“It motivates them to say that the category is too small for me”

Edu Exposito (Cubelles, 25 years old) is one of the fundamental pillars of Eibar and also one of the great Second stars. After relegation, he tried to go out in search of a team that would allow him to continue among the greats, but finally decided continue in Ipurua, where he is a much loved player. The gunsmith midfielder attends to AS analyzing the moment of the category leader.

In the end, everything cannot be won.

Logically. In the end, we are up there and all games cannot be won. It is normal to have complicated moments during the year. We’ve already had them like the first half in Lugo or Oviedo, the Ponferrada match,… All these are difficult moments that the team has been able to pull off, not being well at many moments of the season. The fans are always there, but it is true that there are times when you are bad and that murmur is heard. It is normal. Even so, I always try to ask for more support and thank you for cheering us on every week.

We are talking about difficult moments, but we must value that the team goes first.

I think that in the end you have to recover from those hard moments, because in the season there are many and we have been through them, and that has led us to be where we are, in a privileged situation that many would like to be. In that sense, we are happy.

Photo by Edu Exposito

In these moments, what is more, nerves due to responsibility or illusion?

The difference is that everyone is playing things at this point and we all look at the points. We are at a time where there will not be much difference in the standings, and whoever is there will end up being in the fight as well.

The first two places seem to be a matter of three…

Yes. The direct promotion will be between Eibar, Valladolid and Almería. Tenerife I think has dropped a bit, but all this changes quickly and Girona comes like a motorcycle. It is the best team in the competition, which has the best dynamics with several wins in a row and maybe it gets hooked, although he has lost the last game. We’ll see how things end, but for now it looks like it will be between the three teams mentioned.

The importance of this year going up directly and not entering the playoffs, more than anything because Eibar comes from being the leader and if they enter the playoffs it is due to a downward dynamic that is very different from that of teams like Girona that go upwards . That would be very dangerous, wouldn’t it?

That’s how it is. Generally, the one that comes from behind arrives with a good dynamic and the others arrive with the frustration of not having been able to ascend directly and is obviously more dangerous. I experienced a situation with Depor in which we were sixth, that led us to play three games between four teams and in the end we fell. Sometimes that is not true and anything can happen, but it is true that that year we started as favourites, Mallorca was not and in the end they were the ones who were promoted.

Shield/Flag Eibar

It’s the beauty of football. That they are not all mathematics, if not, it would lack emotion.

We could ask Bayern after taking a smack against Villarreal in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.

Many people comment that the category is too small for him or that he is the star. I don’t know if you usually read these comments and if this motivates or pressures you.

They motivate more than anything else. In the end, calmly, always comes in handy. It is true that this season I am feeling comfortable but also that this is often due to numbers, in that sense I think this season is being better than the previous one. They are feelings too.