Enrich: “The coach tells us to have a strong mind”

“The coach tells us to have a strong mind,” said Sergi Enrich, an Eibar forward, who is confined to his home by the coronavirus that has stopped football and much of society. The Minorcan striker, one of the Barça captains, offered a “virtual” press conference on Tuesday, in which he answered questions asked the day before by journalists who regularly report on the Gipuzkoan First Division team.

The Barça coach, José Luis Mendilibar, who can only talk to footballers remotely, has made clear to them a message, do not relax, because the First Division league could resume when everything returns to normal. “We are going through situations that we have never experienced, and they are complicated experiences, but we must be positive. The coach also tells us that we have to train as much as we can, so that when the season starts again, we are at our maximum, physically and mentally “, highlighted Sergi Enrich, who arrived at Eibar in July 2015, coinciding with the return of Mendilibar.

How do you do individualized training at home?

I get along well, I have a house with a little garden, and a small gym. I try to do what I can. In addition, Toni Ruiz (physical trainer) and Alain Gandiaga (readapter) are helping us in physical exercises that we have to do. We get along well within what fits. I have made a daily routine not to lose my mind

How does free time pass?

I try to be as positive as possible, make good use of time, do more physical exercise, cook new recipes; and, above all, talking to the family, who is sorely missed right now

Do you usually gain weight outside of training or competition periods or do you take great care of your diet?

I am lucky to have a good physical constitution. I am not about gaining weight, but about losing weight. The Eibar nutritionist (Aurora Cid) is being good to us. It is helping us a lot, despite being at a distance. We have contact with her day yes, day no. We are happy to have Aurora with us. We are making weekly menus, trying to carry it out in the best possible way.

How do you see the ERTE (Temporary Employment Regulation Files) in sport?

It is a delicate subject that affects all of society in general. Eibar has given us tranquility and confidence. We are very grateful, because it is a complicated subject. The most important thing is everyone's health, which is the priority right now. That no more people are infected, and that everything is for the better.

What has Eibar's coach, Mendilibar, transmitted to the footballers in this situation?

-You have to listen to what they tell us, and have a strong mind. What he says is that we have a strong mind, because they are situations that we have never experienced and they are complicated situations. And train as much as we can, so that when the season starts again, we are at our best, physically and mentally.

Do you see what is left of the league playing behind closed doors?

I don't see it, for me the fans are a very important part of a club. A meeting without a fan is a cold and rare thing that footballers do not like. I don't see a game in Ipurua without our fans cheering, because they are very important to us

If the championship is resumed, several games would have to be played in one week. Is the team trained to play matches every few days?

A lot of speculation is going on, but nothing is certain. It all depends on how this epidemic evolves. I see it very hard to play several games per week and, above all, coming from these physical and mental circumstances that we have now. It would not be good to play so many games in a row coming from the physical shape we are in right now. It is bad enough for a footballer to play so many games in a row and suddenly after standing still for a while.

Does the possibility arise that for health reasons and so that the disease does not spread further, the season is now over?

I don't think about this, but that everything happens as soon as possible. There is a lot of interest in the competition ending, but the most important thing is people's health. We all really want to play, which is what makes us happy. But you have to be realistic, things don't look good.

Is it the most difficult season at Eibar?

Yes it is being complicated. We start off little regular. We were not the team of the last years, it cost us. There is a good group, a good wardrobe. In difficult situations the team has turned heads in games. It is not being a campaign like the previous ones, which have been very good. It was not normal to see Eibar so high and without suffering to achieve permanence. We know where we come from, and that each year it is more difficult to meet the objective. We are fighting. The team has not stepped into the relegation zone, which means that we are not so bad. At an individual level, my statistics have not been as good as in previous seasons, but I am happy with the work I have done helping the team. I wish I had scored more goals. But the coach values ​​other things, such as the work of a footballer who does for the good of the team. I always try to help the team with what the coach asks me to do. I have been doing it for 5 seasons, since I came to Eibar, and I will continue doing it. In a soccer player there are good and bad moments, when you are physically better or worse. Unfortunately some do not see it, they only see the 'now'. We are on the right track and we hope to continue well to achieve the objective, which is permanence. Every year it will be more complicated.

What is happening this campaign gives more merit to what was done before?

Yes. I always say that 10 or 15 years from now, when we look back at the current situation, we will realize how difficult we have achieved. Staying in the First Division for 5 seasons is very difficult for a modest club like Eibar. What we are doing has great merit. Starting from above, the president, counselors, have done an amazing job. And we, the coach and the players, too. We have enjoyed a city that has turned with us. The first season that I was in Eibar (2015-2016 which was the second of the Eibarres in Primera), the Eibarreses children wore few Eibar jerseys on the street, but they wore the ones from Real Sociedad or Athletic Club. Now you go through the Plaza de Unzaga (next to the town hall) and see Eibar shirts. That means that we have done things well, we have entered the hearts of the people of Eibar. That is incredible pride. Hopefully Eibar will continue for a long time in the First Division.

What message would you send to people?

These are complicated issues that we are experiencing, we must take them in the best possible way and be positive. Health experts with knowledge of epidemics and coronaviruses must be listened to. Right now they tell us that we must follow some guidelines, the confinement at home, so that everything goes better for later. Hopefully everything is fixed as soon as possible.