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the friendship that survived the toughest battles

Carlos Ortiz and Sergio Lozano They appear from the changing rooms with an open, relaxed smile. The people of Madrid receive ABC at the Palau Blaugrana with their homework done, having been very important in Barcelona’s last year, with four titles out of a possible five, and with the renewal of the first officially announced. And as if all this were not enough, with the suitcases packed to once again share their vacations, this time in the exotic places of Vietnam. They transmit happiness.

«When you play in a club like this you know that you have many options to win titles, although reality always tells you that it is much more difficult than you expect. But everything has gone well, we have won four out of five, we were only eliminated in the Copa del Rey, and the truth is that we are very happy, it has been a very good year for everyone, “explains Ortiz, signed last summer. Despite his inexperience, as a Barça player, not on the track where he is a veteran, his opinion fully coincides with a heavyweight of the team, the captain, the ‘buffalo’ Lozano, recently chosen as the best player in the league. “We were aware that we have one of the best squads in the world. That doesn’t guarantee you anything, but when you have such a good base, you know that if you work and have that little bit of luck at certain times, which this year we’ve also had in different finals, winning on penalties or suffering, it makes for a spectacular season. ».

In the words of both, a great complicity is noted, a connection that comes from far beyond what was shared this last year, since both can boast of a long friendship far from the parquet, so solid that not even their intense duels for the league or the Champions when they wore opposing shirts, they made a dent. “Well, there was a play…” Sergio points out, causing Carlos to laugh. «It was not conflictive in terms of friendship, but it has generated fun on a trip. A double penalty that I was going to shoot, in a league final, that got in my way and almost hit me when I went to shoot… There was a ‘hey, this is dirty‘ and such, but it was not like to risk our friendship. In the end they are things that happen on the track but we have been noble uncles, not only among ourselves but with all the rivals. We have tried to fight, each one with all his might, and sometimes there may be a small dispute but it is far from affecting a friendship. Certainly not.”

friends face to face

«We have been noble uncles, not only among ourselves but with all the rivals»

Despite the fact that one player, Lozano, is more offensive, and another, Ortiz, is more defensive, the second clarifies that “on the court we did not cross each other as much as could be expected.” «But well, we are both professionals, we are very competitive, and each one defends his interests at that moment. I defended Movistar Inter, he defended Barça, we both wanted to win and we both did our best for our clubs to win. Once the game was over, everything went back to normal and we were back to being the friends we’ve always been. But in the forty minutes it was clear that each one was going to defend their interests.

«Each one of us has defended what is ours until the end but I think that, fortunately, our sport, and especially us, are quite coherent people and we are among those who think that once you enter the track each one is going to defend what is theirs to the death and once you go out it’s over, this is sport, “adds Lozano.

Friends in different locker rooms

Until the day that Movistar Inter decided to put an end to Ortiz’s successful stage with his shirt, he had faced Lozano on countless occasions and in many of them with titles at stake. “We have played so many games against each other, even in finals, which used to be five games and we played three or four in a row, imagine, plus the league, plus the Copa del Rey… there are many games,” recalls Lozano. Because despite coinciding in their beginnings in the same club, destiny always placed them face to face in the club competition.

«We coincided in Las Rozas Boadilla. I am older than Sergio and we were in different categories, but when he was a youth or something like that he began to train with us and there we began to have a treatment like a player from the subsidiary who went up to the first team, without further ado, “explains Ortiz. “But then we started playing in different teams, we faced each other, we got along well, we were from Madrid, we came from the same school, we both had Luis Fonseca as a mentor and that also helped a lot”, Until Sergio finally debuted in the selection and there we began to make a little more crumbs, and I think that the key was the trip to the European Championship in Croatia (2012), which our women went to see, because they were both from the same neighborhood and they hit it off very well. As a result of that we also began to get much closer and we began to travel together and make many more plans the four of us».

Asked about the possibility of having shared a shirt before, both explain it very naturally. “I can tell you about my situation,” Lozano starts. «I have always been clear that I was going to stay at Barça. It is true that there was one of the years that Inter insisted a lot for him to sign, but nothing concrete, far from it. It was clear to me that the team that had bet on me was Barça and that I was going to continue as long as the club wanted, just as I still think now. And I think that Carlos has had the chance to come to Barça two or three times, but I suppose that he can tell you better that due to the different circumstances he could not have been. In the end has arrived when has arrivedand he is really enjoying what this club is and on top of that we have had a spectacular year, so everything tastes much better”.

