Goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen says Barcelona are prepared to face Athletic Bilbao for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.
The Blaugrana are looking to rebound from last weekend’s El Clasico loss to Real Madrid in La Liga, which saw them drop to third place in the table.
And Ter Stegen says Barcelona are prepared to face Athletic Bilbao for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final.
He told reporters at his pre-match press conference on Friday, as quoted by El Mundo Deportivo: “In the second half of El Clasico we played well and made a good effort, but you have to do it for 90 minutes. That interrupted us little, but we have had several training sessions since and we are good for the final.”
This match will be a rematch of the 2015 final, in which Ter Stegen played. The Basque side have the prospect of winning their first Copa since 1987. They lost last season’s final to Real Sociedad just a fortnight ago.
It’s also a rematch of the Spanish Supercopa final three months ago, in which Athletic scored a last-minute equalizer. They then went on to win the trophy in extra time.
Ter Stegen commented: “It’s an opportunity to win a title. Obviously, we have the match from a few months ago in mind and we hope it won’t happen to us again. Until minute 90 we were better, but then we noticed the fatigue.
“This time we will not have the 120 minutes of the semi-final in our legs. We are prepared. It is a final and we see it independent of what happens in the rest of La Liga, but if we win you will feel very good and if you lose it you will be left with a really bad feeling.”
“We never get used to winning titles as each is a very big effort, it means being one hundred per cent in a full season. The effort we made to get here deserved this final and we are going to give it our all,” he continued.
“It is a 50-50 final before starting, but if we do our job as before the international break, we have many options and always playing a really complete game.
“These games are special, I take these moments with me for a lifetime, it’s what one wants to experience as a footballer, and I was waiting for the moment to be here again.”
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