Víctor Valdes explains why he was sent off against Girona

For good or for bad, Victor Valdes has always been news. First as a goalkeeper in his playing days and now as a coach. He was sent off during the U19s win over Girona at the weekend and explained why ahead of Tuesday's UEFA Youth League opener against Borussia Dortmund. 

"The referee put it in his report ("vete a la mierda" "fuck off")," Valdes said. "The assistant heard a phrase from me, I was going back to the bench, he didn't understand it that way and they sent me off. I don't have anything else to say. The referees make their decisions and we have to respect them." 

Valdes, looking at his team's efforts on the pitch, added: "We have worked on various aspects that we have to improve. We go into the Dortmund game confidence on the back of a draw and an important win. Against Girona, we had to compete until the end, thanks to a good tactical change their coach made. The team has shown it can adapt well to the way of playing, to the variety of positions depending on the game, and the important thing is to never lose that idea of position, possession, getting forward and creating chances." 

The coach also spoke about systems: "The setup doesn't change. We try to establish the same ideas as always. Against Girona, we started with 4-2-3-1, but with one movement it changed to 4-3-3. There's an obsession with systems. The important thing is to have the ball, to keep possession and to look to move it from one side to the other, to move the opposition around, to find space and, above all, to defend well."