‘It won’t be any easier to play against Osasuna than against Barça’
José Gomes highlights the difficulty of any match against a high-flying team
The UD Almería head coach reflected on the club's official radio station UDA Radio the next rivals in the Copa del Rey last-16: ‘This tie is gonna be really difficult, no matter who you play against, whether you do it against Barça or Osasuna. They’ll be tough opponents and they won't be any easier than playing against FC Barcelona. Let's slow down a bit… We might’ve turned on the style to ease past Alaves but the Copa del Rey is not gonna be any motorway, ‘he stressed.
The Portuguese gaffer also gives value to being qualified for the cup tournament final rounds: ‘How many Real Madrid supporters expected that their team wouldn’t make it to the next round when playing against Alcoyano? When it comes down to football, there’re no easy games. All of the teams competing in any league level work well and with criteria. Everyone is well prepared. Those who play in the Primera Division will be worth something. They’ve got plenty of experience even in the National Teams. Whoever relaxes or makes a little mistake, will pay dearly for it.’
Almería are four games away from the Spanish Cup final, yet according to Gomes, it is somewhat misleading: ‘It’s true that in terms of number of games, they might seem not many but it’s really difficult because it’ll always be against first-class rivals full of quality. It’s not impossible though. Nothing is impossible in football. It’ll definitely be tough. Although I rather we focus on the league game against Sabadell and then we'll see what’s going to happen with the Spanish Cup.’ He insisted over and over on the latter comment: ‘Reaching the end of the season in a place that can give us automatic promotion is all that matters. Of course, we’ll fight for the Spanish Cup title, but winning automatic promotion to the top flight is our priority and we must keep fully focused on that.’