Manuel Iturra has welcomed the international break for Malaga and also looked ahead to a tasty run of fixtures.
The Anchovies go into the latest break for international games having suffered a recent dip in League form, between balancing Champions League commitments.
For midfielder Iturra, the chance to have some time off and refocus has come at the right time.
“It’s important to have some time to relax, as we’ve had a very tight schedule of important matches recently,” the Chilean told reporters at a Press conference today.
“This break allows us much-needed time to recover, get over certain injuries, and various members of the team have had the flu over the past week, which would have made things very difficult if we had a match this weekend.
“We’re focusing on working as hard as possible and rectifying mistakes we’ve made in the last few games.”
League clashes with Rayo Vallecano and Real Sociedad await Malaga after the break, alongside both legs of their Champions League quarter-final with Borussia Dortmund.
“There are exciting matches coming up in both competitions, particularly in the League as we’re determined to qualify for the Champions League next season, following our performance in the competition so far this year.
“The League matches are of vital importance now, as several direct rivals are all fighting for fourth position in the table.
“Borussia are a very powerful team in every sense, with a lot of young, quality players, which is why they’re currently in second place in the Bundesliga.
“They will be a tough team to beat, but as well as getting to know our rival, we need to focus on ourselves and ensure we play at the highest level we can in order to be in with a chance of victory.
“Can we get to the final? For now we need to remain humble and keep our feet firmly on the ground. However we’ve got every right to dream and we’re enjoying every single match in the competition.
“No-one would have believed we could have got this far at the start of the Champions League, but at this stage anything can happen, but it’ll be extremely difficult to reach the final.”
Iturra was one of the few summer arrivals at Malaga and reflected on his personal change of scenery.
“It’s been a very radical change for me. I was fighting relegation in the Second Division and now we’re in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
“I could never have imagined I’d be doing this, this time last year, I’m enjoying every single second of it and hope we can continue on as long as possible.”
