Solari: “El Clasico will be a thriller”

Real Madrid coach Santiago Solari talked to the press ahead of Wednesday’s crucial match against Barcelona in the return leg of the Copa del Rey Semifinals and explained his expectations for what should be a beautiful game.

“It should be a thriller, a typical Clásico that we are used to in Spain. This game turns Spain into the football capital of the world and it is one of things that makes Spain such a brilliant country,” said Solari.

The Argentinian coach did not want to reveal this starters for this game.

“Our fans are the only definite starters tomorrow. I want to see as many as possible out there supporting us. Tomorrow’s match is our key focus, we all want to get through the tie and want to see a spectacular game. We’ve worked hard to make it this far in the season and still be standing in all of these competitions, we have to keep it up. The aim is to stand united, focused, and just concentrate as best we can on what we have to do from the first minute,” explained Solari.

Real’s coach was asked about Gareth Bale, who is in the middle of some serious controversy after refusing to celebrate the game-winning goal against Levante while getting rid of Lucas Vazquez’s hug in the process.

“We have already spoken about Gareth, our focus now is on tomorrow’s game and we hope to live up to the demands of the tie. We have gone through a lot of knockout ties to make it this far. The first game was a great one for the fans, in terms of Gareth and the others, they are focussed on the game too. We are all standing united in the hope of winning as a team tomorrow,” said Solari, refusing to add fuel to the fire.

The coach was also asked about his depth chart at the left-back position yet once again refused to name a starter.

“Each game is a new challenge, a new challenge in itself. We’ll see tomorrow who plays. We are united and focused on the game, We want to play and get into the final. To get here we had to beat Girona, Leganés, Melilla… It is great that we are in so many competitions and we want to win them all,” concluded Solari.