UD Almería midfielder Francisco Portillo has met the media during a presser at the Power Horse Stadium to give his assesment of this period of preparations amid the World Cup, as well as the first official fixture that will see direct rivals Cádiz CF battling it out against UD Almería in the fight to avoid the drop.

UD Almería's adversaries in friendlies over this mid-season break are high-quality since most of them have participated in European competitions. The Rojiblanco player stated 'It highly motivates us because although training is obviously good and necessary, what a footballer really likes is playing and competing.' Portillo indicated 'We'll go all out for a win over Torino FC and get good vibes.'

On a personal level, the right-winger commented 'I feel good both physically and mentally. I'm ready for action when the head coach needs me.' Last Friday, Francisco Portillo was one of the standouts against Al-Nassr FC in Riyadh as he provided El Bilal Touré with the perfect assist to open the scoring through (0-1). He indicated on that note: 'I like giving assists more than scoring goals,' because of his position in midfield he also said the following: 'I truly hope to continue producing assists.'

Like his team-mate Alejandro Pozo, who spoke the day before in the press room, Portillo was asked about UD Almería latest signing Luis Suárez: 'He's a striker who's going to give us bring many positive qualities, he's definitely a highly valued player.'

To end his speech, the 32-year-old Malaga-born underlined the importance of the fixture against Cádiz CF on their return from the winter break: 'This game is vital; If we don't rack up the away victory, then we'll have to do it at home against strong rivals who are coming, so the team has to win. We have to stay strong in our Stadium but we must take control away from home too, which is what the head coach asks us to do.'