Terzic, ahead of his first Basque derby: the goals are in the same place | OneFootball

The German coach looks ahead to his first derby against Alavés, discussing the postponed match against Levante, the return of Peio Canales, and the demands of the opening stretch

Edin Terzic will bring his first international break as Athletic Club coach to a close with a Basque derby, the first he will play at San Mamés against one of the early surprises of the season, Deportivo Alavés. The German prefers not to give the matter more importance than necessary, and instead chose to speak about previous experiences to explain how the team should approach it. "I’ve experienced other derbies, I’m aware of the importance of the clash emotionally, but what matters more is being as well prepared as possible. The goal is in the same place and it’s the same size. We have to keep improving regardless of the opponent. We don’t want to make a distinction based on the rival or the stadium where we play; that’s what makes the difference between winning and losing."

Speaking about the opposition, the Menden-born coach highlighted their strong start to the season and also the opportunity his side has to test itself. "They are a team with a solid foundation that keeps 8 regular starters in the lineup. They have a great coach and they are especially effective from crosses. We have to focus on our own game to see how we can attack and keep the opposition away from our box in order to be the better team in the match."

The break will be a "mini preseason": "I’m not thinking about the break because there’s never a bad time to win. We’ve organized ourselves for this break; we still don’t know who will be here and who won’t, but we’ll use the time we have to hold a second preseason. It disrupts our league rhythm a bit, but we’ll add things in terms of injury recovery to improve tactically and physically. We’ll make good use of that time."

3 away games after the break: "We’re coming off back-to-back home matches now. What happened on Wednesday wasn’t anyone’s fault and took place under those circumstances. We’ll be ready for those 3 matches, but right now it’s all about Alavés. In football, everything moves quickly and I can’t talk about what will happen three weeks from now."

The team in its first few months: "These are the first 3 months, not the last. We’re at the beginning after some demanding months in which we planned preseason without knowing when it would start or when the national team players would return. Preseason was demanding and our objective was to put many of the things we wanted to improve into practice. We’re not happy with the first results, but the path is very good. We’re at the start, not close to the final objective. That’s important when you want to do new things. In the first few weeks we deserved more, against Elche and Sevilla, but we can’t change that now, only tomorrow’s result. We’re happy with the first steps."

Padilla, called up by Mexico:"We’re delighted for him. We help players develop. It’s an honor for him to be with the Mexico national team. The important thing is that he’s performing very well and, although he hasn’t played in the league, he had a good preseason. He works hard, battles in every session... he deserves to have been selected. I can count on him and I’m delighted to have players like Padi in my team."

Canales still a doubt: "I don’t like talking about the starting eleven the day before a match. Canales wasn’t at 100 percent for the Levante match, and we’ll see how he feels after training, since we agreed to speak with the medical staff to assess his condition. We’ve changed things in matches in search of wins and to achieve our objectives, but we have to be patient before knowing the lineup."

Maroan and his lack of minutes:"I was upset that Maroan didn’t get any minutes against Levante. I trust all my players and I know I need every one of them. My decisions are in favor of something, never against anyone. Because of his injury, he missed many matches last season. Now he’s working very hard and is ready to play again. I trust Maroan, Guru and Iñaki for the No. 9 role, and I’m very happy with each of them. There will be times when we have to rotate, and we’ll give them the opportunity to show that they are important to our team."

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