“It’s a pleasure to be back! We’re getting started – it’s been a slightly different and unusual pre-season, with players returning at different times. We’ve got a lot of players who played in the World Cup and are only just arriving back at training. We’ll be aiming to be competitive all year round and we kick things off on Wednesday. It’s always tricky to know what sort of match it will be. We’ll be looking to control possession. These are difficult matches to control, but I hope we’ll be as competitive as we were last year. It’s the first official match, but it’s an important one for us. We want to have another unforgettable year with our supporters too.”
“Some players have only just returned this Monday; others came back last week. We’re trying to prepare as best we can. I don’t know what form my players will be in on Wednesday. We’ll try to win this top-flight match.”
“Of course, we set ourselves some very ambitious targets right from the start and we’ll carry on in the same way now. The situation has changed now and everyone believes we are the favourites. But that’s just theoretical; we need to prove on the pitch that we’re up to it. We’re aiming to win again, but it’s not easy – history has shown that.”
“If we look back at what we’ve done over the last two years, every opponent has shown their quality when they have played us. We’ve also been able to demonstrate our improvement with every match. The key is to be unpredictable for the opposition. That’s what we’re aiming for. It will be important for us throughout the season. We’ll start the season with the same determination to win trophies.”
"Last year was a special year and this year too. We will try to play at the best level possible, even if we want to be in our best form at the end of the season!"
