Pau Cubarsi says Barcelon have not given up hope of pulling off a stunning comeback against Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona will head into the second leg of the tie 4-0 down after a disastrous first leg, but Cubarsi says the players think they can still cause a massive upset.
“We’re a group that has already proven we believe in comebacks and we’ve done them. We’re going to try again with all our strength and with the support of our fans who never let us down!” he told
Mundo Deportivo.
“When the time comes, we’ll see, but we’ll follow the guidelines and the game plan set by the manager, and we’ll do it with all the commitment and enthusiasm possible, as it should be.”
Cubarsi also admitted that improvements were needed, following the defeat to Girona, but says the team still have faith in Hansi Flick’s style.
“We need to improve. We can’t concede two goals like that. We played a bad game; we were lacking in every aspect. We need to be self-critical and get our act together,” he added.
“Flick brought his philosophy with him, and it’s the one we’ve been practicing all these years. From the outside, it might seem risky, but I think both the manager’s idea and ours is to all pull together, following his ideas, because we saw that it worked well for us last season. Yes, sometimes we have to tweak a few things, but that’s normal. I think we’re doing things right, and we have to keep going down this path.
“As I said, from the outside it looks like a risk, and if someone isn’t connected it doesn’t work, but in important matches we have to be as involved as possible in the game to try and make things go well because that’s the manager’s philosophy and we’re fully behind him.”
The winner of the tie will face either Real Sociedad or Athletic Club in the final. La Real are 1-0 up in the tie after the first leg at San Mames.
