Victor Mongil is a Valladolid (Laguna de Duero 21-6-1992) who longs for his land but, like many others, has had to look for beans far from Valladolid. Raised in the Blanquivioleta quarry, he came to fulfill the dream of playing for his hometown team, although the soccer law led him to emigrate and go through different teams in Spain until he had to go far away, to Georgia or India to pursue his career and win his first titles. Right now it is in Tiblisi, enrolled in a second stage in the Dynamo with whom he was league champion last season. The global pandemic situation also affects the country, although as it happens in other parts, in a different way in each place: “Until now there was normality, but restrictions also come to us and only supermarkets and hairdressers and things like that will remain open. Here they go one step ahead and try to anticipate what is to come, to avoid scares when the most complicated comes “, Víctor told us from Tbilisi, capital of Georgia where is it located.
The lagoon arrived at the end of August and joined a discipline that he already knew “from last year; I left in December, although the coaching staff and other teammates wanted to stay, but the board wanted to make changes that did not work out well for them. the coaching staff and me have gone back to play in August. While I was not here, I went to the India, I played in the Kolkata and we achieved the league title. When the coaching staff returned to Georgia, who had trusted me the first time, even though they had more things, I didn't think about it because I know the city and the teammates and I'm very good. “
Victor Mongil
The truth is that destiny draws attention, Georgia and Víctor Mongil were also surprised when they visited the country: “When the opportunity arose, the truth is that I didn't even know where I wasI even thought of Georgia in the USA … and the truth is that it is a country that surprised me a lot. There is a great contrast between a life of extreme poverty to a more normal life on the high side; 10 or 12 years ago they had a very tough civil war and they are coming out; the capital is growing very fast in infrastructure and in the mentality of the people. My coach is Xisco Muñoz who was here five years ago as a player and he tells me that the difference is very noticeable with those years that were much more difficult for people and he has lived through that change more. It is a country that is moving very fast. I feel very good here. “
Integration in the team and in the environment seems that Mongil is on the right track and feels safe in this adventure: “You can live very similar to Spain, the only big difference that I notice is the issue of food … but Clear, as in Spain you don't eat anywhere. It gives me a lot of security to find so many police in the streets; I've been here for a year and a half and I've never had a feeling of being threatened or in danger. How is life here? There are a thousand restaurants … there is a Spanish one and from time to time when we miss the ham or the paella, we are going to take away our desire by visiting the owner who is from Barcelona. There are huge supermarkets including Carrefour, the same clothing chains as in Spain (Zara, Máximo Dutti …), there are very similar things and you feel at home, also the people are very sociable, they see you from outside and immediately you They lend a hand if they see that you need it. “
What does not seem so easy is driving and Víctor Mongil attests to this with a smile: “Yes I drive … but here they go a bit like crazy, not to mention that they break the rules when they want … I don't even know how they can get their license honestly … they can find you a car driving in a one-way lane … or the seat belt is not mandatory in the squares from behind, they talk with their cell phones in hand and nothing happens and they are not fined. To drive through Georgia you have to be very braveIf you want to enter a roundabout you have to make a decision and put your nose in or they will never let you in … of course, once you are inside they will let you pass. You have to be 'thrown in', otherwise they don't respect you. “
This time he faces the adventure alone, since in his first stage his wife did accompany him, but this time the pandemic has complicated everything: “Yes, it is all much more complicated. I could come and start training after two days because the federation gave us a special permit and we avoided spending the 15-day quarantine in a hotel. Every three days we do a PCR and they control us and with that permission from the federation I can move; the problem is that if my wife came to come she would have had to be isolated those 15 days stuck in a hotel by herself and that is complicated. In addition, she is a teacher and last year she could come because she was studying the opposition, but this time she is already working and it is more complicated, so since august we haven't seen each other more than by video call and the truth is that it is hard “.
Another of the things that Víctor Mongil highlights is the club where he is and the working conditions he has found: “They have such good facilities that they don't even know what they have compared to what's out there. It's amazing, I came for three months because the league ends in December and they have such good facilities that I told them that if they gave me a room in the residence hall, I would stay in the sports complex and here I am, we live in the residence and I have all the comforts, I have not needed to look for a house. I have played in Valdebebas and I know people from the Madrid quarry and this sports city is similar to Valdebebas Except for the number of fields that Real Madrid has. We have two natural grass pitches and one artificial grass to train for the first team in case we have to practice when we play against an opponent that uses that surface … There is a huge gym, swimming pool, sauna, hot tubs … there is everything , nothing to envy to the best sports cities anywhere “.
Victor is on a champion team who is required to win each match: “Here you win a match and immediately you have to think about winning the next one, the demand is maximum, it is to win, win and win … And you can't think of anything other than winning the League and aiming for everything. The current president has been with the club for 10 years and already wants to take another step and play in europe. Last season we reached the qualifiers and Feyenord eliminated us in the qualifiers, but it was already seen that Georgian football has taken a step forward including the team that was one step away from qualifying for the European Championship. The idea is to take a step forward and if a qualification for the Champions group stage is not possible, that is to enter the Europa League. “
Raised in the Blanquivioleta quarry, Víctor Mongil always has time to watch Pucela's matches, as long as his profession allows him: “When I managed to reach the first team in the Djukic time, I lived a wonderful stage… we were in the Second Division and we achieved promotion in that playoff against Alcorcón and it was also a time when we played football in a spectacular way. “One of those memories that the player recounts speaks of the happiness of the promotion being for many reasons: “The Club was in bankruptcy law and to give you an idea, in certain occasion Carlos Suárez came down to the locker room and he told us that the way for the club to be saved and viable and everyone could get paid including the employees, was to get promoted and the truth is that we got it. For someone like me, from home, they were wonderful days when we got promoted; I remember the main square full of people and there were my friends and my family and they were spectacular moments. For a kid from Valladolid, the dream was to play for Real Valladolid and since childhood it was very clear to me; When I started to emerge and go to the lower categories of the national team, there were some teams that came looking for me but I didn't care, but I was clear that I wanted to get to play in the first team of Pucela and I succeeded. The white-and-violet blood always throws at me. “
Contrary to what it may seem, it is not difficult to watch Spanish football in Georgia: “There is a page that televises all the matches in Spain, the Premier, Germany … even when being abroad they can be seen by Youtube the Second Division matches so I am very aware of what is happening in the Spanish League. I watch soccer, but if I can see the Pucela, I don't doubt it“.
At the age of 28, Víctor has been left sane for a while and although he already has two, he hopes to continue winning titles: “I hope to continue fighting for goals as before. When I came here I did not think or contemplate winning a league title … it's true, when you get a degree it's opening a door that pushes you to want more, you get selfish and want more and more. I got my first personal title in my career with Dynamo and then the second with Kolkata in India … it is true that economically it is fine, but when I got there the first thing I wanted to know was if they were going to fight for winning the league … it went well and we were champions again … and here I am looking for the third; if in two years I win three times champion it would be wonderful. I like ambitious projects and that is what enriches you “.
The language barrier has been overcome with perseverance, thanks to english and the ability to even learn some Georgian: “When I came, I thought I was defending myself in English and I quickly realized that it was not enough … it is very good to bring the base from when you went to school, but then you have to put them on in practice and I saw something lost … but in half a year I caught up … Besides, I don't mind being wrong, I am very talkative and very sociable and if I cannot develop that facet, I feel that I am becoming small, I am like that; It is by making mistakes and rectifying that you are really learning it and now I speak it much better … I even had to improve more when I went to India because there, having been an English colony, they speak even better and I had to do another recycling. Now I speak English a lot better. This year too I have improved in Georgian“.