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Laporte: ‘A draw for us is almost like a defeat’.

The Spain centre-back shares his ambition to continue winning with Spain: ‘Winning a trophy like the European Championships vindicates you as a player’.
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Sat, 07/09/2024 - 21:16

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO WHAT COACH LUIS DE LA FUENTE HAD TO SAY DURING THE PREVIEW TO THE UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE MATCH BETWEEN SWITZERLAND AND SPAIN.

 

‘There are no substitutes or starters here,’ said Aymeric Laporte in a press conference on Saturday, always as assertive in his message as he is humble when it comes to defining his role in everyone's favourite team.

The Spain international spoke to reporters on the eve of the clash with Switzerland in Geneva against a team he has close friends in the form of defender Manuel Akanji, who has made him ‘look at them a lot over the last few years to be able to say that they are very good both individually and collectively, although we are confident we can beat them’.

The second matchday of this year's UEFA Nations League comes after the draw against Serbia in Belgrade, which the defender from Agen considers ‘almost like a defeat, because within the team we always want to do our best. The idea that we shouldn't demand too much of ourselves is something that is only on the outside.

The problems on the pitch at the Stade de Genève have not gone unnoticed by Laporte, who this Saturday saw ‘a pitch that seems to be damaged and that's why tomorrow we'll have to be very attentive to the bounce of the ball and not to slip. We'll try to stay in the opposition’s half for as long as possible and pick the right moments to be able to do some damage’.

All this after a European Championships that ‘vindicates us as a players by winning it, although I don't think I've ever given anyone any reason to doubt me. I feel privileged and important in the team’.

On the lack of rest and the demanding schedule, the national team player is clear: ‘We always want to compete, to be on the pitch and in the squad. We want to play every game, even if there are a lot of them, and fight for every tournament,’ he said on the eve of the match against the Swiss in Geneva.