Caye Quintana: “If he renews Pellicer, Málaga will tie up a good coach”

Caye Quintana spoke with Ace about everything a little. He is happy in Malaga, pending on Cádiz, a team with whom he has a contract until 2022, he showed concern about the bad moment of Recreativo, the Dean of Spanish football, and recalled his 15 days of confinement in a hotel in A Coruña for the famous' case Fuenlabrada ”'

How are you doing in Malaga?

Well. It is a beautiful city. You can't go out a lot because of the COVID issue, but the people are very friendly. Very happy with the club, fans and teammates. We are also having a good season.

Did you expect to be at this point with 49 points?

When I arrived with a week left to make my debut in Tenerife, I didn't expect it because there were many problems at the club and in this game we played with very few professional chips. The beginning was very hard. We had not done preseason together and that counts because you take concepts from the coach and the idea he wants to convey to us. We did that with the passage of time and with players who did not arrive until the third or fourth day. We must give great value to these 49 points and to those that we can add in these seven days that we will try to do our best to be at the top.

Who convinced you to come to Malaga?

Manolo Gaspar called me several times and gave me a lot of confidence. It was clear, he told me things to my face and convinced me that the project was going to be beautiful and that it would move forward. I also spoke with the president of Cádiz (Manuel Vizcaíno). They told me that on the matter of signing players they could sign up. I didn't think twice and when Málaga called me, I told Manolo that if he left Cádiz, he would come here. Say my word and that is always present. I was very excited to play here.

Things are going better than anticipated.

We are all working with a short squad with matches during the week in a very demanding season. We are several points above the descent and seven points above. It is true that we can fight for something else, but it is difficult with all the casualties we have and the load of games. There have been players who have had to play headdresses because there was no other option, more chips. We had to be on the edge.

Can you aspire to something more?

Although it sounds like a cliché, we have to go game by game. To think of something other than Fuenlabrada would be wrong for us and everyone.

It is on loan from Cádiz. Does Malaga have a purchase option?

No. I'm on loan with no option. I have a contract with Cádiz until 2022. I want to finish this season well. Here I am very happy and in Cádiz, the time I was, too.

We assume that you will be following the trajectory of Cádiz.

I have many colleagues there who became friends and the fans treated me very well. I follow each game and I am happy to see the season they are doing because it has a great coach (Álvaro Cervera), coaching staff, president and the teammates deserve it, both for last year and this year. I hope that next year the fans can enjoy their team in the First Division?

What is Álvaro Cervera like?

I was very surprised. It makes you see football differently from how others see it. He is the coach with whom I have possibly learned the most in terms of seeing football in a different way. You can like it more or less or you can put more or less. I didn't play with him a lot, but he was always clear with me and it was my face. And that is an aspect to be praised. For me, he is the ideal coach for Cádiz and the results are showing it. I hope it goes well for him and that he stays there for a long time.

Is it different from Sergio Pellicer?

They are different. Pellicer is a closer person. It is more difficult for Álvaro to get so close to the player, but he leaves you that margin of freedom. They are different coaches and see football differently. ‘Pelli’ likes more to have the ball and carry the weight of the games or change the way of playing. Álvaro is a coach who knows that Cádiz must play this way to get the maximum possible points. He knows that in the Second or First Division, Cádiz takes the games home. We here in Malaga sometimes press higher and other times lower and we have to take more initiative. Each coach has their booklet and they are both doing a great job.

Málaga wants to renew Pellicer.

I think it is deserved, when you work well and the results come out. The coach has earned it. I think that if he renews, Málaga will tie up a good coach. I think Pelli wants to be here and all the fans want to be here.

We just remembered that Caye scored two goals against Malaga …

(Laughs) Yes. One in preseason at a Carranza and another here at La Rosaleda.

His agent, by the way, is Emilio Viqueira.

Both he and I wanted to come to Malaga. Emilio is a spectacular person and it is nice that your representative is your friend.

Do you consider yourself a pure center forward or do you prefer to act as a second attacker?

I have played both ways. At Recre I played like '9' pure and I liked him a lot. It was the season that I scored the most goals. I play in the area and I am closer to the goal. When I play second striker Pelli asks me to receive more and to intervene more in the game. It is true that you are further from the area. A striker is asked for goals and playing second striker I am further away. The numbers are worse, but I feel comfortable playing both ways and what I want is to help the team and for the coach and teammates to feel comfortable with me. That he does not score a goal, I do not care if I have been able to assist or generate some space for my teammates.

In an interview he gave to Málaga Hoy, he said that he liked being able to make his teammates better.

I like to help everyone. If we all add our grain of sand, the team adds. This is a team sport. The one who scores the goal gets the praise, but I have been educated in a different way in the world of football and we are all doing our bit. We run and push a lot. We help each other and the results are coming out. It is no coincidence that Málaga, with all the problems we have had, are in this position and that they dream of other things that are feasible. The normal thing in this year would have been to fight not to descend until the last day and not be saved, not mathematically, but practically. We have a victory with seven games to go. This must be given value because it is important for the club and for us.

