“Football goes round and round, but I would like to continue with Albacete in the Second Division”

The first experience away from home and already has a promotion to Second. Would he have signed it with his eyes closed?

I was really looking forward to this new challenge. Leaving home, living alone, meeting new teammates and coaches… I am very happy with the treatment I have received in Albacete. Both the club and the coaches, teammates, fans… I did very well to grow, although I may not have had the minutes I expected in the first team. I value it very positively because I have been in the day to day with them and in addition I have been able to compete with the affiliate.

They went up to Riazor. How did it feel to get it with so much epic, playing on the opposing field and with a second goal in extra time?

I remember perfectly the ascent to Riazor. From the nerves in the first half when they gave us the goal to confidence in the second half because we came out really well and they took a step back by giving us the ball. From the bench people lived with desire. We had the feeling that something big would come back and happen. In Riazor there were 27,000 Deportivo fans. Ours were 600, but we felt close to them anyway. It was one of the most important days I remember as a footballer.

Then came the celebration in Albacete.

In A Coruña we could celebrate little with who we were, but then in the parade it was brutal. There were over 30,000 people who greeted us and pushed us by bus. It is a very footballing city. In the day to day they conveyed to us that there was the ambition to go up and it has been a blessing to achieve it.

Do people follow their city team more than here?

Totally. In Albacete, football is a priority for many people. There is a lot of talk about the team during the day to day everywhere, not just in the press. And collen. Even to me, who, without being one of those who have participated, always told me things on the street, whether they were good or bad. Imagine a person playing everything… This one had the responsibility to play for him and for the city because otherwise on Saturday they would come and prove it to you. I think it’s a very grateful hobby that has always been there.

Could the ascent of Albacete be equated with that of Girona?

Yes. These are two similar cases, respecting the categories. You have to play on the opposite field, they are worth the tie and you have to take the step to win. Compared to the Albacete that has been repeated every day throughout the year and with every training that had to be climbed, in Girona it has been more successful. From the inside, maybe it was said that you had to go up, but on the outside it seemed that making the playoffs was already a success. I’m glad they were both able to climb.

From where and how did you celebrate the rise of Girona?

I watched the final at home with my parents. We are very happy. Yes it is true that when we were tied we did not see it clearly, but then yes. I celebrated it with friends.

Did the affiliate season also follow?

Yes. It was a pity that the promotion was not achieved because the subsidiary again had a very good level this year. Maybe people were saying that expectations would not exceed those of last year, but they did a very good year as is being done year after year. We knew that against Olot it would be very complicated, but I stick with the fact that it was a very young team and yet it reached the final.

What is your assessment of Girona’s commitment to grassroots players?

It is strange that in the Second Division a club like Girona can give so many opportunities to grassroots players when other teams do not even consider it. Girona is doing a brutal job to retain talent and makes it very easy for the player of the branch to be well, have everything to be professional and can continue to grow at the club. I hope you continue to give them continuity. It is important that Girona players like Ureña, Artero, Valery…, are on top and it is trustworthy because in Girona in the end we have always relied on home players.

Did the injury you suffered during the 2019-20 season slow you down?

I was at my best when I started entering the first team with Unzué, but then there was a change of coach and I suffered a meniscus injury. He joined Covid and I was unable to make a clean or adequate recovery of four or five months. In the end it was lengthened to eight. Girona gave me all the possible facilities, but I felt the pressure that despite not feeling good I had to be there. I wanted to be there both yes and no. Then I had to stop for a month… It was complicated for me. Maybe that’s why I also decided to leave and try new things. Everything is learned. I am already fully recovered.

In Albacete it is not easy to make a place in the first team.

I went to Albacete as a secondary plan, but I also found that the last days of the market were not given the outings they had half promised me. Then they offered me that in case I didn’t have minutes, I could compete with the affiliate, always from the first team. I live it with great happiness for the debut in the Cup being a starter against Cádiz, which in Girona had not yet done so, and in Primera RFEF with Algeciras to leave for the first Christmas holidays. I have very good memories. In the second round, the pressure on the club and the city was so strong that they had to strengthen the squad with players and it was more complicated for those of us with less experience to be given responsibility.

What is your challenge now?

I start the preseason on July 10 with a new coach (Rubén Albés). I’m really looking forward to starting to try to make a place for myself. Football until August goes round and round, but I would love to stay in Second.