Benítez: "Our objective in Europe is clear"

The 'azzurro' coach has great respect for their rival and believes they have not yet qualified for the next round

22/04/2015sscnapoli.it/rafabenitez.com

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Rafa Benítez, SSC Napoli head coach, is not one bit over confident for their game tomorrow against Wolfsburg in the second leg of the quarter finals of the UEFA Europa League. The Spanish coach appeared today in the pre-match press conference at the Club´s training ground in Castel Volturno and highlighted the importance of this game leaving to one side the good result achieved in Germany. He focused mainly on technical and mental aspects relating to the game declaring: "it is clear that tomorrow we will play a fundamental game, in spite of the partial result we have already obtained, our qualification has not been absolutely decided yet and Wolfsburg is a very strong team with great potential, they will do everything possible to make the most of any options they may have. To get through to the next stage we need to be absolutely focused and give our maximum. Any distractions could have irreversible consequences. It is our obligation to concentrate on our job tomorrow".

"Yesterday, without going further, we saw in Europe the great value, consistency and quality of the German teams at the moment. The 6-1 result in the Bayern v Porto game was really spectacular. I would like to remind everyone that the same team that put six goals past the Portuguese team lost in the Bundesliga against the very same Wolfsburg we will face tomorrow" explained the coach of the Neapolitan team and added: "we have profound respect for our rival tomorrow and we know it is our obligation to try and play at the same level that we played in the first leg. The team is conscious of this important challenge, our goal in the Europa League is clear".

In addition to this analysis, the Spanish coach also commented on SSC Napoli´s recent victories highlighting the squad´s potential. In summary the coach of the Neapolitan Club pointed out that: "the truth is the team is very united, very united. I believe that this training camp recently has made us even closer. As I always say we work shoulder to shoulder. We have to continue looking forward to reach the end in the best possible way. We are fighting to win a prestigious title like the Europa League, we still have important goals to achieve both in the Italian domestic league and in Europe. Both objectives are still very much open, anything could happen. We must not forget that SSC Napoli is an institution in which everyone participates with great responsibility from the Club and the Chairman to the team and the fans. If we could win this title then it would make the whole city very proud".

When asked about how he thinks his team will perform on the pitch tomorrow the head coach of the ´azzurro´ team insisted once again that they cannot be complacent and assured that: "personally, I always want to win and that is the mentality we must have when facing this game. It is precisely this mentality we have maintained in the last two seasons and most importantly recently. We come from three consecutive victories and we want to continue this good run of results. Our intention is to show that what happened in Wolfsburg is not something exceptional, it is not a one off, it is more about the possibilities we create based on our capabilities" stated the Spaniard and added that: "I would like to tell the fans that these players are absolutely fantastic, both in character and professionalism. Perhaps they are missing a little bit of experience, maybe, but we are growing and we have a great deal of quality in our lines. In order to improve we will need experience and confidence that is how great goals are achieved".

To finish, the head coach of the ´azzurro´ team gave a message to the fans: "I invite everybody to respect the UEFA rules, as we have done so in the past. Tomorrow many will be watching the San Paolo and I think we must remain calm. This is very important if we want to continue in the competition, we want to play at home with the support of our people. If we were to play the semi-final at the San Paolo in front of our fans it would be very important. More than important it would be absolutely fundamental".