Liverpool are favourites for their Europa League semi-final clash with Villarreal, but the La Liga side do not come without dangers, says Guillem Balague. Scarpe Nike Shox Gravity Uomo Luxe Nere/Sciopero Verde AR1470-003 . Jurgen Klopps side are on a high after their dramatic 5-4 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund in the last eight on Thursday, and must now travel to El Madrigal for the first leg on April 28.Villarreal are fourth in La Liga, and Sky Sports Spanish football expert Balague says they are strong from the back and on the counter attack. The Reds overcame Borussia Dortmund 5-4 on aggregate in the quarter-final I hope Liverpool manage to get to the next round. The little details will count for everything. Villarreal have a lot of quality, but the biggest thing is their solid base. They have one of the best defences in La Liga.They are a club who dont demand too much, the expectations arent huge and players love playing there.But now theyve got to a point where theyve got to show if theyve got what it takes to get to the next level, to show if they can consistently play in European competitions at this stage. Cedric Bakambu of Villarreal celebrates with Roberto Soldado But Liverpool are favourites in my mind, but lets remember they made their lives very difficult against Borussia Dortmund, and there are not always miracles.If Villarreal can control the game and counter attack, they will be dangerous.Individually, they are stronger than Liverpool, but I get the feeling Liverpool have found a dynamic, a mental strength to see them through. Soldados role has changed since moving back to Spain from Tottenham If they fill the stadium, it means everyone in the town will be in the stadium. Thats the contrast. The fan base is not huge.Their rise has been based on very good defence, breaking hard on the counter with a lot of pace, and with players who are there because they perhaps failed before, like [Roberto] Soldado, or because they want to jump onto other bigger clubs, like Cedric Bakambu.Villarreal have former Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado on their books, and while his time in the Premier League was a disappointment, Balague says his role has now changed from a goalscorer to a creator.Hes different to the Roberto Soldado who was here in England, the one who didnt pass and didnt score. Highlights from El Madrigal as Barcelona were held by Villarreal to a 2-2 draw last month Before he went to Spurs he was a goalscorer, now he helps more with assists. He drops deeper, and helps others to score.They have a very solid axis, Alphonse Areola the goalkeeper, Eric Bailly the centre-back is strong and will have nothing to fear, Bruno, who for me is the best midfielder Spain has outside the top three, and of course Bakambu and Soldado, who create danger.If you score against them in the first leg away from home, you have an advantage. Also See: Liverpool to face Villarreal Milner: Win will give us belief Origi: Klopp inspired us Guillem Balague Scarpe Nike Shox NZ Uomo Nere/Cremisi . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Scarpa Nike Shox R4 Bianche/Marina/Rosse|Uomo . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. http://www.nikeshoxoutletitalia.it/nike-shox-gravity-2018.html . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. TORONTO -- Ralph Krueger is the head coach of Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey, taking time away from his day job as the chairman of Southampton FC of the Premier League. He was previously the head coach of the Swiss national ice hockey team and the Edmonton Oilers during the 2012-13 NHL season. (The Oilers fired him via Skype while he was sitting on his daughters bed.) He also served as an adviser for Team Canada during its successful gold-medal run at the Sochi Winter Olympics in 2014.Krueger sat down with ESPN.com on Wednesday for an exclusive interview.A lot of us watching you in action here, one of our major questions has been, how could things have not worked out for this guy in Edmonton? What went wrong with the Oilers?When youre a head coach, there are always multiple levels. One would be, first and foremost, your knowledge of the game and your ability to work with the team. But you always need to fit culturally. I have a certain style culturally as a leader. Obviously, I was a mismatch, because we were moving on the hockey side in the right direction. There was no question the group was just beginning to jell out of that lockout season. And the organization decided to go with a different style of leadership. I did not take that personally ever, which was extremely important in my life after. Im a project person; Im a person who likes to finish projects. Im very loyal to the projects that I commit to, and that was the first one in my life as a leader that was cut abruptly short. But the world has been kind to me after that. I would say I was just a cultural mismatch to where that club wanted to go.You have spoken about how your positive attitude coming out of that maybe allowed that phone call from Mike Babcock to happen. [Babcock invited Krueger to join the Canadian mens hockey team in an advisory role before the Sochi Olympics.]Oh, for sure. There is no way he calls me if I turn negative on that. People always watch for your reaction in those situations. ... I just remember making a conscious decision right there and then to move forward. I tell everybody that winners are born in difficult times. That was the most difficult situation Id ever been in as a leader. Im sure Mike felt that energy over here and then offered me the Sochi role, which kind of catapulted me into a lot of whats happened since then.In hindsight, how important was Mikes phone call in terms of your career?Three months later, Southampton approaches me. Southampton might not have happened if I didnt take on the Canadian job. ... I said, You know what, Im going to do this. I want to win a gold medal. So my full focus became: I want to go home with a gold medal from the Olympic Games. That gave me the space to be available for Southampton. If Mike doesnt pause my career, the space for everything else isnt made. Team Europe doesnt happen, Southampton doesnt happen. You wouldnt know it at the time, but because I committed to [the Olympics], I took a step away instead of just taking the next job, which most guys do. Most guys just jump into the next job and then try to work back to being a head coach. I just didnt feel that was the right thing for me. I was too invested in Edmonton. There was pain, of course. And the main pain was how much Id committed to those kids for three years, and how close I was to them. I only realize it now when I run into [Jeff] Petry on the streets of Montreal or [Ryan] Nugent-Hopkins parents in the hotel here, and were embracing each other three years later. Im realizing now -- I saw Taylor Hall at the world championships and Jordan Eberle -- I see how close we actually were. That was the reason I couldnt coach anywhere else. I was just too connected to