Francisco Portillo: 'Betis is a great team who will make it particularly difficult'
The former Betico right-winger points out 'we have many tactical strengths at home to outplay any opponents, who will come on the back of two defeats to Celta de Vigo and Barça.
'We're confident and strong at home because we have many tactical strengths to outplay any opponents,' underlined UD Almería right-winger Francisco Portillo when having a chat with the Club's official media a few days before playing again at the Power Horse Stadium against Real Betis Balompié.
The Málaga-born footballer, who has carved out a long, brilliant footballing career was a member of the Beticos outfit. Recalling that stage, Portillo stated 'it was a pleasure to play for a club like Real Betis. I'm fond of their fans and I've got many friends who I'll say hi! Hopefully, we'll achieve victory and I'll wish them the best after the encounter.' Then, he added 'If I scored a goal, I wouldn't celebrate it because I owe respect to the club that took me on-board and a crowd whom I feel really close to.'
When asked about the current Real Betis squad, the 32-year-old replied 'it's a great team, although they've struggled in a few games over the last match weeks. Because of this downturn in results, the game will be even more complicated to win because they're coming hurt and we'll have to be the best version of ourselves to achieve victory.'
Portillo spoke of the tool keys in order to be able to overcome adversaries who are fighting fiercely for those positions to make it to the European Competitions: 'We must continue to be the reliable team that we're on home soil because we're playing against powerful visitors. When we give one hundred percent, it's true that we're a difficult team to beat and that's the objective, complicate their game with our weapons.'
There are both UD Almería and Real Betis players who will not feature in the game this Saturday, although in the opinion of the Rojiblanco interviewee 'they're a competitive squad and whoever starts will make it hard for us. They play offensively and defensively flawlessly. The only way to beat them is just by being ourselves and playing a leading role in the match.'
The UD Almería midfielder, who believes that the best to succeed is taking each game as it comes, without overthinking about who comes next after Betis, considers that the position of the Rojiblancos in the table 'must be accepted since we're a young squad. This is the first year for many players competing in this tier and this is a long-distance race with good and bad patches. We need to have consistency and not only remain strong at home, but also away, which is our weakness.'
