MADRID, 25 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The forward of Levante Alba Redondo is excited about the possibility of going to a World Cup for the first time with the Spanish team and already sees “a blast” having entered Jorge Vilda’s shortlist for an appointment for which they are “super-ambitious and convinced that there is a ‘great team’ to go as far as possible”, while he also values positively the impact of having Alexia Putellas back in a concentration in which they are all “for and for Spain”.
“I’m enjoying this experience. In the end, being shortlisted for a World Cup is also amazing to be able to experience this and learn from the players you’re surrounded by. I think I’m a lucky person in that sense and I’m preparing myself,” Redondo said in an interview with Europa Press during the concentration of the national team in Benidorm (Alicante).
The woman from Albacete acknowledges that there is “healthy competition” with her attacking partners to gain a place on the final list. “We learn from each other and we don’t take it as a rivalry in the sense that I have to go before you. No, on the contrary, we don’t think anything, we just enjoy and that’s how it will be,” she said.
The Albacete soccer player has been “super-demanding” and “super-committed” during the matches with the national team since last September where “very direct rivals” have been measured. “There are moments in which it has cost us more and in others where less, but we have made the football that Spain has, the one that we have been working on for quite some time,” said Alba Redondo who works “to the maximum to be able to defend many more times this shirt”.
What they do not hide is that they are “overambitious” about their chances in the World Cup. “We are convinced that there is a ‘great team’ to be able to go as far as possible. We are fortunate to surround ourselves with great players, to be able to enjoy these facilities, to be able to train with the coaching staff we have and to be able to experience this type of situation We only have to work to be in the best possible conditions,” he said.
The team began its preparation on Monday the 19th, one month after the end of the F League, which has allowed the players to have “vacations”. “Some more than others for having to play the Copa de la Reina or the Champions League, but I have disconnected, I have spent days with my family in Albacete, with my partner. I have done what I had to do to be able to arrive with very charged batteries “, remarked the forward.
And that disconnection time has been key to releasing mental load. “I will always say it, maybe it sounds very repetitive, but if your head doesn’t go your legs, it’s true that the physical factor is very important, but the most important is the head. For me Today the most important thing is the mental factor because it is the one that blocks you on many occasions if you don’t work on it,” warned Alba Redondo.
One of the novelties of the concentration is the return of Alexia Putellas, double Ballon d’Or and a “great player”. “We only have positive words, we can’t always allow ourselves to be surrounded by the best player in the world and learn from her, it’s that we are privileged. We can enjoy her because she is here for us is a privilege too,” she confessed.
“I see her well, she is happy and she is also ambitious to give her game. In the end, with the injury of the previous crusader, she has been standing still for a long time, but Alexia, although she was not there, was there. She wants to, she is showing that She’s going to give a lot of play, that she’s going to continue being one of the best players in the world and we’re going to be able to see it”, celebrated the Manchegan.
Asked about everything that has happened since the end of September in the national team and the resignation of 15 footballers to be called up, the Levante player regretted that during this time football has been left “a bit aside”. “It’s a shame, but those who have had to speak have spoken and it’s almost resolved or resolved,” he said.
“There have not been any injuries. We are super focused on the game, we know what we have to do. There is a very calm atmosphere and there is no tension or anything like that, we are for and for Spain and we are going to train and fight until the end” , added in this regard the one from Albacete.
“28 GOALS IS A RECORD THAT I NEVER THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO ACHIEVE”
About her season, Alba Redondo confessed that the 28 goals scored to be a ‘pichichi’ “is a mark that she never” thought she could “achieve” in her sports career. “I have to thank a lot of people around me who have been giving me advice and experiences and if I also have a team that accompanies me, then much better,” said the international.
In this sense, he appreciates that “merit” is given to this figure and that he achieved it by competing against teams like FC Barcelona. “Each one knows all the work behind them and it’s not easy, obviously. It’s true that Barça dominates the league today, but there are teams that are chasing them and that continue working to catch up with them. We were used to the fact that the ‘ pichichi’ is of the FC Barcelona or of the Real Madrid, but, looks, this year has changed a little the history”, indicated with a smile.
Finally, the international seems to be clear about her future for next season, in which she will try to help her team qualify for the group stage of the Champions League. “Next year I am going to play in the Champions League with Levante, it was one of the objectives that I set myself at the beginning of this season,” she settled.