Sporting boss on Real Madrid clash: We’ll have to dig deep | OneFootball

Sporting - which eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt - faces the Spaniards of Real Madrid this Wednesday, March 17, at 1:00 PM, in the quarter-finals of the Youth League. João Gião previewed the match, highlighting the importance of reaching this stage and the quality of the opponent.

“Reaching this far after very competitive rounds and having the opportunity to play against such a strong opponent like Real Madrid creates a lot of anticipation. We get to see the best players from various generations and countries, different contexts, and approaches to the game. (…) It's a motivating environment, it has been a very positive experience,” explained the coach.

Regarding Real Madrid, the coach emphasized the historical strength of the Spanish team: “This 2007 generation, in particular, is one of the strongest and has players who have already played for the main team. It is probably the strongest team we have faced so far. Real Madrid has already won this competition and has reached the semi-finals several times,” he recalled.

To overcome the Madrid giant, the coach relies on the competitive mentality of his squad: “We have to be immune to adverse environments, as happened in the last round in Germany. We must be very strong mentally, resilient. We also appeal to the presence of our fans in Madrid. Although in the minority, we hope to feel them, as we did in Germany,” he mentioned.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.