Manolo González calls 4-3 defeat one of the worst days of his life

“It is one of the worst days of my life,” Manolo González said after the 4-3 defeat at Sestao in the Copa del Rey. Visibly shaken, the coach described a particularly painful evening, with the loss followed by his dismissal from Espanyol.

At the press conference, he also defended the work he and the club had done over the previous two and a half years. “I think we have done a great job for two and a half years, achieving our objectives, and to finish with a game like this hurts me a lot,” he said. He repeated that the day was among the most difficult of his life.

Manolo González focused on the goals conceded and the lapses in concentration. He lamented conceding twice from set pieces, then allowing another such goal after his team had moved ahead again. “Those are concentration errors you cannot make at this level,” he insisted. He also referred to defensive slips and said some situations were difficult to explain as a coach.

The coach acknowledged that his team had approached the match with concern and selected several regular starters in an effort to qualify. He said some sequences could not be justified. In his view, second balls and set pieces were decisive, but his side had not defended them properly.

His reaction combined personal pain with a sense of responsibility to supporters. “I want to apologise: it is a match we gave away with four goals,” he said, describing the fourth goal as particularly hard to explain. He said he was also hurting for his loved ones and the supporters, and reiterated his attachment to the club.

After the Copa del Rey elimination against Sestao River, Manolo González was dismissed. Espanyol lost the match played in Sestao, and the 4-3 result was the club’s third consecutive defeat in the cup, according to Mundo Deportivo’s report. The result was followed by a decision on the coach’s future; González said he did not know what he would think the next day and wanted time to reflect.