those kids.What made you say yes to Southampton? Apart from the passion of the fan bases and the importance of the sports to their national cultures, were talking about pretty different games. What made you say yes?After 25 years of coaching in hockey, and again the scars from the Edmonton experience -- Id be lying if I said there werent scars there -- the freshness of it, the difficulty of it, and the growth opportunity of it. ... There was a fear there that kind of excited me. It was crazy that I took that on as a non-football person. The club was in complete, total disarray in regard to its leadership structure. Its culture was a mess at that time. My wife wasnt really sure what I was doing. I think part of me throwing myself into that, I was doing Sochi and the Olympics, so I didnt feel the risks were terminal because it was parallel. I started in October, the Olympics were in February, but we didnt announce my chairmanship until March. Somehow the comfort of Sochi and still being involved in hockey gave me the courage to take this on. I was thinking if in six months the English drive me out of the country, I shouldnt be dead here as a professional. It was a calculated risk. Sochi gave me that opportunity to dip my foot into those waters. As I kind of hoped, by winning the gold there were some NHL offers, but by that time I felt Southampton was going to work. Its the first time Ive actually talked about this. Im realizing now that Sochi was a big reason why I didnt -- its not like I just dove in at the end of the pool. I kind of played in two worlds at the same time at quite a high level.Yeah. Fairly high. The English Premier League and the Olympics. Those are fairly high levels.Winning tthe gold medal actually helped me in Southampton. Nike Shox R4 Donne. I came in as the chairman and they saw I was a consultant with Team Canada. And the English media, in January, was kind of chuckling at me. In March, they werent.Is the gold medal hanging on your Southampton office door?Its actually not. Im funny that way. Its at home, in my home in Switzerland. That gold medal is just in my heart. I rode the elevator yesterday with Carey Price and Sidney Crosby. ... I warmed up Price the first day [in Sochi], and then it kind of worked. I ended up warming him up so much that I had really bad golf elbow. I couldnt move my arm for six months after the Olympics. I have a terrible shot, but I think he kind of liked it, because he didnt know where the pucks were going. It became a bit of a joke. My elbow was my big sacrifice to win a gold medal.So was it strange being in an elevator with them, coaching the opposing team?No. No. It was warm. It was very warm to be in the elevator with them. Now, of course Im always with the team Im with. I love Team Europe and we want to beat them. If this Team Europe experience is my last hockey experience, I couldnt ask for anything better. Its just been so much fun.I would be remiss if I didnt ask you about the Sam Allardyce situation and what appears to be a burgeoning corruption crisis in English football.Oh my God. I have to tell you, really, absolutely shocked and shuddered. Our whole board is shocked and upset by it. Multiple messages through the day yesterday and this morning. Weve been a club thats been driving, wanting to get control of the evolving agent world around us, and we believe were going to have ears now. Southampton is built on a completely honest and open culture and on values. The reason I took the job was the unbelievable value structure and foundation of our owner, Katharina Liebherr. ... Thats why I embraced this, was to be able to lead and be the de facto owner of an organization where it was driven by culture. So were extremely upset by this. We see it as a shocking evolution that -- I wouldnt say were so na?ve to believe that this didnt exist, but we did think it wasnt part of our English football culture. Were going to use this, for sure, as a club, to fight for change and to fight for more regulation. We are all for regulation, and we are one of the most disciplined clubs in English football in terms of the way we deal with agents and youth academy players. Staying within the rules is something we really -- everything we do is based on that. We will react, for sure. Its going to become a major thing for me when I get back. Absolutely top of the agenda.You made it very clear at the beginning of this tournament that you were not using this to come back to hockey. But Las Vegas [the NHL expansion team], because youre a project guy, seems like an interesting opportunity for someone like you. Would you be open to such an opportunity?Its a good question. My answer is the same: Im always really present where Im present. Right now Im here with Team Europe. I believe the players never felt the chairman of Southampton in that dressing room. Maybe away from it--Like when you were watching the West Ham game in the room?OK, it might have maybe been there a little bit. I tell you quite honestly, once Im back in the Southampton environment, theres so much to do there. I love the project. ... But how could I say never? Ive never said, No, no, no, never. Ever. What Ive said is that right now Im looking forward to being the chairman of the Southampton Football Club, and that remains. This doesnt change that. I knew I loved hockey. I never said I didnt. People say, Youre in football now, so that means you don t like hockey. Ive had people calling me a traitor.Youre allowed to have multiple loves.Yes. I love to go to the theater in London. I love music. I have a Van Morrison concert at the end of October thats a big green mark on my calendar. The question is always, when you speak about the NHL, people are branding me as a coach. Im now the chairman of Southampton. So possibly theres another entry someday, in a different kind of role. Im open. As long as Southampton is my growth opportunity, I will stay there. If the time comes for change, where and when, who knows?A lot of your reputation -- I know the Canadian gold medal is a big exception -- but a lot of your reputation is leading overachieving underdogs. Thursday, once again youre in that role. What do you expect out of your team, and do you ever look over at the Canadian bench and think, I wouldnt mind standing behind those guys?You know what? Really I dont. Ive always measured winning by potential. Always. Always. The group youre with, how close to their potential do they get? Thats the marker. Ive never been a person focused on only measuring success in the superficial realm. Ive never been that. Ive always been about potential. We started with Team Europe on Sept. 1. The only thing I asked of our staff was lets create an environment where this group goes home and feels like they reached their potential. I dont think weve reached it yet. Looking at the game tomorrow, I believe very confidently youre going to see another step tomorrow. Whether that gives us the W or not, Im not sure. But we are going to have a serious shot to win. 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