“You have to get rid of a little drama, it’s a football match,” said Valverde

One more fight. Normal. It is the feeling inside Athletic before the fight with Rome. “We are fine, calm, excited about this competition.” The six years without stepping foot Europe They did not agree to the clash tomorrow at Olympics extra emotion. And the history of lions in the old continent is long. This is what was sent Ernesto Valverde In the pre-match press conference: “You have to get rid of a little drama. This is a soccer gameagainst a great rival, a great team of Italy and of Europe and we’ll see if we do it right.”

there are many “young players with no experience” continental in the red-and-white ranks, “but they played great competitions with the National Team and won titles, with the senior team and with the under-21 team.” What is not at the disposal of the coach is Sancet: “This is a significant decrease. This is a small overhead and we don’t want to take any chances”. The season is long: “We’ve had very busy weeks and we thought this was the best.” For Valverde“no problem.” This is not the first time that the Mendillorri man is not there. “You have to be flexible and always think that throughout the season changes have to be made.”

And Nico Williams? He traveled and exercised with the group. “I can’t say now because I don’t know. After practice we will see who might be in better shape “based on the latest mishaps we have had,” he stated. Txingurri before the session Olympics. The winger was sidelined on Sunday with a sprained ankle sustained during the visit to Leganes.

In front will be a Rome with the new technician: Ivan Juric. He debuted with a 3-0 win against Udinese“they played a good game.” Despite arriving at an apparent crisis, Valverde knowing its difficulty. It is not in vain that it has the best UEFA coefficient of the 36 teams participating in the Europa League. “They are a good team. The squad will see that it has: Dovbyk, Dybala, Cristante, Mancini… This is a team that has been accustomed in recent years to reaching the finals, to winning titles, designed to reach the Champions League”. The Athletic coach felt it was “a contested match where Individual battles will be important”although it is not known whether it is “closed or open.”

This is a competition that will be “discovered” because of the new format The Gasteiztarra is not looking Rome even though the final is in Bilbao. “Playing it in our stadium is an illusion, for us and for the city. But This does not mean any kind of pressurecompetitions start at the beginning and not at the end. The fact that it is in San Mamés is not an advantage for us, another point of incentive that we have.. Nobody is thinking about the final, but about the game we have tomorrow, which is the most important thing. “Don’t look too far ahead, you might lose sight of what’s in front of you.”