Fede San Emeterio (March 16, 1997, Sierra de Ibio, Cantabria) takes on his role as the most positional midfielder with pride and for the good of the team. A starter in many of the Real Valladolid start-of-season games, tomorrow he will face Granada, a team where his participation was important to achieve promotion and the foundation of a project that is now touring Europe.
How have you been in these two weeks without a match? I don't know if they had time to recharge their batteries, to analyze what they did well against Athletic and badly in other previous matches …
The stoppages are valid for that, to analyze, to disconnect a little from the amount of party we have, especially now that with the pandemic they put us many parties. It has served a little to disconnect, emotionally, better for the three points.
… Since you take it out, it seems that with the final sprint of last season, a short vacation, a preseason not as intense as others … can these issues influence the large number of injuries that there are and in the rare results that are being produced?
It is true that it has been an atypical season from my point of view. Having so little time between finishing last season and starting this one has been like a continuity. I do not know in what way it will influence the issue of injuries, in the end, everything that is different is difficult to adapt and that is what is happening now. Players are not used to playing so many games in a row and it can be a reason for injuries, of course …
Can it influence only the physical or also the mental?
In both, because feeling good, having a good physical preparation will give you the basis for the season, but mainly the mental issue is what controls everything. In the end, if you have been well in summer, if the rest period has been made short or long are things that influence and if the player is mentally good or bad it is very noticeable in the game, so the mental issue can influence by the little rest of some players.
On Sunday they go to Granada, which is not an easy place …
Yes, it will be a difficult match. Granada is a rival that likes very competitive matches, they do not shy away from the clash, they look for individual duels and win them, it will be a complicated match, quite close, with few chances and the one who takes the most advantage will be the winner.
You know Granada and more this Granada by Diego Martínez … what is so special about you to be promoted and qualify for Europe in the first campaign?
The year I was there, the union of the dressing room and the coaching staff was key. This year they continue to do so, the players who have signed have adapted well, they are always competitive in any scenario, they are chameleonic, they adapt to the different circumstances of the match.
What do they tell you from Granada? How do they carry it? Because the illusion makes up for the effort of playing Sunday-Wednesday in a small team, but …
It is a different season for them and they are excited. It is true that when playing Europa League many players are not used to it, with many I shared a dressing room in the Second Division and they have gotten there. They are enjoying it, but knowing that they cannot leave the League aside, which is what matters, to achieve the goal of permanence every year. As for the part that concerns me, I am very happy for them because I have a very good relationship with many of them and I am glad that things are going well for them.
The Andalusians rose a year after the Pucela and, nevertheless, it seems that they are a step above. What can Valladolid learn from Granada?
In sports, some years you are higher and others lower. We don't have to change anything, in the end, Granada had a great year last season, we were saved too. This year they started well, we are looking for our way, but in terms of club infrastructure, Real Valladolid is growing a lot, it is betting on young people, with enthusiasm, and people who want to make the club bigger and more are entering the board of directors. in that aspect I think he has nothing to envy.
You don't usually score many goals and yet you went to score one of Granada's most important goals, promotion …
Yes, it is not my main facet, the scorer, but the year of promotion I scored a couple of them and welcome. It was special because it was my last game, for moving up in that field and I keep it as a great memory.
Everyone talks about Diego Martínez as one of the fundamental assets for Granada to be having these good years … how would you define the Granada coach?
The coach is the captain of the ship, as they say, he is the one who takes the handle of everything. He is always very aware of his own things, he does the group, team theme very well, that everyone goes to one and it is working for him. He is always aware of the smallest details that you do not give importance to, but he does, it is what makes the player improve and it is what is being seen.
Tell me a very small detail that I would say to you, for example …
For example, he gives a lot of importance to when they make a wall for you, to follow the player, try to hit him, hinder him … In the end, the professional player seems to already know it, but he reminds you, prompting you to do it. They are small things, but they help you improve …
Very interesting, because sometimes we see professional players who make improper mistakes or who do not execute simple actions as they should … is it sloppiness or do they forget?
It is neither one thing nor the other. In professional football it is so demanding, you are so aware of so many things that, perhaps, you do not reach all of them for 90 minutes. Sometimes it passes you, but it is not due to neglect or forgetfulness. It also depends on the type of footballer because there are footballers who are more attentive, more disciplined, and others who are more left in this regard, but who have other things.
If you had to compare Diego Martínez and Sergio González? Are there many differences between them?
Each coach has his way of working. Diego Martínez has his things and it has been good for him, and Sergio has his things and he has also done phenomenally with the promotion and the two stays with the same team. Both try to make the teams in their image and likeness.
Do you think that it is a bit unfair with the players who play defensive midfielder? Because many times it seems that they are criticized because they participate little with the ball, but little is seen that they make coverage, that they cover the spaces of teammates, that they balance, that they do the dirty work, so to speak, so that others look …
If the truth. We are not showy players, who occupy covers, right? We tend to go more unnoticed. Within our position we feel valued by the coach, by the coaching staff, by the people who see him. The importance of that position is key because all the coaches use it and if it were not like that it would have disappeared, but all the teams use a more positional pivot and we are important in the game.
It's just that I'm remembering that against Athletic everyone highlighted Hervías' great game, but few spoke about how you covered his side when he went up …
Thus, in the team everyone must know what their role is. I do not intend to play the role of forward, or lateral, or extreme. I know what my role is, my role, what the coach wants me to do. It's nice to be recognized.
So they recognize it that you had some offers to go out in the summer, right? Without going any further from Granada …
I have a contract here, I am very comfortable. Things can come out, but I only think of Valladolid and whatever it has to be, it will be in the future.
Was there an offer from Granada or not?
I don't know (laughs). These are things that I do not control, I do not handle, as footballers we have people who dedicate themselves to the extra sport on our behalf.
So I turn the matter around … You finish your contract in June, are you going to renew?
I finished my contract in Valladolid in June, I am very comfortable and if in the end the club and we see fit, we will renew. They are things that, with time, will be known. I'm not worried about that, I'm involved in sports, for the other, as I told you before, there are people who dedicate themselves to it.
Did they call you already?
They are my agent's things … (laughs).
You defend as well on and off the field …
You saw, right? I take you to my territory …
How do you beat Granada?
In the end, Granada is based on intensity, compact, as a group and we are also like that, we stand out for the group more than for the individual and that is what we will try to do on Sunday: be well in the duels, in second plays , do not make small mistakes because Granada kills you there.
Will Valladolid be saved this season?
Hopefully, we are going to try with all our strength and try to get the necessary points to suffer as little as possible.