Atlético plays against Levante at the home of La Nucía, a team trained by César Ferrando (Tavernes de la Valldigna, Valencia, 1959). The eccentric rojiblanco analyzes the Cholo team and the memories it has of him and of the house.
“How's life going?”
—Now I am very comfortable training in La Nucía. After two years in Malaysia and India, I am home again. This season was the first for La Nucía in Segunda B and we have had a good year.
—And now you have Atleti at home…
“It is an enormous joy.” If something was missing from our sports city it is that one of the greats of Europe played in Camilo Cano. The field has been very beautiful. It gives a feeling of warmth.
—The legend says that no visitor has won in the new stadium…
“That is a statistic.” Atlético is trained to win anywhere. Nice to see you. Since Simeone is here, she has made a leap in quality.
“The critics of Cholo screech at me. Atlético meets the definition of a team perfectly. It may be better or worse, but it is always there”
—There are people who criticize Cholo …
“Those things squeak at me.” Every time I see Atlético I get the feeling that it is a great team. You know he will fight to the end. Meets the definition of equipment perfectly. It may be better or worse, but it is always there. You don't deserve such criticism.
—You had Simeone at Atleti (2004-05), what was he like?
—I found myself a very professional and hard-working player. Cholo was what his team is now: discipline, character, respect … His Atlético reminds me of him when he was a player. In a few months he showed me many things and I will always thank him for his behavior towards me.
“Did you have coach wood?”
—In a team you see footballers who like to understand the game, they are watching the rival, they are encyclopedias. With Simeone that happened to me, I was able to make movements because he realized before I sent them to him.
“He also lived with the best Torres.” Are there people who see you as president of Atleti?
–(Laughs) We will have to ask Miguel Ángel Gil. Seriously, those are things from the pink soccer press. I can only speak well of Torres. He is a top player and a ten person, of those who leave their mark. Spanish soccer lost one of its pillars when it retired.
—To finish, what happened to your Atleti?
“It was a pretty weird year.” We lost the final of the Intertoto against Villarreal on penalties. We did not deserve it and it conditioned us. We were fine and then we had a lot of injuries. In the end we suffered, but I will always be grateful to this club.