COPA DEL REY | BARÇA-REAL SOCIEDAD
Eusebio: "Winning at Camp Nou depends on us alone"
Real Sociedad's coach says that his team are brimming with confidence and are eager to make history against Barcelona. Zaldua and Concha will miss the game.
Duo sidelined
Real Sociedad coach Eusebio Sacristán insisted that there is no shortage of confidence and belief within his team who travel to Barcelona tomorrow to resolve their Copa del Rey quarter final. The Basque outfit have two additions to their injury list - right-back Joseba Zaldua has failed to overcome a sprained ankle, and winger David Concha, who wouldn't have started the game, is ruled out with a hip problem. Two players from the reserves have been included - Sanse full-backs Álvaro Odriozola and Kevin Rodrigues; Héctor and Jon Gaztañaga have been excluded from Eusebio's 18-man squad list.
Confidence high
La Real believe. "We have complete faith in our chances of going through to the semis. Our hopes and expectations that we had when we entered this competition haven't changed. The prospect of being in the semi-finals is a source of motivation for us. And we know how difficult it is going to be – because of the team we will be facing and for having to turn around the score from the first leg; but we believe that we can win there".
Barça analysis: "We always analyze the virtues of our rivals and Barça have a lot of virtues; we have looked at their games and the ones they have played against us and after that we have tried to improve certain aspects to our game - both our performance levels in defence and in attack because we know that we can do a lot of things well - as we have been demonstrating all season - we have shown what we can do to ourselves and also to the rest of the teams in the league, and when we compete to our best level, we can beat anyone".
Faultless performance
The secret to winning at Camp Nou. "We will need to bring out the very best out of ourselves. The team has displayed its potential and tomorrow's game is another challenge for us to rise to – against a great side on a big stage. We need to perform to the level we have in our most recent games, and pass a new examination like the one will be subjected to tomorrow at Camp Nou".
Barça without Busquets and Iniesta. "We are talking about two great players, top level players who play a predominant role in the side but Barça is much more than just two players. They have quality running right the way through the squad and their strength is as a group. We hope that we can take advantage of the circumstances but at the end of the day, it all depends on us, not Barça".
Controversial refereeing decisions: "We are just focusing on what we do - not on things which are out of our control. What we need to focus on is our motivation and the football we play, everything else we have to put to one side".
La Real haven't won in Camp Nou since 1991. "Every circumstance is different - times change - the clubs and the players. We are full of self confidence and that is what we need to be focusing on to win the tie, not statistics and numbers".
Real Sociedad squad:
Rulli, Toño Ramírez, Aritz Elustondo, Odriozola, Mikel, Raúl Navas, Iñigo Martínez, Yuri, Rodrigues, Illarramendi, Granero, Zurutuza, Xabi Prieto, Oyarzabal, Juanmi, Carlos Vela and Willian José
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