Ernesto Valverde admits “it’s always different” to face Real Sociedad as Athletic Bilbao have “a special desire” to win Sunday’s Basque derby.
Valverde has yet to beat La Real since returning to Athletic for a second spell as Coach in 2013, prompting the former Espanyol and Valencia boss to confess he is “extra-motivated” for the match and approaching it like if Los Leones were facing one of Spain’s top three.
“It’s always different,” he said at a Press conference.
“We’re treating the game like those against Barca, Madrid or Atletico. These are special games with extra motivation. We’re motivated for this match.
“We have a special desire to win. For me, it’s also a derby and I like to win. They’re two games a year in the League, and they’re significant.
“In addition for us, they’re a direct rival. If we win, we’d go five points clear of them, and if we lose, they’d pass us, so we’re also seeing the game in a pragmatic way.
“We’ve generally been evenly-matched, even last year when we lost. They have top-quality players who can win a game at any moment.
“We know the value of a goal in these games, but it’s not worth analysing me what happened before.
“The players have changed and the situation is different. Barring Willian Jose, the rest of [Real’s squad] is very similar, although I see that this year they’re trying to press more and play from the back.
“They look good to me. They have many solutions to unbalance the game in attack, so we must be vigilant, defend from the front and from there try to hurt them with our style.”
