Parejo: "The aim is to play with freedom and not think about the consequences of winning"

The day before his first Copa del Rey final, Dani Parejo spoke in a pre-match press conference about the meeting with FC Barcelona.

The value of the match

"I've spent eight seasons at Valencia CF, and it hasn't been an easy journey or a bed of roses. Thanks to hard work and consistency, and to the people who have believed in me, I'm 24 hours away from playing in a final for the club. It's incredible and would be a dream for me to lift the cup with Valencia CF. It's a very significant year for us: We didn't have the best start to the season, even though we've achieved our objectives, and this next goal would be the icing on the cake of a great year."

Barça's Champions League exit

"It's true that the game against Liverpool was a tough day for them, after what they'd bee through against AS Roma the previous year. There's been some time since then, and now we are playing for another trophy. They have a chance at the double, and they are more than motivated for the game. It's going to be very even."

Momentum coming into the final

"Some 80 or 90% of the times that you play against FC Barcelona, they are the favourites. They're one of the best teams in the world, they've won this competition for the last four years, they have the best player in the world... Barça are the favourites. It's true that their Champions League elimination was hard and we qualified for that competition last week. From the outside it looks like we are in full flow and they are going to throw away the cup, but that isn't going to be the case. Barça have Messi and their other players, so they are going to be favourites."

Set pieces

"Set pieces in football are very important. In the LaLiga game at Mestalla, we drew 1-1 and our goal was off a corner. At the Camp Nou we drew 2-2, and one of our goals was a penalty. Goals count the same whether they are from open play or set pieces, and it's a facet that is becoming more important for everybody all the time."

The keys to the game

"Our styles of play are very different. They want to dominate with possession, and we want to take advantage of our speed. The two games between us this year have been nice and attractice, and hopefully we see another game like that."

The playing philosophy for the final

"The aim tomorrow is to play with freedom and not think about what winning this game would mean, rather focusing on making the most of our weapons in every moment and trying to minimise theirs. We can't give any importance to the consequences of winning, because that could hinder us."

The emotional side

"We've been lucky enough to play many important games this year, both in the Champions League and the Europa League, and it's important to have learned from this ahead of a final. I think that one of the keys is to control ourselves in terms of what it means emotionally to win this game. They have a boost in that regard, as they've played more of these types of games. We need to experience every second in the moment, and when the game is over we will see what the result is."