The football that Iago Falque was able to exhibit in Spain, Italy and England has not yet been seen by American fans. There were some hints of talent and good footing in the few games he played in the first half, but injuries have kept the Spanish midfielder off the pitch for longer than on it.
First under the command of Juan Carlos Osorio and now with Alexandre Guimaraes as coach, the 32-year-old player (Vigo, Pontevedra, January 4, 1990) had two injuries, the last one being the most delicate, but he is well and ready to reappear with the red shirt and show why the directors of America brought him to Colombian soccer as a “great contract”.
El País spoke with Falque, who in these six months has already adapted much better to the city, which highlights its climate, parks, food and the “rich flavor” of chontaduro. He only arrived in January, but he is already with his wife, a Venezuelan woman whom he met in Italy, and his little son of one year and four months, of Spanish nationality.
Are you fully recovered from the injury?
Yes, this is already the third week of rehabilitation and soccer with the team, and I feel ready to compete.
What exactly happened to him?
It was a collateral ligament injury and second degree sprain in the left leg. Before I had another injury, I just arrived, but I’m already recovered.
You came to America as a great contract, but you haven’t had any luck precisely because of the injury issue…
Luckily this second injury didn’t affect me much in terms of the number of games, because it was in the last stage of the tournament. It affected me for the preseason, but we’re fine now. And the previous injury was muscular, which is very common in football, and well, this is so.
Eager to get back into competition?
Obviously, I want to compete now, in the end what the player wants is to be on the field. Not being with my teammates in training is also complex, I don’t like being outside, and well, I’ve felt very good in these three weeks and hopefully this second semester will be much better for the team and also in my personal performance.
What has Professor Guimaraes asked of you considering your football? Where do you want to see him on the pitch?
The ‘teacher’ has been testing me as a midfielder on the inside, more than on the outside, and I think that the little I played I was able to show what I can contribute to the team, I’m very technical and I have good handling of the ball, I always try to participate in the dynamic offensive game and thus give a hand to the team.
Will he reappear next week, against Cortuluá?
The ‘teacher’ is the boss, the one who decides, I am at his disposal and ready to play. I’ve been training with the team and the last few weeks have been very good for me to continue getting in shape.
During his stay in America he has been directed by Juan Carlos Osorio and now by Alexandre Guimaraes. Do you see two different teams in your game?
The first America was more offensive, this America is more solid, with a greater transition. The important thing is to keep looking for the results we need and I think we have the team to achieve the objectives.
But it does not stop affecting the fact of not being able to strengthen the team due to the sanction…
It is like that, but the positive part is that there are not as many injuries as last semester. There were many players affected in the first half by this factor and this time the team has had better luck and we have good players.
What is your closest objective with America?
Play and classify the eight, that is the first objective, and then fight for titles, those must always be the purposes of America.
Although it was not his fault that he was injured, which is why he has played very little, do you feel indebted to the American fans?
More than indebted, I feel like having continuity and showing the player that I am. My career supports it. There is a lot of talk about my injuries, but there were two; when I arrived I came from one for long and it took me a month to debut. But it is not that there have been as many injuries or as much commotion as is said. Better things will come for the second semester.
