Still “surprised” by his departure from Deportivo de la Coruña this summer, Fran González (Career, A Coruña, 1969) He gives ABC his first interview since then. With the nostalgia and happiness of having been the banner of the legendary Super Dépor, and with the suspicion of someone who knows that every word he says about the current situation of the team will be scrutinized with a magnifying glass. He bites his tongue in many of his responses, which he measures with evaluative pauses before beginning to speak. It hurts the player with the most appearances and the most titles in the history of the blue and white club to see Dépor in his darkest moment, right now in relegation positions to the Second RFEF.
-How have you been these months since you left Deportivo?
On June 30, Dépor notifies me that I am not going to continue, the last day. It was difficult to come up with anything, all the teams were already outlined. So these months I prepare for the future, taking advantage of my free time, with patience, and seeing if something comes out in January or if not, wait until June.
-There are people who wonder why Fran has not continued, if the quarry was one of the few that worked.
That’s not a question for me. When I arrived, seeing the successes of the Celta youth team, in players in the first team and in its operation, my goal was to match them. And to be able to compete with everyone, also in outside tournaments. And the results were much better than expected, becoming champions in almost all categories. The Juvenil champion of Spain, 20,000 people gathered in a Youth League match, the reserve team went up to Second RFEF… From the club they told us that we had to tighten our belts and we have opted for the Galician player. When I arrived there were 36 children from outside in residences, and we achieved all these results with only 15 children in residences, all with children from La Coruña and surrounding areas.
– In his farewell letter he said that his renewal “was on track.” What happened?
You’ll have to ask whoever you have to ask. She was on track because she had a proposal on the table. To this day I don’t even know what happened.
– He also claimed in his letter opportunities for the youngest. Why don’t you bet more on the quarry?
I have an opinion, but I keep it to myself. I think you have to trust children. If they have shown level in different competitions, facing players who are now in the First Division… We compete with Sporting, Oviedo, Racing, Celta… against big youth teams like Atlético, Villarreal, which has 90 children in residences. I see it very clearly. There are very good players here, you have to work, believe and trust.
– Abanca and the owners of Deportivo made a revolution this summer, but it doesn’t seem to be working.
I’m not going to talk about the first team. I think there hasn’t been that much of a revolution. What revolution? Change stickers?
– Change of president, managers, coach, you…
I don’t see that revolution. They have changed the president, they have changed such… Okay.
– Would there be other things to change?
I’m just telling you that I don’t believe there has been a revolution.
-What do you feel, who has won titles as captain with that shirt, when you see Dépor in relegation to Second RFEF and losing in Riazor against Celta B?
I’m not going to talk about the first team. Out of respect for many journalists in Galicia who are continually calling me like crazy and I don’t answer them. I don’t want to get into very delicate areas, I could be misunderstood.
– Some players from the current squad say that the environment at Riazor weighs on them, that the pressure can get on them.
Playing in front of 25,000 people is amazing, no matter the category. I don’t know what they have said because I don’t want to read too much, but there will always be pressure. We had pressure that was brutal. We were Dépor, but once you settle up there for years, people want you to win once and for all, and they demanded of you. The media gave you all over the place, despite being second or third. I remember fans outside waiting for us when the results didn’t come out.
– On a different scale, but they also had pressure.
Sorry, but we had a lot of pressure. The requirement was to win, we were Deportivo de la Coruña, but we had the requirement of Real Madrid or Barcelona. For years it was win, win, win. The wonderful thing was the first stage of Super Dépor, the people were super happy, dedicated. But the moment people got used to winning, to being among the first year after year, there came a time when: hey, second is not worth it, we have to become champions. And when we became League champions it was: now in Europe we have to hit the axe. And the demand was terrible. In Riazor in the Champions League comeback against Milan there was no room for a pin, I never saw the field so full. Dépor will always demand of you. The day you get promoted, they will want you to get promoted again. The day you settle in Primera, they will want more, more and more. Because the story is behind it.
– With the current situation, the successes of his time are valued much more.
