Albacete boss González proud despite Barcelona knockout: 'We competed throughout'
Albacete manager Alberto González reflects on his side's valiant Copa del Rey exit to Barcelona, praising his team's competitiveness despite the 2-1 defeat.
Albacete head coach Alberto González found positives despite his side’s Copa del Rey elimination at the hands of Barcelona, highlighting their competitive spirit throughout the tie.
Pride in defeat
The Albacete manager was quick to put the 2-1 home defeat into perspective, recognizing the significance of their cup run and performance against one of Spain’s giants.
“With time, putting it in perspective, it’s been a great competition that we’ve experienced. It’s been spectacular,” González reflected after the match at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte.
Albacete gave Barcelona a proper game, keeping the Catalan side under control for long stretches. However, two costly turnovers led to Barcelona’s goals, and as González noted: “Barcelona is lethal with space.”
Mental strength
What impressed the gaffer most was his team’s resilience after falling behind. Rather than crumbling, Albacete continued pushing forward and created scoring opportunities until the final whistle.
“We’ve passed through the moment of adversity. Recovering from this and pushing until the end, creating goal-scoring situations, has a lot of merit,” González explained.
The atmosphere at the Belmonte clearly moved the manager, who was touched by the supporters’ faith even during difficult moments: “In the team’s worst moment I heard ‘Yes we can’ from the stands. That trust was magical.”
Back to league business
The challenge now for Albacete is to refocus on their league campaign. González acknowledged this won’t be a piece of cake:
- Team must overcome emotional comedown
- New signings bring fresh energy
- Need to build on defensive strengths (most clean sheets in the division)
- Copa run has boosted confidence
“It’s a difficult moment, returning to our normal emotional state won’t be easy,” González admitted. “We’ll try to lean on our new players who come with enthusiasm.”
While the cup dream is over, the confidence gained from pushing Barcelona to the limit should serve Albacete well as they return to their bread and butter in the league.