“We are going to go out and win the game”

Barça already has weapons ahead of the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals with the Final Four in Cologne as a great goal and with four goals in the lead after the great victory by 29-33 in the first leg at the court of SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

And as usual throughout the season, goalkeeper Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas is called to play an important role to prevent Jim Gottfridsson, Emil Jakobsen, future Barça player Hampus Wanne and company from opting for the comeback this Thursday at 6:45 p.m. at the Palau.

The man from Toledo was honest with SPORT a few hours before one of the most important matches for the new project led by Carlos Ortega, which has already won the Copa del Rey, the Asobal League, the Spanish Super Cup and the Catalan Super Cup.

Where is the team in its evolution?

Surely at the highest point after a few difficult first months. We lost the final of the Super Globe being inferior to Magdeburg and then we had a difficult period with three games in a row without winning in the Champions League, but since we beat FC Porto at the Palau we have played comfortably in Europe and with a better game. And in the League, with the exception of two or three, I think we have also done serious work at home and won more clearly away, which was a negative issue of the season. That’s why I think the game in Flensburg shows that the team is still hungry, that it’s at its best despite significant casualties and that we’re in a good moment for this second leg.

how did you live Saturday’s draw in Antequera?

There was no TV, so we followed it on ‘mismarks’. For me it is an anecdotal result, although obviously and despite the casualties I think we are a superior team. Everything came together a little, that Carlos (Ortega) was not there, that an important part of the team was missing… Now the objective is to get into the Final Four and if for that we had to risk this result happening, internally already We had made it clear that the focus must be put on the return leg of the Champions League.

With a shorter squad, was it necessary to humanize the team in the League to double the options in the Champions League?

Let’s see, if we can win by 15 we are obliged to do so, but we have played very complete games in the Asobal. The problem is that perhaps we have not been as consistent as in Europe and that has cost us having very tight games. For example, the Anaitasuna game in which we won the League we had it under control and either due to relaxation or activation of the rival we were not able to close it and in the end it was complicated for us, but that should not be attributed to the fact that the squad is more short. It is a task in which we have been improving, but for the coming seasons we have to demand that if we can win by 11 instead of 10, then we have to do it. That we have to be more consistent and more regular at Asobal is a fact.

Are you satisfied with your season?

I personally think it’s a good season. Perhaps I have had more responsibility and in that sense it has been more than solved. We are close to fulfilling the main objective, which is to reach the Final Four and my participation has been important and good. Now I really would like to be in Cologne and maintain this level to have more options to repeat the title.

By the way, your contract ends in 2023. Would you like to continue longer at Barça?

Well, it is an issue that we take with ease. We all have clear ideas, both the club and I, and when it’s time to announce something, we’ll do it.

How important is it for the project? the renewal of Dika Mem until 2027?

It is the movement that gives stability to this project and to this team. Dika is very important on and off the track, he is the leader of this group now and in the future. This gives peace of mind to the players who are here, to those who have to come, to the staff and is essential for the future of the section.

After losing the Super Globe and with all the conditioning factors of the season, did you expect to be at this level now?

It was always clear to me that the squad was almost the same as the one that ended up playing in the Final Four a year ago. It is true that there were changes at the structure and staff level, but I knew that if we did things well we would have a chance of winning the Champions League again. For that we have had to suffer, we knew how to do it and that has made us grow as a team and has allowed us to win the Copa del Rey, the Super Cups, the League. We know that if we are at a good level, we still have a squad to beat anyone.

How has the group’s process of believing in Carlos Ortega been?

From the beginning we have seen that he is a coach who works hard, who prepares a lot for both training sessions and matches and who has clear ideas. Obviously it hasn’t been easy for him either. He came to a team that had all the mechanisms, a way of working for many years and that had just had a perfect season. And changing these things is very difficult. It has been a natural process and now we are getting more and more comfortable. He too, because he gets to know everything better and gains confidence with the players. In fact, now we have to close the tie on Thursday to consider the season as correct with a chance to make it outstanding in Cologne.

How do you rate the response of the group in Flensburg without Fàbregas or Frade?

Injuries are part of the sport, although both are in the pivot position and at a key moment of the season. They are sensitive casualties, especially that of ‘Ludo’, because it has been now. I say this because unfortunately we have gotten used to Luís. There players like Thiagus (Petrus) or Ali (Zein) multiplied in defense and also in attack. The departure of the team in Flensburg proves that, that we are still hungry despite last season’s great season. Even without playing good games, removing Magdeburg, in all the ones we haven’t won we were very close. We know that if we chain those phases of the game in which we are brilliant, we will be a problem for anyone.

In Flensburg they knew how to stop to a crack like Gottfridsson and to the first line, but the ends did a lot of damage…

The strategy was clear. Almost all those actions were his superiorities, we decided to do it that way and I could have been more successful in those shots from the wings, especially in the second half. We force them to play that. If I had been able to get two or three more balls we would be almost classified. I have to contribute a little more and I have no problem being shot from the wings if that is what we have planned and especially if we are defending the front line well.

Are you worried about overconfidence ahead of the return?

No, because the clear goal is to win the game and we’re going to go for the win. We don’t have to play with the scoreboard and Carlos has been very repetitive in that this week. We had a great game there, but we can’t think about that. We have it clear and the most important players are repeating that we have to focus on going to the top on Thursday, which is the last Champions League game at home. We want to win, enjoy and send the message that if they want to beat us they will have a hard time. I don’t think there is relaxation. That yes, we would have signed all this +4 in some quarters in Germany and with the turn at home.

With a Barça-Madrid basketball game in the semis of the Euroleague, are you afraid that the Palau won’t respond?

They have to know that we need them and there is time to see both things. We’ll be done at eight twenty, so there’s time to grab some pizzas or whatever you want to watch basketball at home, which starts at nine. I would tell them that it could be a great week for Barcelona fans with the option of winning two Champions Leagues (women’s football and basketball) and us getting into the Final Four. And futsal has already won the Champions League. It could be an extraordinary week, but we need your support and it’s the only game you can see here at the Palau. I fully understand that the supporters clubs and animation groups are in Belgrade, but those who have not been able to travel and all the fans should not miss this great game because of the rhythm, the quality of the players and the importance it has.