Juan Ignacio Martinez has commented on the changes he has seen at Levante since he left, as he assures his return this Tuesday with Real Valladolid is ‘a beautiful moment’.
Martinez left Los Granotes as Coach in the summer on uneasy terms, with the club deciding against extending his contract.
“It’s a beautiful moment. Levante gave me the opportunity to train in the Primera Division,” reflected Martinez on his return, to reporters today.
“We had two wonderful years where milestones were reached that no-one had either thought of or dreamt of and we enjoyed our time in La Liga without fear of relegation.”
Both Levante and Valladolid will be searching for a second League win of the season this midweek.
“It will be a game similar to that [in Week 4] against Elche. When two teams meet in the League with the target of survival, things are always tight and things can be decided in a detail. We will have every precaution to try to make as few mistakes as possible.
“Levante come into this after the comeback against Almeria and they are on an important run of results. They lost at the Camp Nou and that has strengthened the resolve of the group.
“Of course we know the difficulty of this game. I know Levante well, but the team has changed for the additions made and the starting XI has changed too.
“Our lack of goals this season? It is true that we generating too few chances with our play, but it is also true that against Getafe and Elche we kept a clean sheet, and that’s positive.”
Joaquin Caparros has commented on how Levante’s clash with Real Valladolid is evenly matched and ‘most important’ for Los Granotes.
“We are within a group of 12 or 13 very evenly match teams and tomorrow is a game which for us is the most important, because it is the most immediate, and so we have to be ready for it,” Caparros reflected pre-match.
“Will I be rotating players this midweek? We do not know what will happen in the next game, we shall see, but we are only focused on this coming game.
“Valladolid are going to be very complicated, this is our League and, regardless of the opponents, it is the most important game because there are three points that we have to fight for, there is a lot of equality and the smallest detail can unbalance the game for one team or the other.”
Levante will welcome former Coach Juan Ignacio Martinez back to Ciutat de Valencia for this fixture.
“From his work, the club have managed to break into the elite [in qualifying for Europe] and that is not so easy in a closed circle, here in Valencia he has left a good feeling.”
