How to beat Deportivo La Coruna

Last updated : 11 March 2002 By Nicosia Gooner

It seems to me that a lot of people believe Deportivo La Coruna are unbeatable, so we might as well not turn up and give them the three points so that we can concentrate on the League and FA Cup.

So, are Deportivo as good as people make them out to be ? what is it about them that people fear ? is it because they have beaten Manchester United home and away ? is it because they have thoroughly beaten us earlier this season in Spain ? is it because of their great win in the Spanish Cup Final v Real Madrid ? I suppose all these were high profile games and therefore great results, however does this make them unbeatable ?

They are beatable, they are very beatable ! actually, if you study their form in the Spanish league, out of their 1st 29 games they have lost 9 and drawn 6; that means that they have won less than 50% of their games and lost 31% and in addition, they were also thrashed 3-0 by Bayern Leverkusen in the Champions League !

How does that compare with Arsenal ? as it happens, we have also played 29 games, but we have only lost 3 (to their 9) and drawn 9 (to their 6); in other words we have won 59% (to their 48%) and lost 10% (to their 31%); yes, I know that we have lost a few away Champion League games but I really believe that that its in the past, as we have recently proved against Leverkusen.

I have watched the Spanish Cup Final when Deportivo beat Real Madrid 2-1; I have actually recorded the match and then watched it the following day again because I felt that they have a very obvious weakness on their right hand side. Real Madrid for the first one hour were trying to get through Deportivo right down the middle which is Deportivo’s strength, but they changed their tactics in the last 30 minutes and attacked them down the left (Real Madrid’s left); they actually destroyed them time after time and were very unlucky not to have equalised after Raul scored their only goal following a great move down the left.

Just think about it, what is our strength ? surely its Pires and Henry’s devastating runs down the left with Bergkamp, Wiltord, Ljungberg etc. waiting in the box for the finishing touch.

We can match them in every area of the pitch; I know they have some great players such as Djalminha, Donato, Emerson, Fran, Mauro Silva, Valeron, Makaay and of course Tristan but we have even better players such as Seaman, Cole, Campbell, Vieira, Pires, Henry, Wiltord, Kanu, Ljungberg etc.

I very confident than Campbell will deal with Tristan and our great midfield of Vieira, Parlour, Wiltord and Pires will deal overpower theirs; the question is, can they handle Henry and Bergakmp ? I don’t think so !

I will not predict a score but what I will say is that if (sorry, I meant “when”) we win tomorrow, and if the other match ends (Bayern v Juve) in a draw, then we will definitely be through to the next round; if we win by 3 goals then we will finish top of the group unless Juve beat Bayern and then they beat us by 3 clear goals in the last match.