After hailing another “great victory” that took his side into the Europa League semi-finals, Borja Valero said it was important that Villarreal now went on to end their wait for European silverware.
Not that the Spanish club were taking things for granted, with midfielder Valero admitting that Villarreal’s capitulation in their 5-0 Liga defeat by Valencia CF last Sunday had preyed on their minds.
“When they scored we had to stay really focused in case they scored another quick one,” Valero told UEFA.com. “Luckily we managed to turn things around and it was a beautiful victory in the end.”
Juan Carlos Garrido’s team will face in-form FC Porto next and it promises to be a difficult test.
“It will be very complicated,” said Valero. “They easily won their league title but we will play the second leg at home, which is a bonus for us. This competition is hugely important for us, vital, and we will fight until the end because we know we have a great chance to win it.”
Villarreal stand every chance of reaching the Dublin final with forward Rossi on song. The Italian international moved on to ten goals in the competition with his spot kick at the FC Twente Stadion, one shy of Porto’s leading scorer Falcao.
“It’s a team effort,” said a modest Rossi. “You cannot do it all by yourself and this side’s playing very well. Today was another game where it all went right for us so we’re happy. Porto have scored ten goals in two games in the quarter-finals so I’m sure they have excellent potential. They have already won their national title so they must be a very good team. We’ll have to be very careful but hopefully we have what it takes to get through to the final.”
