Valverde: "I didn't even know that there were reports about the referees at Barça"

MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Athletic Club coach, Ernesto Valverde, has assured that he "did not" know "that the arbitration reports existed" during his time at FC Barcelona, ​​as a result of the scandal generated by the payment for advice from the Catalan club to the former vice-president of the Technical Committee of Referees José María Enríquez Negreira, in addition to warning of the danger of Atlético de Madrid, a rival with "a very high level of competitiveness" and who they will face this Sunday at the Cívitas Metropolitano.

"It has been a surprise for me, I had no idea about all this. It is a question that right now catches me a bit far and that will become clearer over time. Yes it is true that it has been a surprise, but you have to be cautious to find out where all this is going", he declared at a press conference regarding his stay at the Barça club (2017-20), whose first season coincided with the end of these practices.

In spite of everything, he considers the report on the referees "something common". "The statistics he has, some appreciation of what has happened the last times he has refereed us, if he has a win ratio for the home or away team, if they get more cards... Things like these, but normal. In Barcelona I I remember that I didn't even look at them and I didn't even know they existed," he said.

In another order of things, he warned about the danger of an Atlético de Madrid "absolutely focused on LaLiga as it finds itself out of Europe and the Cup". "It's a team that when it's good is quite safe. It has had a pretty good trajectory since the beginning of the year. We know that Simeone's teams are like a hammer, that they are always there competing," he said. "It's not just that they have an enormous ability to defend, but that they have great players. It's a team to be very high up," he said.

"We have won two games in a row, before we overcame a negative streak. Now we have a very difficult, complicated opponent, with whom we had difficulties in the first leg, in which they beat us here. They have a very high level of competitiveness. Although "You have the ball, they can have perfect control of the game, because they are patient without the ball and persevering. Our intention is to go to Madrid wanting the three points, knowing that they are also at stake, and we hope to continue the streak", he analyzed .

Regarding the state of Iñigo Martínez, the coach of the Bilbao team acknowledged that it would be "very hasty" for him to travel with the team. "Today he will participate a little more, regulating himself, and we will see. Now comes that phase in which he has to reintegrate the team and he has to do a mini-preseason in the part of finding the rhythm of the game again. That's where they start to appear those small inconveniences that he has to overcome. Next week he will go little by little, but it is good news for us that he joins the group", he stressed.

Regarding its renewal until 2024, Valverde revealed that the club proposed it to him "last month". "When the coaches' contracts are signed, there is always a declaration of intent to agree, but they know how they start but not how they end. The club is happy with what I do, I'm happy here, and we'll see if With that stability we can advance this season and hopefully the next one too," he explained.

"I have always felt very respected from the first day, both as a coach and as a player, by the people. I know what Athletic is and it is always a club totally devoted to sports, everyone is here to help you. It is a It was a pleasure working here on a day-to-day basis, but obviously you have to get the results, that's what stresses us all out. You have to hit the key in every game, do everything to make the ball fall in your direction, but that's it is the life of the trainer", continued.

In the same sense, he hopes that the relationship with the entity of some of the players who end their contract at the end of the season can also be prolonged, although he is not worried about it. "There are players who are important that we would like to see continue. It is not a weight that we are thinking about right now, but we are thinking about tomorrow's game and finishing the season well," he explained.

"Coaches always have very short-term objectives because it is what we depend on, in the long term you cannot consider it. Athletic wants to fight for those positions in Europe. As a coach you always want to create illusion in the group that there is a style determined with which we can recognize ourselves", he concluded about the objectives of this course.