Former Huddersfield coach has steered side away from relegation zone and claimed win at Bernabéu to savour
“You can’t let yourself be intimidated when you walk into this stadium,” Carlos Corberán said, although almost everybody is, better teams than his taking it in turns to fall to their fate. Valencia weren’t going to back down, even if there were 75,382 people waiting in the Santiago Bernabéu and just 150 of them on your side, wedged out the way high in the north-east corner. If their starting XI did cost €300m, another €120m coming at you off the bench, and only two of yours cost anything at all; if their striker’s signing-on fee would pay your whole squad, and if they’ve won more in 12 months than you have in 20 years. If they’re La Liga’s best home team and you’re its worst away, if they’re chasing the title and you’re running from relegation, 32 points, 47 goals and a world between you.
Not even if your captain is out and two more starters are absent precisely because Saturday at the Bernabéu isn’t really your fight, suspensions sought and served now, resources employed elsewhere. Not when your record against the big three this season says played five, lost five, conceded 20, your right-back is making only his third appearance and the other two ended 1-7 and 0-5. When you haven’t won away in 355 days, 12 cities visited without victory, and haven’t won here in 17 years, back when you were good. When none of your players ever have. Still, Valencia’s coach said the day he went for the first time, you need personality, belief. Even as the bell tolls, the bugle calls and the inevitable’s coming.
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