Stoichkov: “I hope I can play in the First Division with this team”

Kind, humble and close. That’s how it is John Diego Molina Stoichkov (San Roque, 28 years old) for everyone except for his mother, who is the only one who still calls him Diego. One of the sensations of the Second Division attended to AS with a naturalness that seems difficult to find in the world of football. The Andalusian winger has 11 league goals this season.

-How do you deal with being leaders?

-It feels good, but you have to keep your feet on the ground. There we have the example of Almería, who recently were very far away in the table and we have passed them. We can’t relax.

-Don’t you think that a team like Eibar that is on the ascending line can have an advantage?

-It could be, as happened to Girona last season. The Second is very long and there is still a long way to go.

-Leaders, winning at home, a clean sheet… Little more can you ask for. If perhaps to mark that clear occasion that failed in Almería, is not it?

-(laughter) The truth is that I have seen the play repeated many times. But hey, it’s already forgotten and I’ll try to plug in the next one I have.

-Did you expect such a good season personally when you signed for Eibar?

-At the beginning there are always doubts about the weather and others… But it’s the best decision I’ve been able to make, I have no doubt about that. It is a very familiar club. It is always said, but it is true. The president talks with us, the treatment with the coaching staff, with the club’s workers. It really is like being at home.

-What about the fans?

I’m honest, I was surprised. We started a little badly and even when we were losing they kept cheering us on. That always gives you more strength to try to return that support. Days with cold, rain… One thinks that one has to leave the skin to compensate them. The players appreciate it very much.

-Would you like to play in the First Division with Eibar?

– Yes, I said it on the day of my presentation, that I hope I can play in the First Division with this team. But it still remains. You lose two games and you’re fifth, and if you win them you get a big advantage. In this category we have to go game by game and now Huesca arrives and they are going to make things very difficult for us.

-Can the breadth of the Eibar squad be positive?

-Well, yes. When we play eleven against eleven in training you don’t notice who plays more or less. Those who play the least do the same or better, and that’s good.

-The question is forced… Do you know Hristo Stoichkov?

-Personally not yet, but last year when I won the Zarra trophy they gave me a surprise and I was able to talk to him by video call. He told me that he already wanted us to meet in person, and I also want to, of course.

-We know that your nickname comes from your father’s devotion to the former Barcelona striker, but does everyone call him that?

-Yes, yes, since childhood. The only person who doesn’t call me Stoichkov is my mother, who still calls me Diego. But if when I was little at school I put Stoichkov as my name, I thought he called me that, and the teacher told me: “No, you have to put Juan Diego” (laughter).