Marcos Llorente: “I'm super happy to have come to Atlético”

Marcos Llorente (January 30, 1995, Madrid), soccer player of the Athletic, takes stock of what has been this year. The rojiblanco has been one of the most outstanding players of 2020 and that led him to make his debut with the Spanish team.

First of all, I wanted to ask you about the feelings you have had in this complicated 2020.

It has been a difficult year for all of us, where there have been certain circumstances that have meant that everything has been different, that everything has changed … We have had to adapt to new situations, to play without an audience, so that families cannot come to see us , to be a little careful when leaving the Sports City … At a sporting level with the club we finished the season at a high level, we kept it in this new campaign, things are going very well for us and we want to continue in this dynamic .

They have been playing without an audience for a long time but I imagine they will not finish adapting.

Not at all. The public is a large part of football, it is the magic of football so to speak, people are what moves football and that now they cannot come to the fields to cheer us on and support us is something hard and difficult to carry, but health It is the first and now it is time to be in this situation. Hopefully they can return to normal as soon as possible and we are missing them a lot.

They will even miss rival fans, that bite with the other team's fans.

Yes, totally. At home we all like to have our fans and people supporting us. When you go out, the hobby makes you a little more active and more concentrated, it is true that we are professionals and we have to try that even if the people are not there, we concentrate in the same way, but it is impossible. When you notice the breath from the stands, the screams and so on it makes you more active and more focused. We have to adapt to this, which is new for us and we find ourselves wishing that everything recovers, returns to normality and to be able to experience the games, the victories and enjoy it with the people.

Among those who left this year is Maradona …

We all know what Maradona has been for football. It has been a hard blow for those of us who love sports. But not only him, but all the victims there have been. I take this opportunity to send a lot of encouragement and a very strong hug to all the families who suffered during this time, let's hope this happens, that we return to normality and live football as we lived it before.

Is it hard to concentrate with everything that is happening at the health level?

It is true that it is somewhat more complicated but we came out just as concentrated. We try to put aside all these kinds of things, because in the end our duty is to fulfill on the field, it is a difficult situation, but we evade all this and when we enter the field we only think about football.

You made your debut with the Spanish National Team in 2020 and surely you saw a dream come true.

Yes, as I always say at the end the selection is the maximum, for a player the maximum is to represent your country, very few are chosen, having the opportunity to do so is a very big objective that I have already fulfilled. I still have many more to go and I hope to be able to fulfill them in 2021.

There is a new generation of Spanish footballers who can give a lot to talk about.

There are very important young players, who are first making the mark in their clubs, which is the most important thing and makes you go to the national team. There are very great young footballers who are stomping, delighted to have them and that virtue that they are young and still have a lot to improve is very good for Spain.

Are there reasons for optimism for the immediate future?

You always have to be optimistic and positive. We have a lot of confidence in us, I am sure that those chosen who go to the Eurocup will be the best at that time, and I am convinced that in the end with Luis Enrique and his coaching staff, who have very clear ideas, they will play a great role in the Eurocup. .

Is Spain among the group of favorites to win this tournament?

It is for what I say that the coaching staff will work and for the players that we have had the opportunity to go we work. We aspire to the maximum, to win, nothing else enters our minds other than to win the match and the chosen ones who can go to that European Championship will go with that mentality.

It will be a challenge for you to go to the Eurocup and be on Luis Enrique's list.

Yes, totally. But in the end, what you do at the club is the important thing, it is what has led me to debut with the national team and it is what makes you go to the European Championship. There are many months left, a long time, you have to maintain the level, keep doing it very well, when the time comes and the list arrives it will be seen if you have gone or not, although in the end the important thing is what you do with your club.

There was a time when Spanish football seemed asleep, but it has reawakened with the new generation that has arrived.

Well, it's that the things that those who won the World Cup and Euro Cups did … In the end we have gotten a little used to that and we have to see things with perspective because in the end what that group of footballers did is something incredible that rarely It has been seen. You have to be calm, you can see that there is another group of players who seem to be giving a good level and that is what Spain is always looking for. We have young players who measure up and it seems that with the coaching staff and their idea of ​​the game that Spain awakens again.

LaLiga is being beautiful and not only Real Madrid and Barcelona aspire to the title.

