Olaza: “We need humility, work, unity and sacrifice”

The Uruguayan has become one of the star signings of Real Valladolid. International in the lower categories, finalist for the Libertadores with Boca Juniors and a footballer with experience in the First Division, he has played the last two seasons for Celta, he has the recipe to get out of the difficult situation of the team.

How are these first days in Valladolid?

All good, luckily, the teammates, the people of the club, received me very well.

He has come to the team at a difficult time …

The truth is that it is a complicated, difficult moment, but I am eager to contribute and continue working to help the team, wherever it is. Many teams go through situations like ours and to get through this moment we have to work hard, be united, as we are, and we must get good quick results in order to improve.

After several weeks, do you find an explanation for your departure from Celta?

It was a very rare start, the truth is, many of my teammates from both Celta and Valladolid ask me a lot, but they are things that do not depend on you. I couldn't do anything, I tried to do my best, be professional, be respectful and now I'm at Real Valladolid, which was the team that came to find me from the first moment and I'm happy to be here.

What has been found in the club, in the locker room, in the city?

I'm very well, I found a group that to be in the situation that is very close, you have to adapt and overcome the situation. I am happy with the reception of my teammates, they treated me very well, like the club and you have to get results.

He is not caught by news of fighting to get out of the bottom because at Celta they also had difficulties …

Yes, definitely. Last season was complicated, it was very difficult, we were in a similar situation. To get out of there you have to be very close together, very united and that is why we take it out there and we have to take it out here.

What does Uruguay have to get so many good players despite being a tiny country?

When we grow up we only want to play ball, soccer, what we love the most, we leave school and we only want to play in the yard, in the neighborhood with friends. It is the passion we feel, as children we grew up with a ball under our arm, and if it is not a ball or a ball of paper, a bottle, we play with whatever there is. That is why so many good footballers appear, because of the hunger that every child has to help his family move forward, most of us are very humble and hard-working.

Has that hunger been lost in Europe?

In South America you are born and raised with that, but in Europe it is something else, here you will find a lot more quality, players with a lot of hierarchy, here there are also many players who have a lot of attitude, a lot of desire.

Did little Lucas Olaza already think about playing professional football, about flying to Europe?

The truth is that since I can remember I have always played soccer with my grandfather, with my cousins, with my father, everywhere. Playing in the first division in Uruguay was a dream, also doing it in the lower teams was another dream, traveling to Europe… Every child who grows up in Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil… wants to play in Europe. It is a dream for any child there. Thank God and a lot of work I managed to get here, but it is very difficult.

Let's review your career a little … Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Spain … what were your first feelings when you made your debut in your country in the First Division?

I had to make my debut very early, at 17, in Uruguay with River Plate from my country, but it was not an easy road. Personally, I had opportunities and I took advantage of them thanks to work, trust and I think that is the reason for being in Europe.

Then he went on loan to Atlético Paranaense, in Brazil, where he did not do well in sports …

I was very young, I was 18 years old, I was alone in another country, with a different language, it's a bit complicated, but it helped me to mature and become a man. In football I could not take advantage, but personally and in the maturing part it helped me a lot.

And he travels to Spain for the first time, to Celta B, and played here in Los Anexos against Promesas (January 3, 2016) …

(Laughs) I don't remember, it was a long time ago. It would be cold, right? That was a good season for me.

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So he goes back to Uruguay and goes to Argentina to play …

Yes, I went to Talleres, which was an incredible experience, a club with many people, we had a very good season and Boca became interested in me and signed me. And Boca is something else, another level. Wherever you play in the world there are fans. We came to play the Joan Gamper in Barcelona and the hotel was impressive for the atmosphere created by the fans. The fields always full, the amazing people. I grew a lot in the emotional, mental issue, because it forces you to always win. It is a world-renowned club and one of the largest in America.

And he lived that final of the 2018 Libertadores of madness with that suspension and the unprecedented fact of playing the final at the Bernabéu …

I want to insist that playing the Libertadores with Boca is wonderful, as I told you before, the support of the people is incredible. Then those events happened that the truth for the world of football was not good, but I lived that experience, one of the most incredible of my life. We couldn't win it, it was painful, and playing it in Madrid was not the most normal thing, but it happened that way. They were fair winners.

… Strange things happen lately in the final of the Libertadores … the two goals of Gabigol, of Flamengo, to River in the discount, that final of his and this year it was also decided in favor of Santos in the extension …

Yes, they were decided in the last minutes, the Libertadores is lived with an incredible passion on the part of the players, the fans, everyone. It is a Cup that everyone wants to win. That shows that you have to be focused for the 95 minutes that the matches last …

And after that experience he decides to return to Vigo, to the first team …

Yes, I felt very good, I already knew the club, a lot of people, I had teammates from the reserve team who were in the first team and it was a very good step. I think I had the continuity that I wanted, I had a good level and I was happy because I gave everything for the club.

He arrives in Valladolid with a purchase obligation and I imagine that his desire is to grow as white as possible …

Yes, of course, I am very happy to be here, of the opportunity they gave me, of the insistence that I be here, those things motivate me even more, I want to continue growing and do it with the club and we hope to get out of this situation as quickly as possible. possible.

The fact that Ronaldo, a historical figure in world football, is your president now, what does that mean?

It motivates me more, the footballer sees it up there and it's something else. The truth is that you have to take advantage of it, enjoy it, make the most of your experience.

How was the first moment when you met him in the Zorrilla Annexes?

(Laughter) I saw him very humble, very devoted to the players of his club, that surprised me because being the star that he is, he is very close and gives the player confidence. It surprised me for good.

Yesterday morning your teammate Weissman apologized for the last two games of the team, is it a general feeling in the locker room?

What happens is when the situation is bad it seems that we are worthless. We have to try to reverse the situation as soon as possible, but it is true that we have to give more. We need humility, hard work, unity and sacrifice to move the team forward.

In three days he returns to Balaídos … what feelings will he have?

One is a professional. I owe it all to the club I'm in right now. It will be one more game, but I have to thank Celta for what they gave me at the time and Real Valladolid for what they give me now. It's going to be another game and I'll try to do my best.

What does the team have to change to improve its game and its image in Ipurua on Saturday against Eibar?

I think we have to try to be solid in defense and attack them because we can hurt them with the players we have, I found very good footballers in the team. We have to push back and then look for the spaces that are going to be left to hurt them.

Have you ever played central?

(Laughter) I have played as a center-back, but with a line of three, but as a pure center-back, no.

What do you miss about Uruguay?

I have been living outside of Uruguay for a long time and more than anything the day to day with family and friends is missed. You have a family here, but it's not the same, I don't have the whole family, but we do what we like, what we are passionate about. It has its good side and also this bad thing of being away from the people we love, but we are fulfilling a dream of a lifetime.