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NEWS | Copa del Rey
05 April 2024

Javier Aguirre: "We are going to try to be champions and make our people proud of their team".

RCD Mallorca coach and captain Antonio Raíllo says calm going into the final of the Spanish Copa del Rey: "We were in hell and now we're on the verge of heaven."

 

"The team is very excited. We are in a final without having aimed to be. We want to be champions, although we know it won't be easy and we're going to fight for it. The words of a relaxed Javier Aguirre, who on Saturday will return to a major cup final almost twenty years since his last appearance: "I'm more relaxed than in the 2005 final. I have more experience and knowledge of the game. I'm confident in my work, even though I'm in the twilight of my career.


The coach praised the grandeur of La Cartuja stadium in Seville, as "it's a very beautiful stage, which offers a new dimension. We're going to try and make the fans proud of their team. We know that enthusiasm and desire are not enough, because we have to play very good football".


"I don't do scripts. I don't know what I'll say to the players, but I'll speak to them from the heart", admitted Aguirre, who gave way to captain Antonio Raíllo, who said of his coach that "he's an unusual person in the world of football because of his closeness".

After eight seasons with the Balearic club, the Cordovan defender acknowledges that "during these years we have come out of hell to almost touch the sky", in reference to his team's promotion from the third tier of Spanish football.

"We're going at a calm pace. Tomorrow we'll do our best and we'll try to make the fans very proud of us", insisted Raíllo, who described very clearly the feelings of his teammates before this historic date: "The squad is very calm. The pressure of success is much easier (than failure)".


In their quest to win the second cup in the history of the Balearic Island club, RCD Mallorca trained on Friday afternoon on the pitch at La Cartuja in Seville and it will not be until shortly before the final when their coach will decide on the availability of his player Omar Mascarell, who could be left out of the squad if his injury problems are confirmed.