‘They had a clear and structured plan on how to periodise the game’ Eidevall respects Rosenborg’s approach

‘Like all people, I have flaws, complacency is not one of them.’ These were the words of Jonas Eidevall ahead of Wednesday night’s 6-0 win over Glasgow Rangers. Rosenborg sprung a surprise in their semi-final showdown in the same group as they beat Atletico Madrid on penalties on Wednesday evening.

Jonas Eidevall says he had no preconceptions over who might win the Atleti v Rosenborg tie ahead of tonight’s showdown with the Norwegian team.

‘They beat a really strong opponent and that demands a lot of respect,’ the Swede said in his Friday press conference. ‘We saw them as a team really strong on setpieces and really well organised. They have a really good culture in the team, they handled adverse situations and moments with a really good focus on what they could control.

‘We know we will play against a tough opponent and so should the Champions League be. It should be tough challenges and that is why we want to play in the Champions League, we want to play against the best. We focus on our performance and if we can do well again, we have a great chance of progressing.’

The four-team mini tournament throws up something of a challenge in terms of preparation, with only two preparation days after your final opponents are confirmed. Eidevall says no shortcuts were taken.

‘We knew all the way we had two potential opponents, we have been putting equal resources into both opponents with watching the teams live or on video and getting data on them. We had File A and File B and when we saw the final penalty kick, we knew who it would be and our attention goes 100% to Rosenborg and that’s how unemotional that process is.’

Arseblog News puts it to Eidevall that, not only did Atletico fail to manage the stress of only having a one goal lead in the final stages, that Rosenborg’s belief also grew as they chased down a 1-0 deficit in the final stages. Eidevall says he believes the Norwegian side, coached by Englishman Robin Shroot, chunked the game up into phases.

‘What was apparent when I watched the game was that Rosenborg were not only having one idea for the whole game. They had a lot of micro moments and tried to periodise their tactics. Changing their line of engagement in pressing and changing how they were playing out from their goal kicks.

‘That is a good way of changing momentum as a team but you can feel they had a clear and structured plan on how to periodise the game. I would expect nothing less from the game tomorrow, that they will have just as good a plan, maybe even better and they have the belief that it worked last time.’