Vicente warning to Inter
Wednesday, April 9, 2003
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Vicente Rodríguez said that Valencia CF would be out for revenge against Internazionale FC.
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The right result
That was the message from Valencia's Spanish international midfield player Vicente Rodríguez, who was on the wrong end of a 2-1 aggregate scoreline in last season's UEFA Cup quarter-final against the Italian side. "I hope we get the right result this time," he told uefa.com, "but it is a very evenly balanced tie between two good teams."
Away goal
The 21-year-old Vicente was a 58th-minute substitute at San Siro last year, when Valencia recovered from Marco Materazzi's opening goal to equalise through Juan Rufete. Rafa Benítez's men failed to build on the away goal, however, falling to a solitary Nicola Ventola strike in the second leg at Mestalla.
Prize at stake
They are determined not to make the same mistake again. "The key will be to get an away goal and then take it on from there in the second leg," Vicente said. "We are playing for a place in the Champions League semi-finals and we want a result to take back to Valencia for the second leg."
Home comfort
Valencia will have home advantage in the return match on 22 April by dint of the fact they won their second-stage group, Group B, while Inter had to settle for second place behind another Primera División team, FC Barcelona, in Group A. Vicente, however, is under no illusions about the size of the task facing the 2001 Champions League finalists.
Art of noise
"Inter are a very tough, hardworking side but they also have good pace down the flanks," the left winger said. "They should be two cracking games - they are certainly much anticipated." Interest in the tie is huge, and Valencia have already sold 32,000 tickets for the second leg. Vicente added: "I imagine there's going to be a full house at their place and the crowd can play a big role in a match like this. I just hope the Mestalla is sold out next week as well."
Aiming high
Meanwhile, team-mate John Carew reiterated Vicente's claim that Valencia would be "going out to win" at the San Siro. "It is a big game for us and we are travelling there with the aim of winning the game," the Norwegian striker said. "We want to be at our very best in Italy, although a draw would also be a good result."
