Joaquín: “This final will not influence my decision to retire”

Joaquín Sánchez is not aiming for eleven but he is aiming for a few minutes, because he has more than shown that he contributes as a catalyst and has given Betis a lot in recent games. The Verdiblanco captain was one of the starters in the 2005 Cup, when he was just 23 years old, and then he appeared in countless photos at the post-match celebration and during the following summer: a summer in which he married his wife, Susana, and at whose wedding the Betis boss Manuel Ruiz de Lopera showed up to exhibit the trophy . If he lifts the Cup, he would be the first Betis player to win two titles today: “Of course I can be the first Betis player to win two titles. That would be the prize for the love I’ve always had for football and for all those teammates who have known how to help me”, he said at a press conference.

“One always dreams of things like being in a final. But the years and maturity make me be cautious and that first you have to play it. Since I returned to Betis I dreamed of this and now we have a very nice opportunity”, adds Joaquín. “The feeling is that we will have our options just like all year. Valencia also deserve to be in the final and will play their game. In a final you have to be intelligent and these types of matches are often declined because of small details. Betis has not played a final for 17 years. We go with the same illusion of giving a joy to the Betis”.

Euphoria. “Sometimes managing euphoria is not easy, everything is lived in a very special way. One tries to be as professional as possible but it is complicated sometimes, because one lives, feels and sees the neighboro... I have said goodbye to my wife and my daughters and I have put on like a motorcycle. We must try to play with our idea, it has gone very well for us and that is why we are in another final. In the dressing room they somehow know what it can mean to win a title here in Seville, but living it is something else. I was lucky enough in 2005 to get it and you should know that those who are in La Cartuja will support us until the end”.

Raise the Cup with the other captains? “I wouldn’t mind doing it with the whole team, we all deserve it. It’s surely the most beautiful moment of my career. Playing finals isn’t easy and it’s going to be an important day and it’s going to mark a lot of things. I’ll make the most of every moment”.

He also won a title with Valencia. “I am also proud to have played a final and won it with Valencia and doubly proud to play another one with the team that saw me born. It is a reward that is not easy. I returned to Betis for this. If I will be a starter? ask the coach. Whoever comes out will give two hundred percent and that has led us to this point, always giving an extraordinary level”.

withdrawal. “This final will have no influence on my decision to retire or not. The important thing is this final. I try to live in the moment, enjoy what comes to us. The Copa del Rey for us is a very special love and I want to enjoy it to the fullest” .