Completely. We knew that over time it would be valued more. And seeing the situation now, it is increasingly valued more and more. Last year they interviewed former players and they asked us about the Dépor phenomenon now, because it is impressive to see children wearing the Dépor shirt, grandchildren leading their grandparents to the field by the hand and them being happy. All this has made the fans multiply and for me now it is the greatest thing that Dépor has. It has a source of faithful people who, despite failures, are still there showing all their support. And also the media in general are in line to support the team. Here I don’t know how many daily radio programs there are to talk about Primera RFEF. It’s all part of something that happened years ago and is still present.
-Of the six titles you won, which one do you keep?
The League is something unique, damn. There are 40 days. The Cup is maybe nine games. Nothing to see, nothing to see. I don’t know how many teams have the Cup, but only nine teams have the League. There are two ocean liners that are brutal. Then there is Atlético, then Sevilla, Valencia. If you see the great team that Valencia had when we won the Cup… it was amazing. They had world champions, I don’t know how many international ones. We were competing against huge budgets…
– And the worst, that Djukic penalty League.
I have always said that that thorn will be stuck forever. That team deserved the damn League. It was a super humble team, a real family. They were years of madness, of an explosion of football, of play, of affection, of engaging thousands of fans. There was a communion that was amazing. And he lacked that. It is true that you win it later, but there will always be the failure to achieve that League. We lacked a little more experience, knowing how to be, handle that external pressure, media… We gained the other one because we were more prepared for all that.
– I read in another interview that after giving everything for Dépor “then you have the farewell you have and you reflect…”. Do you regret anything?
I have to be very grateful for everything that has happened to me, football gave me much more than I could imagine. I was very happy at Dépor. Another thing is that we are human and we can all make mistakes and I know that I was wrong, that I made mistakes. But it was 18 years, I am one of the few players who, having the opportunity to play in Madrid and Barça, chose to continue at Dépor. I am one of the few players who has only worn one shirt. I didn’t like things that happened to me. But one of the memories that I loved is how I came out on the shoulders of Riazor in my last game, it was a spontaneous tribute from the people, I have the photos framed, it was something impressive. What am I going to regret if I have been super happy? If at that time four teams had already gone to the Champions League, we would have been in the Champions League for ten years. A team from a city like La Coruña. It was amazing.
– He said that his son could have played for Dépor, but that they didn’t want him. What happened?
Turn page. I’m just saying that there are things that shouldn’t be mixed, no matter who you are. He doesn’t stop being a child.
– In the end Nico went to La Masía and there he also had a lot of pressure.
I have always believed that for any child the best place is in the family environment. What your family gives you, no one can give you. Sometimes loneliness does a lot of damage, if you play, if you don’t play, if you don’t play well, injuries… To make decisions, you read and you realize that a high percentage of children who reach the top are because they have been surrounded by his family (Fran and his family went to live in Barcelona with Nico). You also realize that both Madrid and Barça do not consider a tie, the obligation is to win and that is the pressure that children are under. They instill that in them and put it into their veins. That’s why when they reach the elite it is much easier for them to withstand the pressure.
– As a youth director, do you think that current football is more rotten than that of your time: parents, 10-year-old representatives…?
There are children who leave despite their parents and their representatives. I didn’t like that situation at all, but you have to live with it. If you set a simple and forceful line of work, in the end the parents end up respecting it. It’s a matter of time. It happened to me. I arrived at Dépor and I had 40 problems. When I was going to leave there were four problems. When I arrived it was the parents, the representatives, boom, boom. When I left, nothing to see. For me, Dépor is above any parent and any representative.
– Alfonso, your teammate in the national team, has had his name removed from the Getafe stadium for saying that women’s football cannot be equated with men’s football. Do you think his claims are fair or is there already too much noise being generated?
I lived with women’s football in Abegondo and at Manchester City and I didn’t see any problem with women’s football. That it has to improve is evident. They come from being world champions, they have achieved something unique that has allowed them to claim more, so welcome. But I am one of those who say that if a model has to earn more than a guy, then she should earn it. If Messi wins more than anyone, he should win it. That they have to have better salaries? I have no idea what salaries there are in women’s football. Not in the men’s team in the First RFEF, or in the Second. I would like them to have the best conditions. Little by little they are evolving. I hope they can pay them everything they can.
2023-10-18 22:19:11
#Pressure #Riazor #time #demanded #Madrid #Barcelona
