Monterrey coach Domenec Torrent warned his team that every player should defend diligently if the Mexican club has to make the chance to beat Borussia Dortmund in the club World Cup last 16 on Tuesday.
The Spanish coach said that former Barcelona Great Lionel Messi, whose Inter Miami side was eliminated on Sunday by Paris Saint-Germain, the only player in the world is to get away without following.
Monterrey provided an impressive 1-1 draw against Champions League Runners-up Inter Milan in the group stage, but to reach the quarterfinals, a first victory ever has to achieve a Mexican side against the European opposition in the competition.
Inter Milan was eliminated on Sunday by Paris Saint Germain | Photocredit: AFP
Inter Milan was eliminated on Sunday by Paris Saint Germain | Photocredit: AFP
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«We have to compete as a team, and what I mean is that it is about defending – we all have to defend, if you do not defend, you will be born if you do not stick to the rules, you will harm the team,» Torrent told a press conference Monday before the Atlanta game.
“We played very well against Inter Milan, we went for every ball, we members and we endured, even our most talented players who tend to defend less, they defended very well.
“There are only one or two players who can make a difference-Lionel Messi, the best player in history. He was the only one who could match the balance, turned the game upside down, without teammates, without defending.
«He was so good that he could give the balance, but all the other players in the world they have to follow and to defend, otherwise you cannot compete with these teams.»
Torrent said that the quality margin between European sides and the rest of the world was smaller, but still clear, although it did not exclude upset.
«There is an important gap against the best European teams, this is the truth of the case,» he explained.
«We have a plan A, Plan B and Plan C, that is what you need as a coach, many things happen in the course of a football match.»
Nico Kovac, head coach of Dortmund | Photocredit: AFP
Nico Kovac, head coach of Dortmund | Photocredit: AFP
The Mexican side has a serial winner in the former veteran of the veteran of Real Madrid Sergio Ramos, in which the 39-year-old the bracelet of the captain was wearing and the defense was left.
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At attack they have the former Seville wing player Lucas Ocampos and striker German Berterame, who yielded a brace against Urawa Red Diamonds in the last group game to help them as second, eliminating the Argentinian Powerhouses river plate.
– Del Piero’s Pick –
Former Juventus Great Alessandro del Piero has even chosen Monterrey to precede Dortmund when making a few last 16 predictions.
«He is a football world legend, a reference. We thank him, but we don’t take it seriously. We know who we are and, on paper, who the favorites are,» Torrent said.
«I hope that our players have not heard it yet (that), because what I want to make clear to my players is that we have to fight for every ball every second – we can only compete in this way.»
Berterame said that the team grew a lot psychologically under Torrent, who was the assistant of Pep Guardiola in Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City before he started his own path as head coach.
«Our mentality and what we have achieved have now made our mentality higher,» the attacker explains.
«We must try to play as we played against Inter or River, who retain that intensity and that order.»
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