Iraola: “This Ray is going to wage war and it will not be easy to win it”

Andoni Iraola (Usurbil, Guipúzcoa, 1982) attends As in the eve of the start of this new Lightning's adventure in Primera. His first chapter will be written against Sevilla. The franjirrojo team, which has reinforced with five players and still waiting to “shore up the areas”, he is prepared to face one of the strongest rivals. And while new signings arrive and the stadium works progress, Iraola clings to illusion and to work like gasoline for a journey known as a footballer and unprecedented as a coach. Path that he will travel along with a hobby with whom he hopes to meet again soon in Vallecas and whose destiny is permanence.

– What balance do you make of the preseason?

—There is a part that perhaps does not correspond so much to the coach, such as the creation of the squad, and another to improve the team, that everyone goes on the same line in terms of the game model, to perfect things … It has been good.

“What the hell are we going to meet now in First?”

—We come from having been protagonists with the ball, dominating most of the games, being vertical… We are comfortable there, although this season we probably won't be able to do it as much as we want. Sometimes the rival will submit us and we must adapt to something that the team has also known how to handle.

—In his Rayo, the bands acquire special prominence.

—We teams arrive a lot on the outside because the inside is getting more and more difficult. We all cover the inside passing lanes. The fact of arriving from the outside, loading the area and putting in centers I have always liked and we have players to do it There was more talk about Fran and Álvaro García, but Isi gave us a lot of goals and Baby scored several decisive ones. It is one of our strengths.

“What Seville is waiting for?”

“He's very dominating.” Submit almost all rivals. At the game and tactical level, it has a large number of alternatives, footballers who go very well to space and also associate well on the inside. They fought for the last League until the last days and that means that we have had one of the most difficult scenarios to start with. The level of demand will be very high and I want to see Rayo with clear ideas and solidarity.

“How are Saveljich and Nteka with their sprains?”

—This last week they haven't been able to train with us. There are still a couple of days until the game and we will see its evolution. It is not about muscle injuries, so it is a matter of them enduring the pain and can be comfortable leaning on a good bandage. If they are not finally available we will use others.

—The positive note is that Pozo has returned to the group after his operation.

“Yes, this is the first week.” There is still part that he does with the group and another, individually. He has to catch the rhythm of his teammates, but the important thing is that he does not suffer relapses since he comes from two years in which he has ended up undergoing surgery.

—Give us a brushstroke of each of the five signings …

—Balliu has a route, a good level of center and is comfortable attacking. He's a great defense. Nteka and Pathé Ciss have excelled in Second. Nteka's ideal position is '10', behind the striker and gives us something different than Pozo, Trejo or Andrés. Ciss is called a defensive midfielder, but with the ball he has criteria and technical quality. It is complete. Merquelanz made a spectacular campaign with us at Mirandés. He is of our confidence, but he knows that he must press because he is going to have enormous competition on the right and the left. Kevin has experience in Primera and will be good for us. It is not a profile so different from Fran's.

– How many players are yet to arrive and in what boundaries?

—Now we basically need two forwards and two centrals. Prop up the areas, which is where the matches are decided. And if a market opportunity arises in another position, then perfect.

“How many times have you been asked if a striker is coming?”

—The important thing is that Rayo score goals. If you have a forward who scores twenty better, but I also demand from the '9' wear pressure, following the space, lowering balls … It is about getting the team to play well, dominate … This is how the goals will come. Obviously, like any Rayo fan, I want the best forwards who can come, although I understand that we have to wait and the important thing is to get the decision right.

– Will it have any of the homegrown players who have made the preseason?

—In the end, the bet is not to make Manu (Navarro) or Iker (Recio) debut in the Cup, but rather Mario Hernández, to leave him on the squad when he came from Second B to play the position with another teammate. And this course the idea with him is the same. Iker is growing a lot and I know that if there is an opportunity he will take advantage of it. It is very competitive. The idea is that both he and Jorge (Moreno) and Gimeno play in the subsidiary, but as soon as we can put them in they must be prepared.

“What is the objective set?”

“Permanence, but we can't spend the whole year thinking about that.” You have to be a good team, compete in every game regardless of the degree of difficulty… We don't know where the points can be.

– Seeing yourself already in the pools for the descent, is it a stimulus?

-Yes. Having gone up with Espanyol and Mallorca, who earned us quite a few points, it seems that we are the last to arrive. That must be gasoline for us. Last year we showed that we compete very well against those at the top. We are going to fight. Surely it will not be easy to win. I am confident in the squad we have today and the one we will have on August 31st.

—He spoke in the playoff about the importance of the public in Vallecas. Beyond COVID are the works in the stadium. How is the situation and how does it influence you?

—We will not tire of saying it: the public is fundamental for us and one of our assets to achieve the objective. The works and the pandemic affect us. To start with, we played two days away and against very powerful rivals. Let's see if for the third the field is in conditions and our people can enter. We are going to need it. If last year in Second there were difficult moments, imagine this one! We will be favorites in very few games. We must get used to fighting even when the duels get ugly.

—He makes his debut in First as the youngest coach.

“It will be something new for me too.” He knew the category as a player, but as a coach he made his debut. I face an important challenge. Having Lopetegui and Imanol in front of you, in the first few days, makes you think that you should learn quickly and not make too many mistakes. The vast majority will have more experience, but I trust my team, both the players and the staff.

“He's already killed a few Firsts in the Cup …

–(laughs) Yes, but it is not so simple when 38 games are played … They will be very prepared and we are not going to catch them by surprise.

—How has this year been on the franjirrojo bench?

—I had a lot of faith in what we were doing and the footballers believed in that. The worst, without a doubt, has been not being able to enjoy Vallecas as he saw it when he came as a visitor. (Gets excited) It's my first time climbing and it was wonderful. You feel privileged to be part of something that makes so many people happy. It has been very special. I even received messages from people I did not know telling me their story, but I am a disaster with my mobile and I think I have not been able to respond to all of them (laughs). I have always felt supported by the fans.