Escalante: “That Lazio notice me is incredible”

Gonzalo Escalante, Eibar midfielder, is “very happy” with everything he has accomplished for the Gipuzkoan team, according to an interview published by the Argentine newspaper Olé, which he has managed to overcome the “informative quarantine” that the Gipuzkoan club has imposed by the coronavirus. The Barça captain, who is wearing the bracelet this season (2018-2020) when Iván Ramis is injured, is confined to his home in the Basque Country with his wife due to the COVID-19 epidemic that has paralyzed professional football in Spain.

“The situation is complicated. Until last week we were training and suddenly they told us to go home until further notice. Then they told us that we couldn't train as a group. Now, everyone is at home, and the club is giving us a couple of things so that we can train indoors. “ Indian. After suspending group training this week, like the rest of the Barça squad, he tries to stay in shape with the individualized work plan that the Eibar coaching staff has imposed on the players, so that they perform physical exercises on their own.

“They have given us a meal and exercise plan that we have to do as far as everyone can do at home. I try to get up as early as I can, eat breakfast and try to be with the Play Station. I train, I watch Netflix, I drink mate (an infusion) with my wife. We both 'put together' even puzzles, to pass the time, ha. The truth, we no longer know what to do, “Escalante acknowledged.

Like almost all of them, he is bad at running the bulls and uncertainty about when the First Division league will resume. “That is what is complicating us players, we do not know what will happen. We are locked up and we do not know how long. There is nobody here on the street. Everything that is going on is very ugly, “said the Argentine to his country's newspaper.

Eibar sports troubles.

He is living his most difficult season at Eibar, with which he has participated in 20 league duels in the 27 days played before the break. The Gipuzkoans, who have 27 points, only add 2 points more than the relegation places after losing to Mallorca (1-2) and Real Sociedad (1-2), both in Ipurua. “Before all this happens, we were complicated. We were not in the relegation zone, but we came from a negative streak and our permanence was getting complicated. But the truth is that now we don't know what will happen. If there are going to be descents, yes the League is restarted or not, nothing is known, “he said.

If the competition resumes, 11 league matches are missing, which would be to the death. “Here every weekend you play against a difficult team. It is not that you say: 'Sunday I play against such'. All the games are final, and more for us. We are already used to that, and to fight every weekend to score, which is what we want, “he stressed.

Boca Juniors and Catania.

Escalante (Bella Vista, Buenos Aires, 1993) was formed in the Boca Juniors youth academy, debuting at the age of 20 with the Boca first team on April 13, 2013, in the Argentine first division. After having opportunities to play with the Buenos Aires team in 2013, the same did not happen in 2014. In total, he played in 11 games in the Buenos Aires team.

In 2014 he made the move to Europe, playing for Italian Catania in Serie B (Second Division), where he played 26 games. Catania's financial problems helped him fulfill his dream of playing in Spain. In July 2015, Catania transferred Escalante to Eibar, where he has surrendered from the beginning under the hand of José Luis Mendilibar, with whom he arrived at the same time in the 2015-2016 season. In his 5 seasons, he has played 144 league games – he is the second player from Barcelona who has played the most games in the First Division -, in which he has scored 10 goals and has given 8 assists. He has almost always played as a pivot or midfielder, although he has sometimes done it on the right wing.

“From Boca to Catania it was a bit difficult for me to adapt. In Italy they were very tactical compared to Boca. I suffered the change, but I adapted quickly. When I got to Eibar it was much easier. More than anything because of the language, which is something else that in Italy I suffered a lot. At Eibar the people are very good, I adapted quickly and I am very happy. I have been here for five years and the truth is that I had a great time, “he stressed.

Happy in Ipurua.

Taking stock of his 5 seasons at Eibar and in the top flight, he only has good words. “I think I grew a lot. It is not easy to play in the First Division. When I was not here, I would watch the Spanish games from Argentina. You watch them on TV and you say: 'I am dying to play there', 'and now I am here. almost 150 league games, for me it is a lot and I am very happy with everything I have achieved so far, “he stressed.

When asked about the games he remembers the most with Eibar, he remembered two. “One when I played for the first time against Barcelona for Leo Messi (a 0-4 on March 6, 2016 in Ipurua in which Messi scored 2 goals). And the other, when I scored a goal for Real Madrid (3-0 in 2018). The best for me “, he claimed. From the first time that, in 2016, he faced Messi, his idol, he keeps a photograph taken after the match and the shirt of the Barcelona star. “Thanks for the photo and the shirt, a dream to share a court with you. Without words,” Escalante said then.

On the last occasion in which Messi was measured, a month ago, on February 22, Escalante wore the captain's armband with the Eibar team at Barcelona-Eibar (5-0) at the Camp Nou, in which Messi achieved 4 goals. On the Escalante Twitter account, the photo of the two captains (Messi and Escalante) with the refereeing trio is published.

Interest of Italian Lazio.

Gonzalo Escalante ends his contract with Eibar on June 30 and is close to changing his air. His destination could be Lazio, which is second in the Italian Serie A with 62 points, one of the leader Juventus (63). Last January, he was 'hunted' in Rome visiting the sports facilities of Lazio, where he met the coach of the Roman team, Simone Inzaghi. “I am going to end the contract and I am analyzing the alternatives. I know it is an option, but I still have a contract with Eibar,” he said. That one of the important clubs in Italy is interested in him fills him with pride. “It is a beautiful feeling, that all these years are paying off. That a great like Lazio take notice of me is incredible”, he claimed. He is a staunch fan of Boca Juniors, whom he has gone to see play in Madrid after playing a game with Eibar. He would like to return one day to the whole of Buenos Aires, which he arrived with at the age of 10, but later. “Now I would like to continue in Europe. It is time to take the leap, and I consider that it is now,” he concluded.