“The players and I are convinced we’ll be in the final” – Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil | OneFootball

Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil has asserted that he is convinced that they will make it past Real Madrid and into the Copa del Rey final on Tuesday night. It is a mammoth task for the Txuri-Urdin, who will be forced to do so from behind, having lost 1-0 at Anoeta due to a goal from Endrick Felipe.

Alguacil was nothing if not determined in his pre-match press conference, noting that it made little difference that Los Blancos were favourites.

“Real Madrid are always the favourite to win, they are the favourite to win La Liga, the Copa, the Champions League and the Club World Cup, they has a great squad and a great coach, but the players and I are convinced that we will be the ones who will be in the final,” he explained to Marca.

The Basque manager, who has been keen to highlight La Real’s achievements over the last six years this season, noted that it would be ‘another historic night of many’ were Real Sociedad to qualify.

“In the minds of the players and me, it’s about continuing to make history with our club. Being in the final would be a historic night, and we’re going to fight for it,” he explained, although he denied that their previous 4-3 win over Real Madrid in 2020 was fresh in their minds.

Image via David Ramos/Getty Images

“I don’t live in the past, but in the present, and I’ve told them that we’ve lost both games this season, but we’ve come close to winning them. We need to play a game like that and be effective in front of goal. If we do, with the utmost respect for Madrid, I’m convinced we’ll be in the final. We have to get everyone talking about how La Real beat Madrid and qualified for the final.”

Asked what Real Madrid do best under Carlo Ancelotti, Alguacil did not go into specfics.

“I think they’ve done a lot of things right since Carlo took over. He’s more than proven what a great coach he is and the performance he gets from all his squads. No matter what players he has, he always gets the best out of them, and they’re a favourite to win every competition.”

The Txuri-Urdin are not expected to make many changes from the first leg, and Alguacil’s options are restricted by injuries, with Brais Mendez, Arsen Zakharyan, Jon Pacheco, Sheraldo Becker and Alvaro Odriozola out of action through injury. Much of Ancelotti’s press conference beforehand was dominated by the toll that the heavy schedule is taking on his players too, with Real Madrid also carrying several key absences in their team.