Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez has been full of praise for Barcelona star Raphinha ahead of Saturday’s Catalan derby.
Raphinha has been bizarrely snubbed for several high-profile individual awards recently,
but the Espanyol boss has no doubts at all about the Brazilian’s quality.
“He’s not talked about enough, but for me he’s crucial. Other players get a lot of attention and he’s overlooked, but he’s a vital player for what Barça does,” he told reporters.
Gonzalez also looked ahead to the match and what promises to be a feisty affair due to the return to Espanyol of Joan Garcia. Yet the Espanyol boss says he doesn’t want any lectures about behavior from Barcelona.
“And no lessons, no lessons on behavior. Please. I have many Barcelona fans who tell me this, and I tell them that when Luis Figo came to the Camp Nou… They’re in no position to lecture anyone. The fans will behave themselves, and it will be just another football match,” he added.
“We go out there convinced we can beat anyone. We have great faith in what we do and we are capable of beating anyone. We can defeat any opponent. From the start of the season, we wanted to change our mentality and go out to win every match. We are very convinced of this. The players want to win and win. In training, they train at such a pace that sometimes we have to stop them.”
Espanyol are enjoying a great season and head into the match on the back of five straight wins in La Liga.
