“I see many similarities between Luis Enrique del Celta 10 years ago and now”
“Pellegrini helped me to recover my level”
MADRID, 22 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Real Betis striker Borja Iglesias denied feeling “examined” in his first call with the Spanish team at 29 years old, so he is “enjoying” an opportunity to “demonstrate” that he can be “an option” for the World Cup Qatar.
“I don’t feel examined. When I have taken important exams I have been much more nervous, here I am enjoying myself. The World Cup? I want to show the coach that I can be an option,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.
The attacker could make his debut next Saturday against Switzerland in the Romareda, a stadium that well remembers the goals of the current Betis striker. “It’s an honor to be able to come back and enjoy this experience with them. It’s been a long time since I’ve been near Zaragoza. I’m sure I’ll live very emotional moments, I feel very grateful because they’ve taken great care of me and they’ve shown it to me in many ways”, he said about the team he belonged to in the 2017/18 season, before making the leap to LaLiga Santander with RCD Espanyol.
Now, in his first call-up, the player highlights his first days as an international. “When you have never come and you come for the first time, you have expectations and you imagine some things. But everything goes beyond what I had imagined. I feel very comfortable,” he said about a “very healthy and happy” group that makes “easy” coexistence.
Regarding Luis Enrique, Iglesias praised his working methods, which had already promised since his stay at Celta de Vigo, where he came to coincide with the current coach of the national team. “The essence is clearly the same. He transmits in the same way and makes the squad very involved in the decision to play in a certain way. He already did it at Celta and after so many years now he has more tools and ways to reach the player I see many similarities to what I saw 10 years ago,” he said.
His good league start, together with the injuries in attack of the Spanish attackers, have meant his first call-up with the national team. “I am lucky to play for an important team that makes me stand out, and I thank them for being a fundamental part of my being here”, he mentioned about Betis, a team coached by Manuel Pellegrini and which has been “vital” in recovering the “best level” of the striker.
“PELLEGRINI HELPED ME RECOVER MY LEVEL”
“He came to the club at a time when my situation was not easy. My first months I participated less than I would like, but he helped me to recover my level. At times it was still hard, but it has made me grow, it has given confidence when I’ve earned it and I’m enjoying it a lot,” he added.
In fact, both Pellegrini and Luis Enrique are particular in their methods. “They are very good and very different. Manuel is very calm and easy to explain things and convince you of them. And Luis Enrique is exactly the same, but more nervous and capable of transmitting things with greater intensity. Although they reach the same point. They have two offensive game ideas, but different. Each one has its personality and is special because of how it is”, settled.
Borja Iglesias also highlighted the characteristics of his main competitors for a place in the World Cup, all of them with “a lot” of goals. “I like Morata’s ability to generate spaces, Gerard Moreno’s play between the lines, Rodrigo Moreno’s verticality and Raúl de Tomás’ scoring talent and ability to create plays from nothing,” he said.
In his case, mental work has been essential to perform in the elite and with a positive attitude. I try to have fun, sometimes it’s more complicated. At some points in my career there were people who didn’t like me too much because they thought I wasn’t taking what I was doing seriously. I am lucky, I dedicate myself to doing what I like and in the best possible place. Sometimes you win, you lose, but in general I am happy and I try to show it because it works out for me, “he said.
“I have been working with a psychologist since I was in Zaragoza. I have gone through very good stages, where they helped me deal with those moments of euphoria, and in the complicated ones as well. It is the order of the day, we have to normalize it and take care of ourselves as much as both good and bad,” he concluded.