Bordalás puts Barcelona in a special place and ignores Carvajal
A striking admission from the Getafe coach before the Barcelona clash
Jose Bordalas faced the media on the eve of Getafe's eagerly awaited clash against Barcelona, and the Alicante-born coach refused to comment on reports linking the club with former Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal, insisting his focus was on Hansi Flick's side.
Carvajal's contract with Real Madrid expired this summer, leaving him free to join any club as a free agent regardless of the transfer window. His name was linked with a move to Getafe before club president Angel Torres addressed the programme "El Chiringuito" a few days ago: "There is nothing. Everything has collapsed."
Pressed on the Carvajal rumours, Bordalas told the press conference, according to the newspaper "Marca": "I fully appreciate your question and respect it, but I will not talk about this matter because my thinking is entirely focused on tomorrow's match against Barcelona."
The Getafe coach turned to his upcoming opponents and praised the strength of the Catalan club: "They are one of the best teams in the league and even in Europe, their players are in amazing physical condition. I would not want to classify them as to whether they are the best or not, as comparisons are always complicated, but what I have been saying for years is that football has changed."
He continued: "Barcelona have players with a tremendous technical level, but on the physical side, football has changed a lot. I really admire Barca with the ball, but I also admire them without it, and in this aspect, they are also the best team in LaLiga."
Barcelona top the LaLiga table with a perfect record of 21 points. Getafe sit 11th on 8 points.
How tough is it to play at the Blaugrana's stronghold? He added: "It is always incredibly difficult, and the numbers speak for themselves and I am not inventing anything. The gap between the two clubs is huge, and in every aspect. It is extremely difficult, and my colleagues often ask me about it. We have not been able to beat Barcelona for many years because it is extremely difficult. My team always plays its matches aware of the challenges, but it is also aware of what we must do to achieve a good result. We try to have an ambitious and winning mentality, and we are aware of the difficulties we will face."
Brazilian star Raphinha will be absent, and Bordalas was unmoved: "His absence should not be a problem for them. He is at the peak of his level, having scored twelve goals, and his start was amazing and his impact enormous, but Barcelona have an amazing squad. They are world-class players and all of them are internationals."
Lamine Yamal and the Catalan attack rounded off his remarks: "It is extremely difficult because you are talking about players of a very high level. It will be very difficult to stop him, but we will try to play a great match, to be at the maximum level of concentration, and to play without any inferiority complex. Lamine is a wonderful player, and he is proving it despite his young age. You cannot be certain whether he is the best in the world or not, as there really are great players, and he has a very long career ahead of him. He can certainly win that title given his great potential."
