Patricia Rodríguez: “Bragarnik is a man who does the things he says”

Patricia rodriguez He will return to the Martínez Valero stadium this Sunday for the first time since his departure. She will do so as general director of Granada and as the first rival of 2022. The new restrictions due to covid-19 will prevent her from sharing a table and tablecloth with those who were her colleagues in Elche, whom she remembers with good words, although with the intention of giving them the first upset of the new year.

He returns for the first time to Elche. What does this return to the Martínez Valero stadium mean for you?

An illusion because, in the end, Elche has remained in the First Division and for me it is a pride that the two teams can face each other in the highest category.

A match marked by covid-19. How is Granada?

We have four confirmed positives in the first squad. All have been with the tests carried out on the occasion of the return to training. Seeing how the others are, inside the bad, we cannot complain. The situation is not so bad, but we must be very cautious and take care of ourselves in this situation.

Don’t you think it would be convenient to postpone this day as has been proposed in other places?

It is important that we exercise the utmost caution and respect the sanitary measures that are within our reach. That is why we must respect the established protocols. Within a complicated health situation like the one in today’s society, you have to keep up the competition to keep playing. The rules that govern this League are approved by all the clubs and with them, therefore, the competition must continue.

Granada has gone from less to more. What team will Elche meet?

Granada arrives with high spirits because we finished well before the Christmas break. It is true that the team has never stopped competing despite some result that occurred that was not the best. The answer to that has always been to keep fighting. The team’s goal is to keep strength, morale, and a will to keep going.

Have you said goodbye to your European dream?

Never say goodbye to any dream. Goals are to be pursued and worked on. And so that one day they will come true. We want to add the three points every week to continue dreaming and working.

How do you see Elche from a distance?

I see him in a calmer situation. For the game they have played and the games I have seen, the points they have do not reflect the merits they have accumulated and the quality of their squad. The image they have given has been better in recent days and they will be a tough opponent to beat.

Do you see him maintaining the category?

Yes, without a doubt.

And institutionally, what feeling does it convey to you, having known the project from the inside and now following it from the outside?

Elche is experiencing a situation of stability that allows, little by little, other projects to be confirmed little by little. If we look back and compare the moment of the club with that of a few years ago, the leap it has taken has been very important and the state of its accounts says it all. The new property shows the reflection of the process of change, in the medium and long term, that it wants to achieve.

After working with Christian Bragarnik, what opinion does the owner of Elche deserve?

The memory that has left me is that he is a man who does the things he says. The feeling I have about Bragarnik is that he is a person of his word. That is something fundamental and that I value very much.

You must also have a good perception of Francisco, who was in the pools to take the reins of Granada …

I have always had a very good opinion of Francisco because he has been a coach who has always been present in all the projects I have been in. He is a technician who represents the generational change in the benches, who perfectly mixes the classic style with the modern one.

What do you mean?

That he is capable of mastering what is less tangible, such as feelings and good treatment in the dressing room, with the objectivity provided by the most modern tools that have been implemented in football such as data, statistics and new professional methods. . That’s what I mean by generational change. In football, not everything is sensation and not everything is numbers.

Do you miss Elche and Elche something?

All the places I’ve been have their good points and those that are less good. I always keep the best of each place, each city and each club. What I highlight about my time in Elche is the professional experience that I acquired to take advantage of professional tools and with them to move forward in situations that were not easy at all. That is an important learning value that I took from there.

The club has presented profits of 13 million euros last year. Are you surprised?

Not at all. This figure is the result of the objective that was wanted to be achieved, of turning around the financial situation that was dragging on. The ascent made it easier to get out of that complex labyrinth in which he found himself to grow again and not only have the resources to cover holes. It has not surprised me, it has made me happy.

The average number of spectators has decreased a lot at the Martínez Valero stadium compared to the previous stage in Primera. Is it the same in Los Cármenes?

The same does not happen, but in Elche it would be necessary to see how those levels of spectators were achieved at that time. It is important to give the importance it has to the value of tickets and season tickets. You have to respect the subscriber and the fan who leaves the money. The clubs must respect it. If before, great assists were achieved by giving away many tickets, the ideal thing is what happens now.

A wish for the new year 2022, which starts with Sunday’s game?

First of all, health to all. In sports, that Granada manages to be where it deserves, which is as high as possible, and that Elche manages to maintain the category without haste.