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'We knew we'd suffer against Barca, but we didn't give in' - Montanier revels in Real Sociedad's triumph
Jan 20, 2013 9:25:00 AM
The French coach praised his side's exceptional effort while admitting they enjoyed a "slice of luck" as the Basque outfit recorded a memorable victory against the Blaugrana
| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.25 | Draw £38.00 | Real Madrid £25.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £25.00 | Draw £35.00 | Real Madrid £26.20 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.00 | Draw £34.00 | Real Madrid £26.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £26.00 | Draw £36.00 | Real Madrid £25.00 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Real Sociedad £25.00 | Draw £35.00 | Real Madrid £26.20 |
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Lionel Messi and Pedro had put the visitors 2-0 up within 25 minutes, before two from Gonzalo 'Chori' Castro and an injury-time winner from Imanol Agirretxe gave the home side an unexpected three points in a game where Gerard Pique was also sent off for the visitors.
Speaking after the match, Montanier was clearly extremely pleased with his team's performance but refused to get carried away.
"I'm very proud of my squad," the 48-year-old Frenchman was quoted by AS.
"We knew we were going to suffer, we had some difficult moments in the game but we never gave in.
"I hope this win will give us confidence to take a step forward as a team. I hope we see the attitude we showed tonight in the next few games."
Barcelona, who have 18 victories in their 20 league fixtures so far this campaign, have now failed to win in any of their last three trips to Sociedad.
However, despite the fact his side are the first to secure a La Liga win over the Catalans since Real Madrid did last April, Montanier could offer no advice to others wanting to repeat their success.
"There is no recipe to beat Barcelona," he added.
"We won because we our team were compact, hard working and had a slice of luck."
Sociedad are now ninth in the league with 29 points but Barcelona still lead the way on 55.
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Live!
Champions League final - LIVE!
German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund will battle it out at Wembley for European glory. Get involved by sending us your thoughts via Twitter or Facebook! Hosted by Mark Doyle.
7:32 PM BST
Very worrying scenes for Bayern fans!!! Bastian Schweinsteiger is struggling. He's receiving treatment on an apparent ankle injury after being levelled by a strong challenge from Mario Mandzukic during the warm-up. Yes, you've read that right: Schweinsteiger has been injured by his team-mate!
However, the watching Christoph Metzelder is in no doubt that the Bayern midfielder will still start, telling Sky Germany: "As long as he can shoot he will play."
However, the watching Christoph Metzelder is in no doubt that the Bayern midfielder will still start, telling Sky Germany: "As long as he can shoot he will play."
7:29 PM BST
Right, just to explain, we have three representatives at Wembley tonight:
- Tim Rohn, Goal Germany correspondent
- Stefan Doring, Dortmund fan
- Tobias Kind, Bayern fan
Let's check in with Tim to get a taste of the pre-game atmosphere inside the ground ...
"30 minutes to go until kick-off and the atmosphere is already amazing. Both groups of fans sing songs to rile the other ones. But everythings is peaceful. Jurgen Klopp stood some minutes alone at the kick-off-point and let all the Wembley madness have an effect on him."
- Tim Rohn, Goal Germany correspondent
- Stefan Doring, Dortmund fan
- Tobias Kind, Bayern fan
Let's check in with Tim to get a taste of the pre-game atmosphere inside the ground ...
"30 minutes to go until kick-off and the atmosphere is already amazing. Both groups of fans sing songs to rile the other ones. But everythings is peaceful. Jurgen Klopp stood some minutes alone at the kick-off-point and let all the Wembley madness have an effect on him."
7:25 PM BST
The phrase 'mixed emotions' seems made for Matthias Sammer, the legendary sweeper who inspired Dortmund to Champions League glory in 1997 but who is now employed by Bayern Munich. However, he's doing a pretty decent job of putting his old allegiances to one side ahead of tonight's final.
"It is hard to talk about feelings ahead of a match," the Bayern sporting director told Sky Sport Germany. "We want to show what made us strong all these weeks.
"We may not forget that Dortmund lost twice and drew twice in our last four matches. But they will present themselves differently tonight, that is for sure."
"It is hard to talk about feelings ahead of a match," the Bayern sporting director told Sky Sport Germany. "We want to show what made us strong all these weeks.
"We may not forget that Dortmund lost twice and drew twice in our last four matches. But they will present themselves differently tonight, that is for sure."
7:19 PM BST
And one final question for Carlo ...
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
@OmarAb96: What is the most important battle on the pitch tonight?
CG: This is going to sound like a cliche, and probably not the answer you are looking for but whichever team is more clinical will win the game. That is the real battle, more so than any individual contest because these are two sides who value the collective. I expect Bayern to have more possession, but Dortmund are still incredibly dangerous on the break. Bayern may create more chances, but Dortmund will have their opportunities too. It really depends who is more efficient.
And like I said earlier, the first goal will be crucial. If Bayern score first, it will be very difficult for Dortmund to come back.
7:13 PM BST
Carlo's now had his attention turned to the intiguing arrival of a certain Spaniard at the Allianz Arena this summer ...
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
@A_Mostefa17: Do you think Bayern will be even better with Guardiola next year or will it all go wrong for them?
CG: Everything suggests that Guardiola's Bayern will be a great team. The setups at Bayern and Barcelona are comparable, both on and off the pitch. Only Barcelona have monopolised more possession than Bayern over the past two seasons, while the Germans have enough top quality young players for Guardiola to build a great team around.
Everything is there for Guardiola to do well, the problem is that if Bayern win tonight and clinch the treble - as expected - how on earth do you better that? The simple answer is you can't. So Guardiola will almost be in a no-win situation from the outset, and that is never an easy starting point.
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