Rodrigo: "We need to use our heads and be calm"

Rodrigo Moreno knows all about comebacks with Valencia CF. For a recent example, one need look no further than the Copa del Rey turnaround that he starred in with a hat trick against Getafe CF earlier this season.

The team face another such task this Thursday against Arsenal, needing to overcome a 3-1 deficit from the UEFA Europa League semifinal first leg. Belief is strong amongst the players that they can reach the final in Baku, Azerbaijan, as Rodrigo explained in a VCF Media interview on Tuesday.

“We need to win, definitively, due to the result from the first leg, but I have a lot confidence. I think that over the course of the season the team have shown that we can overcome difficulties of all different types. We’ve got a nice challenge ahead of us, with the difficulty that the result in London has provided, but nothing is impossible and it’s nothing that we can’t turn around,” he said ahead of the return tie.

“The fans are going to fill the stadium and give us a beautiful reception, like the ones we’ve seen already this season and last year. People might not be aware, because they aren’t here, but it’s very important for us. Regardless of the circumstances, we always give our all for the club and for the fans, and this time around is going to be no different.”

Asked about how the team should approach the game, Rodrigo was cerebral: “We need the will to win, but above all we need to use our heads and be calm. The goals can come at any point in the game, and we don’t need to score in the 5th minute in order to have a chance of going through. A goal for Arsenal would make things very difficult, and we can’t make mistakes. Arsenal are a very good side, but so are we. I don’t think that they are going to put seven at the back; you never know, but I don’t think that they will, because of how they play.”

The comparisons to the Getafe game are hard to avoid, and Rodrigo will draw upon the experience to help Valencia CF against the Premier League side.

“I remember the week before that game, people on the streets were very motivated for the game and told us that we had to go through. I think that we are experiencing an identical situation ahead of Thursday. It’s a special season for the club, and reaching a first Copa del Rey final in 11 years is a big thing, but getting into another final and reaching our objective in LaLiga would also be important.”