Since his arrival in Levante, Aitor Fernandez (Mondragón, 1991) has not stopped growing. From debutant in the First Division at the age of 27 to LaLiga's revelation goalkeeper in one season. The goalkeeper who stopped the most in Europe. At Orriols he has put down roots, scrapping major equipment deals, and counts it for ACE.
First of all. How do you rate your start?
Well, looking forward to getting back to last year's level. Yes it is true that last year, at this point, I was not at the level I was later. So good.
What a year yours. I see something self-critical.
In the end it is what is heard in the environment. My goal is to be a better goalkeeper than last year, regardless of the saves. I think my season last year obviously has a lot of impact, but he is not the type of goalkeeper I would like to be. I would like to be a goalkeeper who can better organize the defense so that they do not arrive as much. Maybe this season I am succeeding and it is not having such an impact. They are different ways of seeing football.
The evolution is obvious. He is increasingly seen as a leader.
In the end when you feel important in a club, valued by everyone, you feel loved by the fans, you let go more and you see more of the real Aitor. In the end, I made my debut at the age of 27 in the First Division and you don't want to lose it for the world. And, well, I won't tell you that I was about to lose my job, but I wasn't being myself or the goalkeeper I wanted to be.
It was one of the most attractive names on the market and there has been no 'Aitor case'. At all times he has given up the idea of staying, despite important teams knocking on his door.
It is clear that there have been many things. But in the end the club gave me that tranquility that they wanted me to stay here and I wanted to stay here. With my partner, we value that getting the love of a hobby is not easy and it is not affordable. The truth that my sports growth was here. It is also true that I have said that throughout my career I would like to go home; but I think this is not the time, I think it is time to continue growing in Levante. Therefore, those siren songs in the end you take away telling them that I am very happy here and I want to stay.
Athletic, Arsenal …
Yes it is true that there have been contacts. They have asked quite a few clubs and it is true that those two are true. But here I have been very happy, I am and I hope to be. So there is no more your aunt. I feel very wrapped up in Levante and there is no more history.
Even with the market open, you literally put down roots in Valencia (you planted a garden with the female's partner, Claudia Zornoza)
I am a normal person, or I do not know if abnormal for this football. But yes, I like to eat good produce. I got together with a feminine girl who we have a very good relationship and between the two of us we took a little garden in the Alboraia area and we have our vegetables planted. It helps you in some way to disconnect a bit: not being 24 hours a day thinking about football.
In fact, she is a vegetarian. I see you eating a good steak.
Yes, I like to eat everything. But look, Claudia in the end has little to go to the supermarket … And of better quality many times, knowing exactly what we eat
Changing third, it seems that Aitor was planted (pun intended) at the age of 27 in the First Division, but you were a traditional national team goalkeeper in the lower teams.
Yes, let's see, it is precisely my sports career that was cut short when I returned from a U-20 World Cup. I come back injured and it is difficult for me to recover more than normal. I recover and break a finger. When I return, I break a ligament in my hand again … And, well, football has no memory and people go by. In the end you pull away a bit. I remember an interview that they do with Valdés that says that football is pushing you away; the moment you are not there, it takes you away. And he is not without reason. It is true. And then it costs you. From the U-15 I was in all the lower categories until the U-20, playing a World Cup with the first game starting. I come back injured and in the end it seems that your career is going to one side and it is complicated.
It was with Lopetegui, right?
Yes, until then the coach had been Luis Milla, and in that U-20 World Cup it was already Lopetegui.
His career, however, has taken a turn in recent years. Have you been close to a selection call lately?
No, nothing. In the environment you could hear it, but in the end I've been in the First Division for four days and in the end competing against goalkeepers who have a significant background is complicated. Obviously, if one day the siren sounds, it will be my pride. But today I don't waste a second of my life thinking about it because it is very complicated. If he arrives, it will be a reward for the good season he is doing.
The one that did have the award was Campaign. What did you think?
In the end it was a joy for all. Whether a teammate goes to the National Team is obviously his concern, because he has been doing very well, but in some way we have helped him get that award and in the end it has to be a reward for everyone. I think he had been at a high level for several seasons and I think it was a matter of time and he deserved it.
And, speaking of Levante, how have you seen the team at the start of the season?
Well, the truth is that I think we are not bad. Let's see, that I tell you that we are fine when we are on the decline is a bit strange. Perhaps we are in that situation now because in important games it has not been enough for us to be well. The truth is that the start of LaLiga has not been with us and we have not played all the games away from home either.
At La Cerámica he would at least feel at home … (He was at Villarreal for four seasons)
Yes, I have been lucky enough to be able to enjoy the Madrigal. But in the end it is not the same. We had a tremendous desire to return to the Ciutat de València. Because there were eleven games we played away from home after confinement, plus this year. It is a long time without playing at home and the truth is that it shows.
How is this new football?
It is very strange, really. In the end, the issue of having to go to the field already changed from home, not having that time to adapt to the environment, that at least I like to be calm in the fields … It is a matter of adapting and getting into the game now from the hotel.
The numbers right now place them in the low part, the sensations?
If you take the statistics a bit, which I am not very statistical, I think the team has improved defensively compared to last year. We don't concede that much. Yes it is true that we are not doing well on points, yes, I have said it, but defensively the numbers have improved. Playing a lot of games away from home also weighs you down and makes everything a little more complicated.
There is much talk about the central Levante. What assessment do you personally make?
I think they do an impressive job. I think the four centers we have are at a very high level. What happens is true that it is not so much reflected in the back plot by the way we play. We are a very happy team, in Primera there are few teams that are as happy as us, so, as I say, we can see the seams in the people behind. It's very difficult and I think they do an impressive job. We have a guarantee center.
And of Paco López?
I think he is a coach who has evolved a lot. I had him at Villarreal B, and the truth is that the way of training today, which makes the player participate, is different. Football often looks very easy from the outside and we do not think that the player may still have an extra career and that is why later, for example, he loses the next ball. He always lets you explain your feelings about each play on the field. He's been a player too and we came to terms with saying it in some way.