Corberán: "we need to turn our pain into a reaction"

Valencia CF coach Carlos Corberán talked after Valencia CF's loss to FC Barcelona and elimination from the Copa del Rey.

APOLOGISING TO THE FANS

“We have to apologise to the fans because the image was not what it should have given. We did not compete at the level that the match demanded. From the start, we made mistakes that made the tie meaningless after 15 minutes. That is not the image we want to give or what our fans deserve. More than 46,000 people came out tonight and the pain that they all feel is shared by the staff and the dressing room. It is a tough day for everyone.”

THE DEFEAT

“Today’s game ended in a resounding defeat. We did not respond as we should have and that feeling must be converted into a reaction for the next game. It is what the players want and what our fans deserve. Right now there is no other feeling than that of digesting this sorrow, this pain, and transforming it into rage and reaction, because our fans deserve much more. We have no choice but to make up for it with this absolute dedication from tomorrow onwards to prepare for the important game on Sunday.”

TAKING RESPONSIBILITY

“I pick the lineups and the squads, and when there is a defeat like that I always take responsibility, because I am the one who chooses it. Without a doubt, we have to grow as a group, as a team, because we are going to need everyone to achieve our objective.”

BEING AFFECTED BY THE PREVIOUS GAME

“This match is marked by the previous match. In that match, two players ended up with injuries and four players ended up with discomfort. I have been instructed by the medical services not to give players a certain number of minutes, so as not to risk injury and have six players out on Sunday. Sunday is a real final, like every league match we have ahead of us. We have a group that was capable today and I am firmly convinced of the players I put out. We should all have given a different response to the one we gave -them and us- and competed in the match in a better position, because we could have done so.”

PAIN

“We didn't give the response that the game required and we did not interpret the game well. The lack of interpretation that we had in the first minutes made the team show defensive vulnerability and was taken advantage of perfectly by a Barcelona that played a serious, very forceful game and ended the tie in the first minutes. What was going through my head was tremendous pain -as it was for the players- because it is not the image that we want to give at Mestalla. We are aware that it is not what our fans deserve. We must commit ourselves to the maximum so that this image is not repeated and to end this season giving joy to the fans. I assure you that there is nothing that could make me happier personally than achieving that. There is nothing for which I am going to work harder from now until the end of the season than to give the fans joy in such a dificult season.”

INTENSITY AND UNDERSTANDING

“The plan is to transform pain into reaction, transform it into an extra degree of involvement, interpretation and understanding the games well. Intensity without understanding makes you vulnerable, and understanding without intensity likewise. We have to be able to combine understanding and intensity. If the team are lacking in one of those two against a team like Barcelona, you become a team without defensive solidity -and you can't compete like that. What we have to do now is channel that emotion. It's difficult to talk about the future now. The feeling I have most is that we should be apologising to the fans for having given them so little after receiving so much.”

SHARED SUFFERING

“We have to mobilize these fans and show them that the suffering they are experiencing is shared. It is absolutely shared. Each of the players who were on the pitch are deeply affected by the fact that it is not the showing we want. Each member of the staff -and I personally- feel the same. This can only increase the effort and dedication that we have to make, because this fanbase does not deserve to see what we did on the pitch today.”

THE OPENING MINUTES

“We did not manage the first minutes well and that made the game get away too quickly. We did not play the way that we had to play. There is no positive aspect that I can comment on. The team have to get back up and we are going to need everyone to achieve the objective.”

MESTALLA

“Mestalla is a positive aspect. Any comment from the fans is legitimate and our responsibility is to change things in order to achieve the support that the fans are eager to give us. The support that we need so much starts with ourselves; showing how much we care about this and that we are going to give our all. It starts with the team, because the fans have the power to express any kind of opinion and we have the opportunity to show them that we care a lot, that losing like this hurts us a lot, that we have to give our best because the club demands it and the fans too.”

SUFFERING IN DEFENCE

“It wasn't a question of playing with a line of 5 or 4. It wasn't a question of encouraging pressure or not. It was a question of interpreting situations that Barcelona constantly sought out. The first three goals were three avoidable actions. Against a player with time, we were thinking more about defending higher up than defending at the back, and that's where they caught us out. It happened in Barcelona in moments of pressure, and today it happened to us in moments when we defended. We were attracted by the number of elements we had in front of us instead of focusing on the runs behind us. I think we weren't up to par, and we did not compete in the game from a tactical and emotional point of view. We understand that this club and this fanbase deserve much more than what we did.”

REVERSING THE SITUATION

“The assessment is that we all have to improve. We have to give a better response on the pitch. We need a group to be able to compete for our broad objective, with 22 players at their best level. In the previous game we didn't do that, and today we didn't either. We are going to take that responsibility, we are going to absorb it and from there we will work to give a showing in line with what Valencia CF need.”

PREPARING FOR THE NEXT GAME

“We will get up tomorrow, go to the Ciudad Deportiva, talk about what happened and start to train with the players we have available, giving that time to those who need to recover and making the most of the time with those we have available. We only have two days to prepare for the next match. My objective is to get the most out of the players I have and that is my focus every day.”

CONCEDING EARLY

“Conceding three goals very early on is very reminiscent of the game we saw in the league and made the tie feel very much like an uphill struggle. We all have to give a lot more. Today we didn't compete, perform or play at the level that the match and the fans required.”