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Alaves plans to counterattack
MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Alaves says it will base its game on counterattacks with the aim of penetrating the tight Liverpool defense in its historic UEFA cup final at Dortmund's Westfalenstadion Wednesday. The modest Basque club, which has defied convention to reach the final in its debut season in European competition, was flying to Germany Monday with its game plan already laid out. "We're going to play on the counterattack. That's how best we play," Alaves coach Jose Manuel "Mane" Esnal declared in an interview published by Spanish daily El Pais the same day. Mane and his players have insisted that the defensive qualities of both sides will be paramount during what could be an ultra-cautious final. "The team which organizes its defense best will be in the driving seat and if it scores the first goal even more so,' Mane said. "We must take care not to allow space. We have to take our time. It will be a tight game because Liverpool is not going to force the pace," Romanian international right-back Cosmin Contra told The Associated Press. Alaves midfielder Jordi Cruyff says the onus to attack lies firmly with Liverpool as the bigger side. "If Liverpool plays defensively then we'll go out to play even more defensively and you'll have one of the most boring UEFA cup finals in history," Jordi warned. "Cup finals can be very controlled affairs with both sides aiming to avoiding mistakes," Alaves captain Antonio Karmona added. The final pits the competition's highest goalscorers -- Alaves with 31 goals in 12 matches -- against its meanest defense -- Liverpool. "Rather than being a defensive side, Liverpool performs its defensive duties very well. Unlike Bayern Munich, it doesn't pull all its players back into defense. It plays in two lines which are backed up by support from the wings. "Liverpool is not as good as the German side on the counterattack but any long ball it plays upfield will always cause you difficulties," Mane added. The 51-year-old coach, who in his four years in charge has taken Alaves from the second division to the UEFA cup final, attended the FA Cup final in Cardiff with his assistant Angel Garitano. He identified in-form striker Michael Owen, whose two late goals won Liverpool its second trophy of the season, as the principal threat to his team's chances. "Owen is one hell of a soccer player," Mane told the local regional newspaper El Periodico de Alava Sunday. Alaves striker Javi Moreno, the first division's leading scorer on 21 goals, approached the biggest match in the club's 80-year differently. "I didn't watch the FA Cup final on TV. Instead I went to see a friend play in a local game," he said. Owing to a color clash, Alaves will be forced to drop the renowned pink shirt, embroidered with names of its 13,000 club members, it introduced specially for the competition. Instead, it will wear a dark blue top bearing a broad yellow band.
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