Arrasate relishing “the biggest game of my life”
Osasuna’s coach says his side and nothing to lose and everything to gain in Saturday’s Copa del Rey final - they have to do everything right, and even that might not be enough.
Jagoba Arrasate was in relaxed mood as he chatted to reporters in the press room at La Cartuja. His Osasuna side have a golden chance to win the club’s first piece of major silverware and the coach says they will be giving it their best shot against Real Madrid. The Rojillos have already taken a few scalps on their way to the final - eliminating Betis, Sevilla and Athletic Club. The idea now is to add Madrid to that list, but it will require a perfect game, says the 45-year-old Osasuna boss.
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How are you feeling emotionally with this Copa del Rey final just hours away?
Right at this moment, really well. We’re relaxed, we’re waiting for this evening’s final training session and we’re really looking forward to this -we can’t wait. We’re here now and have got a taste of the magnitude of this game.
You’ve been in charge at Osasuna now for five years - that’s you’re longer spell as a coach and it’s being rarer to see coaches last that long. Do you think that you’ve been able to take the team to the final because you have been given time to work with the team?
I don’t know... I think it’s true that when they really have belief in you, that confidence enables you to give the best of yourself. And let’s not forget the players - we have a fantastic squad. But then, in football, we all know what projects are like - they require time and sometimes you don’t get that in football so in some ways, my case is an exception. Luckily, we have been able to develop our project. In a way, the culmination of that work is us reaching this final but that’s not enough, we won’t be satisfied just to have got here - what we want is to put in a great game tomorrow and win the Cup.
Where is the line between dreaming of winning the Cup and being realistic?
We have a very normal, grounded squad, we’re like a family and this week has just been like any other for us. We’ve worked on our preparation on the eve of the game, but obviously we can’t ignore who huge this game is and what it means, or forget the excitement we have generated for our fans. We’re focused on the game, knowing that we will have to give the best we have to give while being aware that even that might not enough. We have to consider our fans and think about what this game means for them. If we can do what we plan to do, I think we can give Madrid a difficult game.
Tactically, what are the keys to beating Madrid tomorrow? For you personally, is this the biggest game of your life?
I don’t know but judging by the amount of people in this press room, it probably is. We’re approaching it jut like we would any other game. We have played against Real Madrid many times and we haven’t been able to beat them but we’ve gained a good idea about how to go about it. We have to be brave, we have to extract all of the essence of what Osasuna is about - everything that’s great about this club, while being aware of Madrid’s virtues. The plan is to make sure they don’t get too comfortable. If we play a very open game, and allow them spaces, that will drastically reduce our chances of winning. So on the one hand, there’s what we plan to do, and within that, an important part will be not allowing Madrid to settle.
What message would you like to send to the thousands and thousands of Osasuna fans who are making their way down to Seville from Pamplona for the match?
First of all, that they have a safe journey. It’s 1,000 kilomteres and it’s not an easy trip to make. And after that, they they enjoy it - both today and tomorrow, it’s an historic moment for us and they’ve been a part of it too so I hope they enjoy it to the fullest. And as from 10 p.m. onwards, that they get right behind us because we are really going to need them. I think we are a million times stronger with them than without them - they know that. It’s down to that unity with them that we’ve been able to get this far. So have a safe journey, enjoy yourselves and tomorrow at 10, cheer us on.
Moving on from the fans, what about the team, how will you be motivating them?
Well, there’s no need to motivate the players. Just seeing the stands full and seeing our fans and the mosaic they’ve planned will be enough. Everyone knows how important this game is. I think we’ll all have a mental image of how we envisage the game going, like Braulio, I think it’s good to think positively and dream, imagining us lifting that Cup!
Three days after the final, Madrid have the Champions League semi-final against City. They won’t want the game to drag on, or go into extra-time, or penalties...
We’ve got through four ties that went to extra-time, for us, we don’t mind if another one goes to extra-time or even penalties. People talk about dragging a game out as long as possible but in reality, it’s very difficult to do that. For a game to go into extra-time, we would need to do so many things well before we could get anywhere near that. What we don’t want is the opposite, that we make things easy for them, by making mistake that Madrid can take advantage of. We’ll be going out to fight, show our best side. If we set the bar this high, Madrid will outdo us. If they win, we’ll be sad but at least we’ll know we have given everything we’ve got. We’ve got to set the bar high and make things as difficult as possible for our opponent.
You’ve had a month to wait for the day of the final to arrive. Do you think, taking Osasuna to a Cup final is vindication for coaches who are not usually in the running for the title or silverware in Spain?
First of all, there’s no doubt that the wait has seemed a lot longer for us than it has for Real Madrid. It’s been 18 years since we were last in a final while Madrid play finals every year. Fortunately, we have had quite a hectic calendar which meant that we haven’t had much time to think about the final. In every game we’ve had a player suspended or injured so we have been forced to take things one day at a time. I think that’s the best way to build up to this final - on Tuesday, we were competing at Camp Nou.
I don’t think it’s for me to vindicate the figure of other coaches. The Cup competition has that magic in that it gives clubs who don’t usually win things the possibility to enjoy the kind of campaign that Osasuna has enjoyed this season - to reach a final and have the chance to win a trophy. In the league, that is simply not possible these days. So the Cup is an alternative and this year, we’ve taken advantage of that. As for vindication of coaches or a certain kind of coach... the technical team has grown during this Cup campaign, the squad has grown in this campaign and so have the fans which is why we are here.
As you have said, Osasuna and Real Madrid know each other well. Is there anything that you could have up your sleeve that Ancelotti might not have thought about?
Carlo is a specialist, not just in final but in winning finals. More than analysing each other, it’s about playing to the best of our ability. Rather than looking for to surprise them, or changing our system, we just need to put in our best performance. We have our gameplan very clear and we have to execute it to perfection. These days, it’s very difficult to surprise your opponents - fortunately, football is all about the players. We can get the blackboard out and talk about thousands of tactics but in the end, what matters is what happens out on the field and the only option of winning is by playing a perfect game, more than looking to surprise the rivals.