Secondary image 1 - Before matching at Barça they had only done so, in the elite, with the Spanish team shirt
Secondary image 2 - Before matching at Barça they had only done so, in the elite, with the Spanish team shirt

Carlos Ortiz and Sergio Lozano

Before matching at Barça they had only done so, in the elite, with the Spanish team shirt

Agencies / Twitter

But how did it come about that the former captain of Movistar Inter ended up dressing as a Barça player after a fleeting adventure in Paris? It was a club move but with some intervention from Lozano. «I had a first contact with Andreu, the previous coach. Earlier Sergio called me to ask me. He told me, ‘Hey, Carlos, how is the situation there? I think there is a possibility that you will come. How would you see it?’ I obviously told him that I would be delighted, I spoke with Andreu, he proposed to me a bit the idea he had… What happens is that since the club had other plans regarding the coach, that he was going to change, everything cooled down and I started to negotiate with the Halle-Gooik of Belgium”, explains Ortiz. «I practically had it closed but then the possibility of Jesús Velasco as Barça coach arose and he was the one who called me and told me ‘hey, before signing anything please wait, I’m going to be the coach and we should talk because I better want you to come’. Once his signing was made official, talking with Jordi Torras, Jesús and the club, an agreement was reached ». “It weighed a lot that Sergio was here, because he pushed a lot for him to come, he was the first one who also said that it was a good idea for me to be here and then throughout the process I am aware that he also helped.”

At this point Lozano intervenes, who downplays his intervention: «I have one thing clear and that is that if Carlos is here at Barça at the age he came (37) it’s because he deserved it. I have had nothing to do with it. My first call was a bit informative because Andreu asked me ‘you who are such a friend, ask him if he would be willing to come’, it was a first contact, and then if they had asked me I would have given my opinion. I think he was a player with immediate performance, who could help us in the closing phase that we weren’t very good at and I was convinced that he could contribute a lot to us in the minutes he played. In fact it has been proven. He himself has earned continuity and it is clear that it was a success that he came ».

The signing by the Barça

“Sergio was the first to say that it was a good idea for me to come and then throughout the process I am aware that he also helped”

But, beyond the result in the form of titles, what has it been like to finally live a full season with the same shirt? «We wanted to play together, we had been talking about it for many years, we have done it in the national team but not at club level and it is true that it has been a special year for us, very nice, and we have enjoyed a lot, both outside and inside, and It is true that winning titles together is exciting, “acknowledges Ortiz. «Perhaps more than the titles we have enjoyed day to day, because as Carlos has said many colleagues end up becoming friends, but we have a special relationship, from many years ago. But it has happened super fast between competitions, selections … », adds Lozano.

A good part of the moments that did not touch training or travel have been shared. “Having Sergio in the city has been key, both in the locker room and outside. In the end, arriving at a place that you do not know, when you have a person next to you who gives you a cable in everything, because the truth is that it is appreciated and it is much easier, ”Confesses Ortiz.

“We live very close, barely a kilometer apart. The question is ‘what are we not doing together’ here in Barcelona, ​​because It’s not just that we get along, but our women get along very well. And they make a lot of plans. Besides, they are acting as uncles with my daughter, so imagine. Obviously we do things alone, but in the end the four of us have been like a family for a long time, so we enjoy this moment that we don’t know how long it will last, “adds Lozano.

Shared vacations, a tradition

Accustomed to sharing part of the vacations even when they came from hitting the track, this year’s summer break in Vietnam has an important difference, because for the first time happiness is complete for both. Well, as Ortiz acknowledges, “other times we would leave and one would celebrate and another would not”, although as Lozano contributes, that never prevented futsal from being talked about on his trips. «We talked, because we are passionate about this sport and you always talk. And once the competition is over and the duel is over for the one who has lost, everything is normalized again and that’s it. But we have always carried it normally.

All against the Barça

On the way back from the trip and after the confirmed renewal of Ortiz they will once again share a dressing room and will be the rival to beat, both in Spain and in Europe. “Every year that Barça plays, it is, no matter the rival,” explains the Barça captain. «The shield demands that of you and we know that everyone wants to beat us, the pressure is not going to change. Everyone who comes here knows it. They require us to reach the finals, try to win titles and if it can be by playing well. It is something that is linked to the club and will happen every year whether you win or not. We are aware that having won we may be a little more eager, but also that we have some advantage over last year in that we know the coach and that the team is going to be almost the same”.

“This team has always had a tremendous punch. Practically all the players are players with a goal, who can decide the game for you, and this season training and playing with them have confirmed it for me, “confesses Ortiz. «Our advantage for next year is that we are finally going to be able to train, because this has been a crazy year, with the European Championship, the World Cup, practically every week a game during the week… and we were able to train very little together. All that has come out has been how little we have trained with Jesús and individual quality, and I am sure that next year we will see a better Barça », he warns. We’ll see when the new season starts, but first it was time to celebrate the titles and renewal in Vietnam with his friend Sergio.

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