How did you do at Fuenlabrada last season?

I did not have all the continuity I would have wanted because I had two injuries, one to the ankle, which took its toll on me for a few months and then at the end with confinement, when I recovered I had another one in the hamstring and I did not finish playing much. I have good memories for the subject of companions. It is a club that is growing a lot. It was not an assignment that helped me too much.

That experience with the COVID of several Fuenlabrada players before the game against Deportivo was not pleasant at all.

It was a difficult experience because we were in a hotel and they didn't talk about anything other than the playoffs or the games. And nobody worried about the health of the companions who were there. It was a bit of a difficult topic for us because, through no fault of our own. They forced us to travel and we had delicate moments. And facing a Deportivo with two weeks of inactivity locked in a hotel room was complicated. We couldn't get into the playoff because of a goal in the last minute. It was a bad experience, but you learn from everything.

Worse than a house arrest.

The hotel behaved very well, but it was very hard to be locked up 24 hours 15 days is complicated.

Dear Recreativo, the Dean, is in trouble.

It is the club where I grew up, the one that gave me everything and where I have many friends. This season seemed like it would be good. They signed well, but Second B is difficult and having good players is not enough. Hope remains.

Are you afraid the club might disappear?

We all fear that. But that is not going to happen. The Recre is not going away. He may go down but if Recre has something, it is that his fans have shown in the worst moments that they are always there to help. It does not matter if it is in Third, Second B, Second or First. 15,000, 12,000 keep going. 20,000 people to the field. That is true feeling. I have an image of when we lost the playoff tie for promotion to Second Division against Fuenlabrada 3-0. We arrived in Huelva at four in the morning and there were 4,000 or 5,000 people waiting in the field. These are moments that remain recorded.

Let's go back to Malaga. Have so many young players surprised you? No less than eleven subsidiaries have played.

It has surprised me not that there are many, that also, but the level that these youth players give. They always comply. The case of Benítez who is playing now, Ramón, Julio, Ismael… they give a very good level and that helps us. We are a very short staff and if we did not have their help we would not be where we would be where we are. The quarry counts and they have to take advantage of this opportunity that this situation gives them. If Málaga were well off financially and had 25 chips, they might not have the opportunity. They are taking advantage of it to revalue themselves and make their way.

How about Scepovic?

It comes with a lot of desire. He proved it the other day by scoring a goal. Works. He is the first cheering, helps his teammates and comes to add. He goes out for 15 minutes and sticks with anyone. It is to be thankful.

A shame for the serious injuries to Calero and Chavarría.

Whenever a player seriously injures him, it is a shame. You see them there every day treating and suffering. We try to help them. It is the fucking thing in football, that you get seriously injured and see that you are alone. They are sure to fly strong, both of them have a good mentality and I see them with good energy to arrive as soon as possible and as well as possible.

And this Second Division?

I haven't remembered her like that for years. The people at the top are making a lot of points and you can see the level they have. Espanyol has a First Division team, Leganés, Mallorca, Almería, Rayo, Sporting… they are great teams with incredible budgets. There you can see how difficult it is and it gives value to the points we are getting. It is a very difficult Second with the budget of Espanyol with 40 or 50 ‘kilos’. There you have to notice.

Which striker do you like more, Raúl De Tomás or Sadiq?

They are completely different. Sadiq is more 'nine' pure and Raúl De Tomás understands the game better, he is smarter in that regard. If I had to stay with someone, I would do it with Raúl, he's a better striker, but Sadiq is another cannon and he's young and he's scoring a lot of goals. Almería made a good purchase.

Do you like the Super League?

What a mess! Do not really understand. I am not very focused on this, but it does not seem like a solution to the pandemic. In football you have to win where you are. In a closed competition, nothing is gained if the same people always compete. What incentive does it have? The nice thing about football is that you win things and that if Málaga enters the Champions League for a year it is because they have won it. Or Cádiz, or Betis or whoever. That's the beauty of football. Poe, that is what all hobbies fight and that is why it is the king of sports

What is your opinion about José María Muñoz, Málaga's judicial administrator?

He is a very close person. He comes a lot for the dressing room and for training, he greets us. He has come on some trip and I think he is doing a good job at the club. I see him as a good guy, of course and who knows what he has to do with Malaga because in the end he has shown that he has been able to compete. The work you have been told to do is doing well.

In Cádiz they have you controlled?

They usually ask. I guess to all the loaned ones. The 'presi' is the first to speak to you or send you a message. He is very close and by word of mouth. He has always treated me very well and what he has told me has come true. I have no complaints about him. He seems to me a '10' person and a good leader for Cádiz as he is showing.

Are you contemplating the option of repeating at Malaga?

I am very happy here and both the fans, colleagues or the sports director have given me very good vibes and have always trusted me. Malaga is always an option. And if I have to leave Cádiz I would contemplate it. It would be necessary to see everything, if I leave Cádiz, if Malaga is interested … to speak right now of being there or not being there is a bit silly because it would wear you out because you think in a distant future that we do not know. Cádiz is the one that has to set the guidelines to know what happens to me.