Valencia playmaker Dani Parejo: 'We showed we are a family here'

Commenting upon Valencia victory over Chelsea, Spanish playmaker Dani Parejo stated: "It was our first Champions League match, at a tough ground, and we ran it incredibly well. The team showed character and attitude, and you saw how united we are. We are fully behind the coach, and whatever decision he takes. I think that the situation wasn't the fittest for us to come out and talk. I know that people probably don't understand why we didn't speak. It was a difficult situation, and it was best to stay silent, focus on playing and give our all on the pitch.


It's football. I've had many coaches and I've been through this situation many times. Marcelino will be remembered, and his name will be part of the history of Valencia CF. He did a great job, but now a new coach has come in and our objective is to win every game. Of course, we are fully behind Albert Celades. It's true that we had a difficult week; last weekend outcome wasn't good, but the feeling we had wasn't as bad. We believe in ourselves, and you saw the commitment of everyone out there once again. We are a family, and we are going to keep on showing that, right to the end. The institution, the club, is above any one of us".

A step forward

"We knew we were coming to a difficult ground and were up against tough opponents. In the first half it looked like they had chances, such as a cross in, but the game was very evenly matched. Each side played to their strengths. The team gave their all in a difficult situation, which deserves a lot of credit."


Working on tactics with Celades

"Set pieces give you a lot of points. It's important to be good at attacking from them and defending them. A set piece gave us three important points that boost our morale. We have another final on Sunday, and I ask everybody to come to Mestalla, because we need them all. It's been proven time and time again that when the team and the fans are united, it makes a difference." Read Full Story