Baraja: “The Copa del Rey excites us”

Valencia CF coach Rubén Baraja spoke to the media before the Copa del Rey game against CP Parla Escuela-Fair Play, which takes place on Tuesday evening.

Victory against Real Betis

“Without a doubt, winning changes everything: Self-esteem, confidence, realising that you can change the situation. Winning always feels good. The players are happy, but know that the road is going to be long and difficult and we have to continue working in the same way.”

The Copa del Rey

“Our history says that the Copa del Rey is important for Valencia CF, and that is how we are going to approach it. Any positive results are good for us and we are going to go into the game with that intention. The objective is to get through the tie, respecting the opposition a lot, and trying to play a serious match. The Copa del Rey excites us. If you give me a list of priorities, then, at this moment, it is the league situation that comes first.”

Rafa Mir

“He is not ready yet, but his progress is good. He is starting to do things with the group, but we’re going little by little. He will increase the pace and when he feels good enough we will introduce him to the team and the competition. The important thing is that when he comes back, he has overcome the injury. We are not going to take any risks because he is a player who can contribute for us, but he has to be fit, we cannot rush things.”

The formation

“We will try to find the best formula to be competitive tomorrow. We have been able to see that CP Parla Escuela-Fair Play are a brave team, who want to play good football, and will be demanding of us. We know that this type of match always has its risks.”

Copa del Rey

“For us it is about adding minutes with players who have not been participating continuously, trying to find a level of performances. When players have good performances it gives them the possibility of coming in for playing time in LaLiga.

It’s a different competition to LaLiga. Our priority, at this moment, is LaLiga, because of the position we occupy in the table, but the cup must be respected and we are at a club where the cup excites us, as well as the fans, and we have to try to achieve the objective tomorrow of moving on to the next round.”

Pepelu

“He will have minutes, because he has not competed after his suspension and it is always good to get playing time again. I always say that it is a luxury to wear the Valencia CF shirt in any game.”

Diakhaby

“His progress is very positive. He is feeling very good. He is a very important player for us, he has a lot of experience, he has been at the club for quite some time and the fact that he was on the pitch the other day and the fans remembered him, chanting his name, is a great motivation for him -because his journey back has been difficult. It is great news that is already doing things on the pitch.”

Transfer market

“I have already commented on this. I simply conveyed what I thought after Thierry Correia's injury, and the club also gave me their opinion. From there, we will evaluate the profiles that we encounter in that position.”