Questioned about the euphoria, the Real Zaragoza coach said he had done “a lot of work” on information management. “You are like the weather, either very hot or very cold. We work so that praise does not weaken us and so that we can pick ourselves up when things go badly. We want what comes from outside to help us, and we are working on that,” he said.
Ibai insisted that the first objective was to “get people engaged”, something he believes Real Zaragoza’s players are achieving. But he returned to the issue of praise. “Praise must not weaken us. Keep our feet on the ground and work like animals every day. I understand everyone. People are tired of seeing a club like Zaragoza suffer so much,” he said.
Jardí celebrates Real Zaragoza’s winning goal against Cartagena. Photo: Pilar Álvarez
“I have not criticised the criticism. You can give us an enormous boost. We have to realise, bearing these years in mind, how important it is for everyone to pull in the same direction. There will be difficult moments. I am delighted to be here and hopefully we will be here for many years,” the coach concluded.
THE MATCH
After Real Zaragoza’s victory, Ibai analysed the match. “The first half was ours from start to finish. It was the best half we have played. Their centre-backs like physicality and duels, so we looked to get Vadillo into space or have Rubén control the ball. We also wanted to draw out their first press, which is spectacular, to free up Rubén,” he said.
However, after scoring and finding themselves with an extra man, they were unable to manage the game. But Ibai Gómez was self-critical. “The first person who did not manage it well was me. We did not want to take Rubén off, but I did not want to take the risk of a second yellow card. There were some positional lapses. They are things to improve,” he said.
He takes away “the team’s attitude”. And there were also several standout names for Real Zaragoza. Terrer, Jardí, Ureña, Vadillo, Sangalli… all of them appear to have a place after the third consecutive victory.
