Rubi: 'We'll fight until the end because we want to progress to the next round'

'We'll fight until the end because we want to progress to the next round,' stated UD Almería head coach Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia 'Rubi' in the pre-Sevilla press conference ahead of the Spanish Cup round of 32 tie. He considers that the Sevillistas are the favourite team to win the game as they belong to the top flight, but his team have the utmost hope of remaining in contention in the tournament. The Cup, in the opinion of the Indálicos' gaffer, is special, and in this regard he argued that the encounters are 'exciting, life or death, because when it's played in a single match, one is left out. There will be sporting tension, but it'll be nice.'

 

Furthermore, as the Vilassar de Mar native stressed, reaching this round and facing opponents like Sevilla FC 'is a reward for the footballers and a gift for the fans, especially on the eve of the Three Wise Men Day holiday.'

 

The UD Almería head coach announced that he will miss five important absentees,' Fernando and Léo Baptistão could have made the appointment, but we've chosen not to force them; Robertone has to visit the surgeon to be discharged and Baba and Gui Guedes have long-term injuries,' he explained. 

 

Since there is no LaLiga Hypermotion, the date is ideal to play the match. In fact, he pointed out: 'It's very good for us because if we were not in the Cup we would've organised a friendly.' Therefore, it will align 'the backbone of our most usual starting XI,' and will join it with players 'who can contribute a lot to this test and others who we want to reward for having helped us get here and are in good shape.' 

 

UD Almería finished 2024 as LaLiga Hypermotion Christmas leaders after 12 

unbeaten games, in addition to the previous two Spanish Cup victories. When asked how his players have gotten back from the Christmas holidays emotionally, he responded: 'It's true, they're not praising us, they're telling us that we're going to improve for sure... but we all know that there's a lot, a lot left to do, and therefore there is no confidence and a great desire to be able to achieve the goal. We're aware of it.'

 

Rubi stated that Lázaro Vinicius will be in the squad to provide 'polyvalence and ease in scoring goals,' and regarding the recently opened January transfer window, he pointed out: 'We're looking for a defender and a midfielder due to the injuries of Baba and Gui Guedes.'