Albert Riera (foto: uradna spletna stran kluba)
Celje manager Albert Riera believes his players don’t need extra motivation ahead of their decisive European clash against Lugano in the Round of 16 second leg.
If someone had predicted at the start of the season that Celje would be playing a match in mid-March to secure a place in the quarter-finals of a European competition, they might have been called crazy. Yet, that is exactly the reality for the Slovenian club, who travel to Switzerland with a one-goal advantage from the first leg.
A victory in Thun would send Celje into the quarter-finals, where they would face the winner of Panathinaikos vs Fiorentina (the Greek side leads 3-2 after the first leg). For Celje boss Albert Riera, this match is already so significant that additional motivation is unnecessary.
"We don’t need extra motivation. This is the biggest and most important match of our careers – for the players and for me as a coach. After the first leg, I told my players that throughout this European journey, we've always improved in the second match."
"Against Vitoria, Maccabi, Neman... But we must approach this game as if the first-leg result is 0-0. We have to play as we have all season in Europe – without fear, forcing our opponents to run."
The Spanish coach also highlighted the similarities between Celje and Lugano, insisting that his team must show character to succeed.
"Lugano is a team similar to us. They like to control possession and struggle when they don’t have the ball. We need to show our character. The players feel that they can fight and compete with Lugano. That, beyond the result, was the biggest takeaway from the first match. The atmosphere is good, the feeling is right, and we are confident."