). The match of course is Spain's chance to get revenge for the defeat to Italy this summer in Euro 2016.
Piqué press conference highlights:
How do you prepare for this game: "We try to study our rivals so we know where to improve. It's not just tactics that have an influence; the set-up isn't so important in this type of game".
Your performance and the various controversies you've been involved in: "It seems like when I don't talk so much people praise my performances more. I've been playing very well for a number fo years. I'm happy about that".
New period for Spain under Lopetegui
New period for the Spanish side with a new coach: "I don't compare Julen [Lopetegui] to Vicente [del Bosque]. Vicente's time in charge can't ever be repeated, and now we're starting a new spell with a lot of hope and excitement. And we've started well, we beat Belgium away and got a good result against Lichtenstein."
Italian football: "Florenzi scored a great goal against us in the Champions League for Roma [in the 1-1 draw in the group stage in 2015], and he completelt meant it. It's a goal he'll never score again in his career. The history of Italy is incredible and it carries great weight. They get called defensive, but they're playing better football all the time. They're scoring freely right now".