Luis Enrique: “I don’t renew in case I screw up in the World Cup”

-Why didn’t De Gea come?

– Good afternoon. I spoke with David de Gea, yes. But I do not make statements about players who are not on the list.

-Is qualification for the World Cup more valued given what Italy has done?

-If you don’t do your homework you go to the playoffs and that can lead you to extreme situations. There will be times when we are not there, but that is not why you have to beat yourself up. It has happened to Italy, who are the current European champions. But we made the cut.

-What importance do you give to these two friendlies against Albania and Iceland?

-Neither for me nor for the players are the matches against Albania and Iceland friendly because we have eight games left for the World Cup and we don’t have dates left over. I try to make the most of the time I have and for me the game against Albania is very important.

-What does Spain aspire to in the World Cup?

-Behind the doubts we have a block of young and veteran people, who can face any rival. I hope that in the World Cup we will be contenders to reach the final stretch of the tournament. We aspire to compete and be a tough rival.

-Why haven’t you renewed with Spain yet?

-I have not decided if I will continue or not after the World Cup. I feel supported by the Federation, which has signed me twice… I have the utmost affection and I feel confident. But what is a contract worth if the objectives are not achieved in the World Cup? Well you’re welcome. It will be seen after Qatar. I will fulfill my contract and then we will see.

-In what moment of illusion is the Selection?

-I believe that the press is the one that sends the messages to achieve more or less enthusiasm, but what you do on the pitch is what remains afterwards. I hope that in Barcelona we can live a party. It’s my house and we haven’t been here for 18 years. But the balloon is punctured if there are no results.

-What do you think of a World Cup in winter?

-It costs to put to all in agreement with the calendar. The interests of the clubs and the national teams are different, and I say this because I have been on both sides. But the important thing is to protect the player.

-Insisting on its renewal makes you feel uncomfortable?

-I am in glory in the Federation. The thing about not renewing has been for you, because if I then screw up in the World Cup like that, you don’t ask to be fired. If it goes wrong, I’ll go by myself. My future does not interest anyone, I live the present.

-For the first time since South Africa there are no World Champions in a call…?

-We have managed to unite from what I see on the field and in the locker room that it is a group of veteran people with young people who want to take on the world.

-De Tomás has left, injured, and has not called a battering ram to replace him. Is there not or is it what is waiting for Ansu Fati and Oyarzabal and does not want to bring more people just eight months before the World Cup?

-It is less complex than it seems, you just have to look at the lists. It hurts me, because not everyone who deserves it will be able to go to the World Cup. We will go to the World Cup to compete, that is the objective. We are going to give problems to any rival and we will see what it means to succeed or fail.

-How do you take the jokes with the screen?

-The screen thing is as old as the scaffolding. Players liked the invention. It helps us and I don’t mind if you tell me that they are Luis Enrique 3.0.

-The National Team has not come to Barcelona for 18 years?

-I think the match in Barcelona is going to be a party and I hope that people enjoy it. We face it with great enthusiasm and we hope that people enjoy it in a land as beautiful as Barcelona. He assumed that the field was going to fill up. The last time I played here was one of the most beautiful and important matches of my life, the final of the Barcelona ’92 Olympic Games. I know that people will respond and fill the Cornellá stadium.