The then Real Zaragoza manager had received good news in training. Diego Milito, Carlos Diogo, Chus Herrero and Sergio Fernández had trained normally after dealing with physical problems during the week. The main question mark was Gerard Piqué, who was suffering from tonsillitis and had a fever, although the doctor was confident he could recover.
Víctor Fernández called up 20 players for a match in which he could not count on the suspended Gabriel Milito or the injured Aranzábal. He would have to leave two players out before the game. The squad was due to stay at the Hotel Reino de Aragón from 9:00 p.m. that Saturday.
Zaragoza were also looking to recover the ground they had lost after their match in Villarreal. The coach expected a demanding Levante side, well organized in defense and ready to capitalize on their opponents' mistakes. “We are playing in front of our own fans, who will help us at any moment,” he stressed.
The figures showed two sides of the Zaragoza team at the time: they had still not conceded a goal at La Romareda, while they had allowed six goals in their two away matches. Fernández played down the significance of that statistic, pointing out that the goals had come from penalties, set pieces, rebounds or deflections.
Another attraction was the return of former Zaragoza player Álvaro Maior with Levante. Víctor Fernández expected a match similar to the one against Mallorca and also hoped the referee would not become the center of attention and that both teams would finish with 11 players.
The recovery of several players, Piqué's uncertain status and Víctor Fernández's confidence shaped the build-up to that Zaragoza-Levante match at La Romareda. This is how Aragón Digital reported it 20 years ago, in the original story about the Zaragoza coach's comments before hosting Levante.
