With just a week remaining before the FIFA World Cup comes to an end, the focus will soon shift to club football, with FC Barcelona restarting their campaign with a derby against Espanyol on December 31.
It will be a special game for Martin Braithwaite, who had left Barça to join Espanyol on a free transfer in the summer. In a recent interview (h/t SPORT), the striker has talked about the derby, notably stressing the importance of securing all three points against his former club.
He said the derby is an ‘important game for the club, the fans and the group’ and the locker room wants to ‘win’.
He further revealed that the Espanyol group is working ‘very hard and with confidence‘.
Espanyol have not had the best of starts to their domestic campaign. They are flirting with the relegation places and have won just two matches this season.
Braithwaite stressed the importance of winning matches, adding, “We have to win. We’re there in every game, but we must take one more step to win. We’ve drawn too many games. I’m confident.”
Braithwaite, who has scored three goals since joining Espanyol, did participate in the FIFA World Cup team, where his Denmark side were knocked out of the group stage.
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The forward voiced his excitement to join the Espanyol squad and resume training for the Parakeets. He further said that he is prepared to do everything to help the Catalan team achieve their goals.
“I’m here to help the team and if I have to play goalkeeper, I’ll do it. It’s the most important thing. I can act where the coach asks me to,” he said.
Finally, Braithwaite opined on Espanyol’s need for reinforcements in the upcoming January transfer window.
The forward believes that the Catalans have a good squad, which is capable of escaping relegation. “We have a very good team and a great squad,” he said.
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