Dani Olmo (Terrassa, May 7, 1998) is one of the players Luis Enrique has called in the return of the national team. The Leipzig player attended various media telematically from the Las Rozas concentration.
What does Luis Enrique's call mean?
A very big award for the season that has been very good, but we want more both in the League and in the Champions League. It is a pride to train and share a dressing room with these players, learning every day from them and preparing for these two games that are very important.
With the European Championship on the horizon, having you on this first list after confinement is a morale boost for you, right?
Yes, I thank the coach for his confidence, but it must be returned to him in training and on the field, which is where I have to show that I have a gap in this selection, which is not easy. That is the goal I have, to keep working to show that I can be here.
How was your first contact with Luis Enrique?
Good very good. He knows what he wants and that is how he transmits it to us in each talk, in each training session and always demands the maximum from us. That's good for the players and the team.
If you had to choose between Eurocup and Games, what would you keep?
If the dates do not coincide, then with both, why choose?
Starting against Germany seems a bit tough, doesn't it?
It is going to be a very tough test, but we are prepared. The level of the national team is very high to compete at the highest level. We know that it will be difficult, but we know what we have to do, which is to play what we have always played.
How was the experience of playing the Champions League as if it were a final phase of a World Cup or a European Championship?
Is different. You are used to the Champions League going back and forth and to a game, you know that you are 90 minutes away from everything and nothing. You have to prepare very well, we spent almost a month preparing for the Champions League. We knew that being well, ready we could go far. We won against Atlético, but not against PSG but we are proud of what we have done.
Did it bother you that before the match against Atlético, almost everyone gave the mattress team the winner?
Not at all. Nothing bothered us. We knew what we had to do, what we had to play at and if we did, we knew we could beat them. In the end, we played well, we didn't give them options, we scored one more goal than they did and that's enough to win.
When you saw that Bayern beat Barça 8-2, how did you and your team react?
We knew that Bayern is a very good team, offensively brutal, but also that Barça was Barça and it was going to make things difficult for them. That result was bulky and unexpected for everyone. In the end, when a team is not well or is not at the same level as the rival, they do not forgive you there. The same thing happened to us against PSG.
Can you imagine a Barça without Messi?
Not right now. Leo has been at Barça his whole life and it would be a shame for Barça if he left because he is one of the best footballers in the world, but I don't know what will happen.
In the selection he is coinciding with many players who have left La Masia, that shows the good health of the Barça quarry, right?
La Masia is one of the best quarries in the world, every year you see players and this year you are seeing them in the first team like Ansu Fati or Riqui Puig and I am very happy for them.
You always say that you never close doors and Barça always seems to be there …
I'm happy where I am, I'm focused on my club, on the national team. What will happen in the future you never know, but I am focused now on what I have to be.
Has your time in Croatia and now at Leipzig made you a more complete player?
I feel good in any attack position. Luis Enrique knows it and that is how he has transmitted it to me, that he counts on me in all those positions and I am willing to give everything where I put myself. In Germany, I have to think faster because football is faster than in Croatia.
Your current coach is Nagelsmann, whom everyone is likely to see for Real Madrid. Do you think he would be a good coach for Real Madrid?
He would be a good coach for Leipzig. We are very happy that you are with us. We have had a very good year and this year we want to do great things and with it I am sure we can achieve it.
What is Nagelsmann like as a coach?
He is a coach who knows what he wants. He is a coach who does not let you relax for a second, he always makes you 100% focused.
Has touch football over and is a more physical football coming back?
It is a combination between the two. Bayern are a very complete team, with a lot of physicality on the wings and a lot of quality inside. Bayern's game is more about possession, touch than physical. Each team plays what the coach wants them to play and what the characteristics of each player have. I wouldn't say that football has made a radical change and now the style of having the ball has lagged a bit behind.
How can you explain to the fan what it is like to play without an audience in the stands?
It's a bit strange, now we are a little more used to it, but having an audience we wouldn't change it for anything. The fans are the essence of football, it is what makes it more beautiful than it already is. We know that it is not possible because now we have to look out for everyone's health and if you can't play, you can't play.
Do you understand that after everything that is happening there are people who do not take the coronavirus seriously?
No, I do not understand. COVID is a very serious thing that we must be very careful, listen to the authorities and pay attention to what they say because in the end they are the ones who know. If we have to wear a mask, we take it and if we have to wash our hands more, we wash them.
In Germany, how are you seeing what is happening in Spain?
They not only look at Spain, they look at all of Europe, but it is true that for Germany, Spain is a country of risk. Now, we had a week off and we were not allowed to travel there for security reasons. Hopefully everything will return to normal soon.