Chus Mateo: "We want to be strong at home"
"We have an important and demanding week", said Abalde ahead of the Real Madrid-Virtus Bologna game.
Chus Mateo and Alberto Abalde addressed the media the day before Real Madrid-Virtus Bologna (Tuesday, 8:45pm CET). The coach said: "We have to work hard to get back to winning ways in the Euroleague. We're at the start of the first half of the competition and we have to be patient. We're playing against a team that has been playing better lately and has some very strong players".
"We're going to play against a team with a lot of strengths, with players of outstanding quality. It's going to be a long, difficult game that will require us to do a lot. We'll see how Llull progresses and I hope he's back on his feet as soon as possible".
Unbeaten at home
"It's very important for us to be together and to feel the support of our fans. We have to be strong at home. The Euroleague has a level of difficulty that is hard to compare with other competitions in the world. It is very tough for teams to be undefeated at this stage. You can't be complacent with any opponent and it takes all our determination and energy".
Demands
"The pressure comes from wanting to do things well every day. We have to be tenacious and not lose heart. It's important to win every game but we must also understand when the competition is decided".
Abalde: "We're consistent at home"
"I'm focused on the daily work and helping out in the things I have to do. We have to keep working hard because we've got another challenge against Virtus and we have to go all out".
"It's an important, demanding week and we want to be strong at home. We're consistent here and it's the first step to be able to take the second step away from home. We can't go up and down during the game. We are doing well at times, but at others, we're being inconsistent".
The strength at the WiZink Center
"It's very difficult to win away from home every season and at the start of the season, we're finding it difficult. Being strong playing at home is very important and we always feel very good in front of our fans, with whom we have a great connection. We'll try to do a good job to get the wins".