Ramón: “Enter the playoff? You have to fight for it with everything”

Ramón is once again in the news for good at Málaga. What does your great match and your goal against Sporting mean?

It means taking a step in terms of confidence, finding myself again with sensations that this last year I have been able to lose. I couldn’t find myself and this is going to be a step forward, a plus of confidence and I’m very happy.

Did you need a match like this?

Exactly, I needed a game in which things went well both individually and collectively. Feeling like I am in 2021 again. It has been a year of injuries and starting this way is very positive for me.

What has it meant to score your first goal at La Rosaleda?

During the week we had talked that I had to hit more on goal, that I had to trust my shot. Just two days before the game I was rehearsing the shots in that goal and as I saw the ball coming I was determined and luckily it went in. The dedication was for the assistant coach. He was the one who was the most in that aspect, he was the one who rehearsed those shots with me and apart from him it was also for my family, who have been the ones who have had the bad times with me.

Was it your best match with Málaga?

Honestly, it is true that it was one of my best matches. I would stay with this game because I also scored my first goal at La Rosaleda. It was a moment that I will always carry with me, I have dreamed many times of scoring a goal at La Rosaleda and that the fans exploded. It was perfect. You are speechless when you feel something like that.

A turning point after many months to forget?

I have been working for a long time to give my best version and take a leap forward. I don’t know if it’s a turning point, but it is a game that makes me take a step forward. It is a very important game that will mark me. Just the opposite. Although it has been a difficult year, it has been a year to keep in mind and learn to give much more value to the good moments. 2021 has made me grow both mentally and football-wise. You have to look on the positive side, luckily no injury was in the lower body. In February my shoulder came off, I forced myself to play and I would do it again without a doubt. In May the League ended and I had surgery. A month and a half or two months after I came back my elbow came out. I had bad luck, but I always look on the bright side and forward.

What has been the hardest thing of all the months you have been outside the group?

The worst has been the last injury. I was already coming from a stage in which the shoulder injury was already forgotten and little by little I was improving and finding myself. Just when everything was starting to go well, the elbow happened and it was a very hard moment.

With Febas the competition in the spinal cord increases.

Whenever there is the possibility of improving the squad, it is positive. There is a lot of competition and it is going to be difficult, but the fact that signings come in that contribute is good to be able to fight to be at the top.

They mixed very well in the double pivot against Sporting.

He is a player that I like, we have the same style, we understand football in a very similar way and he has been a very good signing. It will give us a lot. Play many minutes together? I will be happy with playing and helping the team.

How have you seen Vadillo?

I also saw him very well. Everyone knows the level these two players have and how much they are going to help us. Everything that is to add and to make a leap in quality, we are delighted that it comes.

How is your inseparable Ismael, who is playing little?

These situations are not easy for anyone. I am watching him grow as a person and as a player. He is learning and tomorrow this will help him to be much better in all aspects. He is working and fighting every day. When he has had to play as a central defender, he has complied and that is a demonstration that he is giving everything. Even if he plays less, he works every day. He is fighting and going step by step.

The team has reversed the dynamic in this 2022 start.

December is a tough month, many injuries were added, but I see the team with great enthusiasm and that bad month is already behind us.

Is the objective to reach sixth place and dispute the playoff?

We must proceed cautiously, little by little, but we must be ambitious. The objective should be that as the last days get closer we have options to get into the playoffs and fight it with everything. I believe a lot in this squad, we are a pineapple on and off the field, that is what is making a good team and that we look up.

What does José Alberto ask Ramón?

To try to keep up with the pace of the match, to play with personality, to know how to give the game calmness or speed according to touch and responsibility.

Malaga has him well tied with a contract until 2024.

I’m doing very well at Málaga, my dream is to achieve promotion with the club and hopefully I’ll be able to live many seasons in the First Division.