Yes, it is beautiful and very complicated. It has been shown that if you do not go one hundred percent, any team does a year. In these months there have been very complicated games, Madrid and Barcelona have scored points that in other years they would not have done. With our usual philosophy of going game by game, things have gone well for us. I think the team is working well, playing good games and we managed to get good results and we hope to finish well and that next year we will continue with the same streak.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Atlético, Real is at the top, Sevilla too. Looking ahead is good for competition. Truth?

Yes, there is a more competitive competition where the clubs are all doing a great job. They make things very difficult for you in each game and all this competitiveness makes you unable to relax at any time. In addition, this season with so many games you have to always be in detail because you relax for a month, and you can lose six or seven important games, and in the end you have to take that into account.

Is it still the best league of all?

For me if. Then there are many opinions. Each people has their opinion and to taste the colors. It is the best in the world, it seems to me to be a very competitive League, each team has proven that it can hurt the rival and in Europe we also show it every year.

Atlético is the big favorite for the title for many fans. Do you see it like this?

I don't know anyone who has won the league in December. This is very long, there are many games left, there are many teams that are up with us and as soon as you relax you go down and if you put the batteries you go up. Anything can happen, we do not think beyond the next game, we are doing well with that dynamic, from now until the end of the League there is still a lot, but it is clear that we are going to fight for the title.

The million dollar question. Will it be the Atlético Champions?

It may be, but it is something we do not think about. It is a very complicated competition where there are great teams and great players, we managed to get through the group stage and we are going to compete until the end as we do every year. If the title has to come, it would be a very big goal fulfilled, but it is something distant, very difficult and that does not go beyond game by game.

The four Spanish teams passed the group stage and that speaks of the strength of Spanish football …

Yes, I always say that when there are Spanish teams playing in Europe they play a great role. That the Spanish teams show that they are great in Europe says that LaLiga is the best in the world.

Has 2020 been the year of Marcos Llorente?

Totally. It has been my best sports year, not only because of Anfield day, which was the most beautiful and special night of my football career, but because of the continuation of this game. After the quarantine I played a great role, we managed to get into the Champions League, we were not in before the quarantine. At the beginning of this season it is the same, I am helping the team, doing good things for the team and obviously this 2020 has been my year.

Anfield marked a before and after for you?

Yes, I will never forget that game, I will always remember it and carry it with me. But not only on Anfield day, this year in particular I think I have made a big leap in the way I play. Now I help the team more and have the continuity I wanted. To this day I can say that it has been my best year as a footballer.

He is a much more complete player than before …

Yes, in the end this year I have played in positions that for me I never imagined. I have played as a forward, as a winger, as a midfielder, as a midfielder and in the end those are more options that I give the coach to help the team and it is something very important to me. I played in different positions but I also made a leap in my game by contributing offensive things that I didn't know about myself and I'm very happy to help the team in different positions.

What are the differences between Real Madrid and Atlético?

Well, some play in white and others in red and white. They are two very great clubs that each year fight for the same titles. I lived a stage in Madrid, now I live in Atlético, they are different teammates, coach, club … They have nothing to do with it. What I can tell you now is that I am very happy at Atlético de Madrid, we are a very close family, the group is very close, it shows on the pitch … Both coaching staff, players, club people, physios, utilleros, cameras … we all have a good relationship and that makes the day to day very positive. I'm super happy to come to Atlético and I don't regret anything.

Follow the family trail and hers seems like a fairy tale. His father played in Madrid and Atleti and was international, his grandfather the same and that is something that does not happen many times …

Yes, in the end for me I always say that I have been privileged to belong to this family in which there have been so many athletes playing in the elite, because they have known how to lead me on the right path, they have lived what I live now. When I talk to them I open my ears wide, I listen to all their advice, they are an example and having a family like this from a very young age helps you not to go to your head, to keep your feet on the ground and I am grateful to all they.

What do you ask of 2021?

On a personal level, I ask that the situation improve, that all families have health, that those with problems recover, I want to wish everyone a Happy 2021 and in sports that we remain the same, there is no more. We must continue along the same lines, in the same dynamics and if we continue like this, very good things will continue to come and we will meet our objectives.