Terzic: We will take our opponent seriously; anything is possible in cup matches, as Arsenal showed

Athletic Club will face Prat in the Copa del Rey this Thursday. The sixth-tier team will be Terzic's first opponent in this competition. The German coach, who led Borussia Dortmund to cup glory in Germany, is now embarking on an anticipated journey with the red and whites.

Terzic said: "I know this competition is very important for the club, and it is for our team as well. Seeing the images from two years ago when they lifted the trophy... that's one of the reasons I came here, to get to know this club and work here. In Germany, I won the cup in my first participation. We will prepare as best as we can and hope everything goes well."

Facing a sixth-tier opponent: "We have all the videos from their league season, as well as their cup qualifying matches. We also sent scouts to watch their games, and analysts have done their research. We don't want to differentiate between competitions or opponents; the only difference is winning or losing.

For one of these teams, there will be no tomorrow in this competition, so we will prepare for this match with the utmost respect. In sports, I don't like the word 'fear'; I prefer 'respect'. The charm of the Copa del Rey is that these kinds of matches and feelings always emerge.

Yesterday in England, Arsenal faced a similar situation. That's why everyone falls in love with the Copa del Rey—because anything is possible. We want to be a professional team and deliver consistent performances. If we can play like we did on Sunday at San Mamés, we have a good chance of progressing."

The derby is approaching: "We know what we'll face next, but for now, we have a Copa del Rey match. After the cup game, we'll talk about the derby. We have a great squad, and I have great confidence in every player. Tomorrow we will field a very strong lineup to show that we want to advance to the next round. We wear the Athletic Club jersey, and that alone indicates the performance we should deliver."

Playing on artificial turf: "This is part of the challenge. I don't like that they changed the pitch, but for safety reasons, they had no choice. The artificial turf is there, and it's a surface every player has encountered at the beginning of their career."

Prat's characteristics: "We have the utmost respect for this competition and our opponent. They didn't get here by luck. I don't like naming names, but I have prepared. They had a tough end to their season last year. We understand their style of play; they use a 4-2-3-1 formation in defense, and I repeat, we will do our best to meet every challenge."

Sancet and Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta's recovery status: "Sancet completed all training with us and did some extra work, but playing on artificial turf on Thursday is not a good idea. He should be available for Sunday's match, which is good news for us. Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta is not yet available. Today he started running on the field again. We hope he can be fit for next week's match against Osasuna, but that's still an optimistic goal."