Everything he gets costs him a world. You are a fighter.
I have given a few laps in football and I have been in Segunda B until last season, when the opportunity to play in Segunda with Numancia arose. I'm a fighter. Everyone should be and this is the path that I have had to travel.
Has this opportunity been slow to come to you?
I think so. These years I have been at a good level. If this opportunity had come to me earlier, why wouldn't I have given the same level as now?
His turns …
After starting at Sporting B, I was in Oviedo with Pacheta (coach). We did not enter the playoffs but it was a worked team. We played in the group with Lugo, Sporting, Castilla … In the Cup we played Athletic. Pacheta had a different style from Elche, played with many long balls, and has achieved a promotion that few people expected.
From there to Leganés.
I got to play two games in the Second Division and because Serantes was injured. The debut was against Mallorca in Son Moix and we won 0-2.
And to Melilla …
When you are in a season where you don't play, it is difficult to find a destination of a similar level. We had to take a step back and return to Second B. In the first year it was difficult for us to save the category because we were in a very bad situation. There were debts. But I stayed four years because the project was attractive and things were getting better and better. I found other facets of the footballer such as being a leader and getting involved in a project. Last year we touched promotion and played in the Cup against Real Madrid. Four very good years that I never forget.
That Cup tie against Real Madrid …
It was crazy because Real Madrid had never been to Melilla and people were crazy. The tickets were sold out and extra stands had to be put in the stadium. It was a show. There was the option of playing at the Bernabéu, but I preferred to play at home because I wanted to experience it with people. It was a real Madrid that had just lost against Barcelona when Lopetegui was fired. It was 0-4. It was not a bad performance. I had several stops and it helps you to value yourself at the highest level. After Lopetegui's dismissal, Real Madrid went to Melilla with everything. We face, but you can see the difference between Second B and First.
Who was the shirt exchanged with?
With Courtois. I spoke little with him because they were leaving quickly to catch the plane. I also played the press and television and it was all a bit busy.
How do you explain that Numancia finished the first round with 32 points and ended up descending?
The first lap was spectacular and we were at an incredible level. When we went on vacation I think that everyone, and I included myself in the package, we trusted that the category was already saved and that the second round would be easy. We lost two important players like Carlos Gutiérrez and Guillermo. Bernardo and Erik (Morán) arrived, but they lacked a bit of rhythm because they came from not playing. And between the bad dynamics, the confinement and that when we went to play the last 11 games we had a beastly plague of injuries, we added 50 points and they did not give us. It was a real shame. Nobody expected that the final outcome would be that.
Inexplicable.
A shame I had renewed for two years. The club had a project to continue growing. 2020 is cursed in all respects because in the end it is crazy. Everything was put together and there was no way to get a head out. It became impossible.
I suppose it is an experience to apply in Malaga.
You are right. After beating Sporting and now in Sabadell … If this touches me in the first year, maybe I'm one of those who get a little emboldened or get carried away by the points dynamics. My experience in Segunda tells me that you have to be very calm and that this is super long. It's true that everything you put in your pocket is great, but you have to keep your feet on the ground. We cannot go into these ups and downs that when you win two games in a row it seems that you are going to fight for promotion and when you lose two, on the contrary. You have to be calm and always be stable. This category is very treacherous.
How did the Malaga thing come about?
After the descent. It was also gathered that it was not known if there was going to be a League of 24 teams. I had contacts with Malaga and from the beginning we were all on the same wavelength. But it took a month or so to see the decision of the League. The last thing he wanted to do was disrespect Numantia. He had a contract, but with a release clause in case of relegation. And since the League of 22 was not ratified until August, nothing could be signed. If League of 24 had been decided, he would have taken the car for Soria again. A rare summer.
How did you experience confinement?
It was my turn in Soria just because we couldn't get out of there, with the family and my partner far away. Now it's the same because my girl is from Melilla and she can't get out of there. It gets long and heavy.
The positives …
We are taking the appropriate measures and are not taking risks. Hopefully it continues like this. We knock on wood because, in addition to avoiding problems for families, cash for the team would be subtracted. Hopefully there are no positives in any team and we can get out of this tunnel. It's nine months and this takes a long time.
What did Manolo Gaspar do to convince you?
First of all, Málaga calls you. Look, if Málaga weren't in this situation, they probably wouldn't have picked up the phone to call me. I feel like it's a unique opportunity where I can be in a great club. If Málaga calls you and explains how things are going to be, you must have confidence in Manolo's work, which is being ratified. It is the showcase. It is a club as big as Malaga, which is true, it is in a difficult moment. But you can't miss out on these opportunities because a footballer's career is short and after all it has cost me, if Málaga calls you, you can't say no.
