Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 10y

Valverde: Athletic-Napoli UCL tie open

Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde is concerned that his side's Champions League playoff against Napoli could be decided by one small mistake.

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Athletic's young team are buoyant after finishing fourth in La Liga last season, earning them a two-legged tie with a Napoli side that was unlucky not to progress from the European competition's group stages last year.

Ahead of Tuesday's first leg in Naples, the Basque side's coach told a news conference that his players know even small details within the game could have huge consequences.

"In a tie like this, any one moment over the two games where things go badly could knock you out," Valverde said. "A quick free kick, something they are expert at, a poor marking job, and you are out. We must pay attention."

The former Espanyol, Villarreal and Olympiakos coach said that Rafa Benitez's Napoli could be seen as favourites as they played in the competition just last season, while Athletic have gone 16 years without a Champions League game.

"If we look at the immediate past, Napoli [are favourites], as they played in the Champions League last year and we have been many years without that," he said. "Being favourite is no advantage. It is an open tie and difficult for us and them."

The long spell away from Europe's top club competition meant there was lots of excitement and pressure around the Basque club ahead of the tie, Valverde admitted.

"We are very excited, it is clear we have a lot of responsibility, with many people pushing us from behind," he said. "Last year we won this in La Liga. There is pressure, for Napoli, and for us. We will play to our own strengths."

Asked if it was an advantage for Athletic's players to have had more time to prepare ahead of the game as none were at the World Cup, Valverde said that having international quality players such as Argentina's Gonzalo Higuain -- who scored eight goals in 10 La Liga games against Athletic while at Real Madrid -- had to be seen as a positive for Napoli.

"I do not know, but if I was pushed to choose, I would have liked to have had 10 internationals at the World Cup like Napoli," he said. "Higuain came without any preparation and within five minutes he scored against [in a recent friendly against] Paris Saint-Germain."

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