Corberán: "We need to improve our competitive capacity away from home" | OneFootball

Opinion of the opposition coach

Manolo González is a great coach. He's proven that, having already helped the club achieve promotion to the Primera División. Last year they started off with difficulties, but they responded with a very distinctive style of play that has already been consolidated at the club. This year, it's no coincidence that they've started the way they have; it's a consequence of their good work. Our respect and recognition for what he and the club are doing in terms of developing their style of play and making new signings.

Changes in the teams’ performance

We understand that the team need to improve when we aren’t playing at Mestalla; we need to gain competitive capacity and increase it away from our home.

The demands of the game

We're going to play against opponents that will challenge us. They've only lost one game -the last one against Real Madrid- and it was away from home. That speaks of the demands and competitiveness of the match. We must prepare mentally for the game, and understand the intensity and pace it will offer. Knowing this, we must give our best and ensure that Valencia CF are a recognisable and competitive side.

The FFP margin

I'm not thinking about how FFP will be in the future for the club. The important thing is that the team compete well, that the team show a level of performance that matches what we want to achieve on the pitch -both at Mestalla and away from it. I'm aware that the best from the team has yet to be seen this season, and that has nothing to do with FFP, but rather with what happens on the pitch.

The team’s first half showings

It's true that we have the ability to impact the match from the bench; we have alternatives and they can offer an improvement. But it's important to start games well. There are games in which the style of play fits well with the opponent and the strengths are evident from the start; there are others in which we have to make greater adjustments to demonstrate those strengths. That's part of every match: sometimes the difficulties appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the match. We have options and the capacity to respond to compete better.

Improving away form

We must show more consistency, regardless of whether we're playing at Mestalla or not, or who it is. Making an assessment after only playing two away games, it’s been neither good nor bad. We haven't won on the road, and we want to do better. In the first away game, we had four brilliant minutes, and that wasn't enough. We have to extend the minutes in which the team are doing well. It's an adjustment we must make. Then there was a sending off that affected the team's ability to respond. I liked that, despite the difficulty, Valencia CF came close to scoring against CA Osasuna. In the next game, against FC Barcelona, we didn't play well and didn't compete well. I liked our ability to bounce back, not only from the game against FC Barcelona but also from the first half against Athletic Club. We struggled to defend and attack well, but despite that, the team showed character, resilience, and the ability to overcome adversity. That's very important.

Facing Espanyol’s wing play

RCD Espanyol are a team who use a variety of different aspects. When you press them, they have a solution: They find Roberto, the striker, who is target man in terms of playing with his back to goal. They master many different positions. It allows them to take the initiative, and that has an effect. As we saw at Mestalla, they're a team that don't want to give up on the counterattack when they defend. They try to get moving quickly, counterattack, and handle positional, direct, and counterattack situations well. Against Real Madrid, they defended in a low block; not because that's their identity, but because the game demanded it. They're a team similar to Athletic Club.

The possible need for another midfielder

Pepelu can play with Santamaría and alone as a defensive pivot, giving us interesting options. He can increase our defensive capacity with Santamaría or with a number 8. I don't feel we need to increase our options.

Dani Raba’s chances of playing

Everyone has a chance. The only one who's in doubt is Ramazani because he suffered an ankle injury, and we still don't know if he'll be fit for the squad. The rest all have a chance. I'm happy with Raba; I'm convinced he'll give us something, and I think we haven't seen his best yet. This is positive news for us.

The possibility of Ugrinic coming in

It can be any player's moment; the game will tell you what needs to be done at any given moment. Ugrinic is a player we have a lot of confidence in; he's a player who will contribute and be important throughout the season.

Winning away from Mestalla

It's something we have to work on. It's always harder than at home, as the statistics show. We want to improve our statistics and our numbers. We prepare for matches the same way, regardless of the opponent or the context. We want the team to show courage, soul, and competitive ability at Mestalla and away. We have no excuses or limitations. We have a responsibility, and we're working to improve our numbers away from Mestalla as well.

A lack of shots

Regarding any statistic I'd say we're in a growth phase, that we still need to continue improving and adapting. We have room for improvement defensively, we'll also continue to grow offensively, and harmony and adaptation allow for growth. The quality of our actions and effectiveness must improve, and the results will also improve accordingly.

His halftime instructions against Athletic

A football team is competitive when, in the face of difficulty and obstacles, they are able to rise up and show a better and different version of itself. In a game, there are moments of difficulty, adaptation, fluidity, and difficulty. Ideally, there should be fluidity; we're all comfortable, we're the better side, and it's enjoyable. Ideally, I say, as it's not usually reality; there's difficulty. The emotional need to perform better, as the team felt after a very hard setback against FC Barcelona, sometimes expresses itself in the form of a burden and wanting to do more than you can, and that sometimes turns into frustration. There's an aspect of emotional management in matches that is vital.

What I take away is the team's ability to overcome adversity. I left the team with a very positive feeling. And that's based on the players' mentality of not giving up. Our goalkeeper was at his best; the players dropped back and helped each other more, and found solutions to perform at their level. That is down to tactics. We moved Luis Rioja to the left and defended better on the right, and there the team showed improvement. Diego, Danjuma, and Ramazani defended from their positions. By adapting to the needs, we organised ourselves better defensively, and the team were able to attack, win back balls, and unleash counterattacks. There, we had a very clear move from Javi Guerra from the second line, and it was clear that, through defensive adjustments, we improved offensively. At halftime, we continued that, and that defensive improvement also had an impact on improvements in our positional attacking. The team have the capacity to understand and execute all of this.