Do you think the team is stabilized?
Stability will be given to us by the points and the situation in the League because in the end you can talk about many external things and economic issues, but if later the team does not work on the field and does not score points, there is no stability. Our goal is to score 52 points. I'm not saying 50 but 52 just in case and if we can do them in February or March, better than in April. Players must be on the sidelines of everything that may be extra sports and focus on our own. Do our work so that no one can blame anything on us and add little by little, calmly, without going crazy and being very aware of where we come from, that on day three ten new teammates arrived, without doing preseason together, without knowing each other. And I think things are going quite well for how the summer had turned out.
Preseason within the season.
I started playing with two weeks of preseason and a lot of people too. We were also on the issue of Numancia, that we could not train with the team. And then there were colleagues who stopped being there when the ERE was done. New people, a complicated and different situation because you cannot make that team cohesion, you cannot train or meet your teammates and in the end you have to go little by little knowing them. It is atypical and makes it a bit more difficult, but it is a challenge and for the moment we are doing well. Keep it up!
How hard is an ERE!
You are right. Especially for the one who touches him. It is a complicated situation. In the end, the viability of the club depended on that and those in charge have determined that it is the best decision for Málaga to go forward. There is an administrator who has to look for the viability of the club and that is what he is doing.
He has good competition with Juan Soriano.
It is a strange situation to rotate in the goal because it is not usually rotated, but hey. You can take it in two ways: you can get angry because you are playing well and they take you away or you can work hard to perform when you get the chance. Because if the day you play does not work, then you already have the problem. When it's time to play you have to do your best and when you don't have to add for the team. It's our job.
Does this rotation system surprise you?
Yes it surprises me. It's a bit strange, but in the end you adapt and you know you have to be prepared. All colleagues are rotating. The coach wants to give everyone opportunities to have them plugged in. In the end, he is the one in charge and what we have to do is accept what he tells us and be prepared. If you don't perform on the grass, you can't blame other things.
How is Pellicer?
A close person. He has had to work hard. He has hit a lot of mud, as they say, a lot of Second B. He's seizing the opportunity. He already caught her last year in a difficult situation and now he is working well, with great desire and enthusiasm, which is what he tries to convey, that he also has an incredible opportunity as well as the coaching staff. That unity, desire and hunger that both the coaching staff and the players have are important and make a bit of difference with other teams that are not as eager to claim themselves as many of us who are here at Malaga have.
Ponferradina awaits you on Sunday.
Complicated, like all. I think this year they have made a good team, they have strengthened very well. This category never ceases to amaze you. Sabadell goes there and wins 0-3. Then they win in Alcorcón 0-1 and go to Mallorca and lose 3-0. It is all a coin in the air every day. Four or five points change you ten positions and the classification is getting like last season. Anyone can beat you.
Espanyol seems to be far above.
He is the only one, together with Mallorca, that is doing very well, that is making a difference with the rest. Each one has conceded two goals in eleven days. It is a real savagery. When they want to press the accelerator, they win the games. Last year there were no such teams. Espanyol is going to uncheck and can get one of the easiest promotions in recent seasons.
Who is your reference as a goalkeeper?
I was touched by the Buffon era and it has always been the one I have noticed the most. I had a good time as goalkeepers because there were Buffon, Casillas, Valdés … there was a good batch, but I always opted for the Italian. It was very complete in everything and under the sticks it had incredible reflections and you have to see its longevity. It has been 20 years at the highest level. That's because he's one of the best in history and the benchmark I've grown up with watching him.
How much do you have on your contract with Malaga?
I have signed two with an option for a third season. It depends on the games he can play next year. I hope they want me to have another year.
Could Malaga be the ideal place to fulfill that dream of playing in the First Division??
Hopefully. Everyone has dreams and illusions and you have to be ambitious, but with peace of mind. This is not achieved overnight and this is a process where you have to do things right. Now we are doing things well and let's wait to see if, in the near future, that dream can be achieved. And what better than to get that promotion in Malaga and be in a First Division squad. But right now they are dreams and illusions and what we have to do is Ponferrada and day by day. This is so.
A shame all this about the pandemic.
A shame because with this issue absolutely nothing can be done. Soccer players depend on our physical states. Train and be at home. A positive would not help the team or yourself. I already knew the city because from Melilla to Malaga is the direct exit there was. It is a city that I love. An incredible quality of life, a spectacular climate. Has it all.
And La Rosaleda …
Last year I came here as a rival and they brought the game back to us due to the push of the public in that second half. Let's hope that soon people can enter. That stadium with at least 20,000 people is very crowded. Last year I lived it and I hope that this year the rivals can also experience it against it.