Álvaro Arbeloa spoke in the press room at the Carlos Belmonte stadium and analysed his first game as Real Madrid coach: “At this club, a draw is bad enough, a tragedy. Imagine a defeat like this. It's painful and I'm sure that all the fans are hurt and even more so when you do it against a team from a lower tier. We know how difficult any team can make it and we saw it on the day against Talavera. From here on we have to improve. If anyone is responsible for this defeat, it's me, as I'm the one who made the decisions regarding the line-up, how we wanted to play, the changes, etc. I can only thank the players for the welcome they've given me and the effort they've made today. I'm trying to get them back on their feet, both physically and mentally, obviously. We have to improve and go for Saturday's game.”

“I said it yesterday. I'm not afraid of failure and if you want to call it that, I understand fully. But if there is one thing I have learned in life, it is that failure is on the road to success and not in opposite directions. This defeat will make me better and it will make us all better. A starting point where we have a lot of room for improvement. I have failed many times in my life and I have suffered even worse cup eliminations than this one. I'm looking forward to returning to Valdebebas tomorrow to work with my players and prepare for Saturday's game with the greatest of dedication so that things go much better for us than they did today.”

Could this defeat come as a relief to have more days to work?
"Losing at Real Madrid is never a relief and obviously it has some consequences that can be positive if we talk about time to work, but it wasn't our objective to lose here today. Physically, we have a lot of room for improvement and that's what Antonio (Pintus) is there for, to give us something extra. We need to get back to our best footballing form for me and physically for Antonio, which I think we need."

The squad
“I was convinced that the squad was the right one and I still think so. The team I put out and the players on the bench were a great team. I said yesterday that I have an extraordinary squad, with very talented and outstanding players. With only one day with the new coach it is not easy for them to try to do everything I have asked of them and I feel that I am the most responsible for this defeat. The most important thing now is to start working and get them back on their feet, both physically and mentally. We have a lot of players to recover to their maximum physical level and now we have to work and prepare for Saturday's game.”

“I have no regrets, I would do the same even now. I have brought a team capable of beating any team in the world and I have a great squad and it's a privilege and a luxury to be able to coach them. I'm convinced that the squad was the right one and I would do it all over again a thousand times.”

The players
“I saw players who wanted to win and they tried hard and tried to do what I asked them to do. I told them that I can't fault them at all for the way they received me yesterday and the attitude they had today. I understand the Real Madrid fans and the demands they make of us and that is for this badge and its history. We all go to bed hurting, but tomorrow we have to get up, get back to work and prepare for Saturday's game at the Bernabéu, in front of them. We still owe them a lot of things. We have two trophies ahead of us and a lot to fight for.”

The demands
“Any Real Madrid player is very self-demanding because otherwise they wouldn't be in this team. Nobody in the dressing room was happy and they were the first to assume their share of responsibility. Tomorrow at 11am we'll be at Valdebebas ready to work and to get fired up for Saturday's game. This club is very demanding, but the big teams show themselves in these moments, in complicated situations, and that's when we have to be more united and know what we want and when we want it. For my part, I will try to help them as much as I can, knowing that we don't have the most time in the world. We have to work hard to play well on Saturday.”

What did he ask of his players?
“A lot of things. When a new coach arrives, he has new ideas and a different way of working, of preparing for matches, of focusing on objectives. We have to understand this context for them and that's why I assume my share of total responsibility because what happens on the pitch is the coach's responsibility. It's the responsibility of my position. When the team plays badly, it's because I didn't know how to do better and I'll assume that whenever it happens.”

Things to improve
“We're going to find ourselves in a lot of games against teams that defend in their own half. We have to be faster, make our opponents run not only from side to side with the ball but also behind us. We also have to have a greater interchange of positions and clearer ideas. On one day it wasn't easy, but we must have speed to break down any defence like the one we encountered today and in every other game. We need to recover from all the injuries that the team has had and get everyone healthy, recover that joy and physically get them back to the highest level.”

Vini Jr.
“It was positive that after where he came from and the great efforts he made last week, he wanted to be here and play all the minutes. He was willing to help the team and to put it on his back, to run around and never hide. That's the Vini Jr. I want to see, who dares, who takes responsibility and who is unbalanced. He'll have more sparkling days and others less so, but I've seen that he's committed and that he's a captain. I'm convinced that he's going to give us great nights and that if Real Madrid want to win trophies we need the best version of him.”

Does he believe that this tie could mark him?
"I've lost many times in my life. Tough defeats and difficult moments and I don't believe that defeats mark you. If anything marks this club, it is the victories, the titles and the full trophy cabinets. I'm not here to add to my CV but to help the club to be the best in the world and to add to its trophy cabinet.”

How can he explain the elimination to Florentino Pérez?
“I don't have to explain anything to the club president because he knows a lot more about this than I do with the experience he has. He has been president for 25 years and has been a Madridista for many, many more. He knows the history of this club. We are a winning club and we only look ahead. We are already thinking about LaLiga and the Champions League, which are our main objectives. We have to put this behind us.”