‘I don’t care‘ — Racing Santander manager hails Barcelona and confirms guard of honour | OneFootball

Racing Santander are in a very good position in La Liga 2 this season. They are currently league leaders, playing a good brand of football, and are in a prime position to secure promotion to La Liga for the 2026/27 campaign.

Tonight, they face FC Barcelona in the Copa del Rey as they look to overcome the odds and cause an upset against Hansi Flick’s team. It is easier said than done, though, and the Catalan club is fresh off lifting silverware in the form of the Spanish Super Cup.

Ahead of the game, Racing Santander manager Jose Alberto Lopez hailed Barcelona. According to SPORT, he described the Catalan club as “the most in-form team in the world and the worst opponent to face.”

The manager went on to confirm that his side would line up with a guard of honour for Barcelona, calling it good manners. He continued:

“I don’t care at all what others think. We are professionals, and it is a club’s duty to form a guard of honor for any team that has won a title, whether it’s Barça, Madrid, Atlético… whoever it may be.”

Lopez then conceded that their weekend league game is more important to their promotion push than tomorrow’s tie. He said:

“We have an important match on Sunday, and for us, the priority is the league; our goal is to try to get promoted. We have focused more on preparing for the weekend’s match than tomorrow’s game.”

This is a clear indication that, as much as Los Verdiblancos want to win tomorrow’s game and progress to the next round, their manager also has the bigger picture in mind: securing promotion to the first division next season.

However, the Racing coach remains cautiously optimistic about the cup tie:

José Alberto will watch the game from the stands after being sent off against Villarreal, but he celebrated the growing excitement around the club since taking charge over three years ago.

“Our fans have been, speaking frankly, putting up with crap for 13 years. Over these years, we have faced teams like Arenas de Getxo or Gernika far more often, with all due respect, than the best teams, which are the teams we must face.”

Tonight promises to be a good game for neutrals. Let us wait and see how Barcelona and Racing Santander perform, and who emerges with bragging rights on the night.