Óscar Ureña (Figueres, 2003) is fighting for his second promotion to the First Division in three years with LaLiga leader Hypermotion. For being a “boy”, as he defines himself, he has shown patience and maturity to return home as an elite footballer.
He is very young, but he is fighting for his second promotion to the First Division. Did you expect Leganés to do so well?
I am very well and very happy, the truth. Let’s go first because we have an amazing group. Best of all, we are managing the leadership with peace of mind, knowing that we are doing things right. It’s up to us to get promotion, we just have to keep doing the work we’ve been doing all season to make it happen.
This season promotion is very expensive. Between the first (Leganés) and the third (Espanyol) there is only four points of difference with 53 and 49 points, respectively.
It’s tight, huh? (River). I think it’s good because, in this way, the day to day is much more exciting. The matches are played double or triple, as if we had a final every week. While it is true that it would be good to be a First Division team, everything is so equal that we will have to fight to the end to achieve it. As I said, we depend on ourselves to climb.
The rhythm of the template must be very high.
It’s clear We prepare to win yes or no every weekend. Seeing how the classification is, we don’t have another one left.
Do the results of the other teams follow closely?
It depends on each player. I, for example, am not one to look at what the rivals are doing. Everyone takes it as they want and manages it as they can. I don’t like putting added pressure on myself.
Also, it must have a lot of pressure.
In general, I am a very calm person. Especially in football because I think that if you put yourself under more pressure than you think it can affect you later on the field.
Leganés, like Girona, also has four years of experience in the First Division and aims to return there. Have you found any similarities between the two clubs?
Both at Girona and at Leganés I have found a very familiar team. The adaptation here (Leganés) has been very good and I have made new friends that will be forever. I’m very comfortable there.
Was the strength of the dressing room the key to gaining promotion in Tenerife?
one hundred percent I think that what makes the difference to being able to achieve promotion in a league as equal as the Second Division is that the team is a family. This is what I found in both Girona and Leganés. Nothing that happens is a coincidence.
What does Borja Jiménez ask him?
Let me be myself: a cheeky gamer and try when I get the chance. I have to help the team as much as I can.
This season he has played 15 games and is accumulating minutes. Are you satisfied?
As a gamer, you always want more. However, I am very happy because it has been the first season that I have not had injuries. I needed it to be able to have continuity. Let it be known that I knock on wood so that nothing changes! It had been two years in a row that, when I was fine, I was injured and it was a very hard blow because suddenly you stop being in the day to day training or travelling. Over time, I have learned to be more cautious and professional.
Ureña applauds after finishing a match. / CD LEGANÉS
Does it mean you know each other better?
Yeah yeah. You learn from experiences. I think this season is the one I’m learning the most because I’ve experienced all kinds of situations and I’m dealing with them very well. I will leave Leganés a great player and, above all, a better person.
In order to grow, he has had to accept that sometimes it is necessary to do so from a secondary role. Do you also have more patience?
I consider myself a team player, who knows how to wait for his moment and knows how to understand what is needed. If, for example, I get to play this weekend, I will go 100 percent, and if not, I will encourage my teammate as best I can. He has learned a lot about handling situations like these. Soccer is a team sport. Either we’re all going in the same direction together or this isn’t working.
What would it mean to celebrate the second promotion to the First Division of your career?
It would be incredible for me. To go up to the First Division twice in three years as a professional is… Incredible. There are people who have not been able to achieve this in their entire career and I can achieve it in such a short time. Hopefully. I want to keep growing.
The climb to Tenerife was one of the happiest days of my life
How do you remember that June 19, 2022 in Tenerife?
I get goosebumps. It was, without a doubt, one of the happiest days of my life. I’m from Figueres and I grew up watching Girona. I’m from Girona, it’s my home. We suffered a lot earlier and from the inside I was very upset when we lost the play-off finals. I wasn’t in the first team at the time and it still affected me. That’s why being able to climb and, on top of that, being part of the group was the best thing that ever happened to me. See Girona at top of Spanish football is a matter of pride. Ascension day was also one of the happiest days for my family.
He hallucinates with the possibility of Girona playing in the Champions the season you see?
I’m not surprised. I’ve been inside and I know perfectly well how everyone works, both the technical staff and the players. Also the workers who make up the circle of the team. I could imagine that sooner or later something like this would happen. Surely Girona will continue to grow. More beautiful things await us for the city, for sure.
It is on loan until the end of the year without the option to buy. Do you have any idea where he will play when he returns from Leganés?
Right now I don’t know anything, I’m very focused on the day to day. It will be seen. My present is to achieve promotion to the First Division with Leganés.
Have you spoken to Girona about the renewal? He has a contract until 2025.
So far, as far as I know, there has been no conversation. I don’t care I am focused on Leganés. When the season is over, we’ll talk about it.
This is his second assignment. Was it difficult for him to accept that the best way to progress was to leave home?
No, not at all. I thought it was what I needed. After the injuries, I knew it would be difficult for me to make a place in the first team. In Cartagena I had three very good months, but I got injured again at the end of the season and it was difficult. I didn’t make it to the pre-season with Girona. It was clear that I needed a whole year outside to get minutes, and that the injuries respected me, because, as I saw Girona progressing, it was very likely that I would not have as many opportunities as I would like. We thought Leganés was the best option and I think we were right.
He was able to debut in the First Division. Does he look more ready to make the jump to the elite for good?
Yes. I think I learned a lot this year. At Leganés we are all good players, every day is very competitive and there are many rotations. You always have to be at one hundred percent and at the bottom of the barrel. I don’t know if next year will be the move to the First Division or if it will be in two years, but I know I have to continue the process. I’m young and I have time left. Now, I think I’m a much better player than the one who debuted in the First Division with Míchel.
Do you keep in touch with the team?
I keep talking to the players. I have a friendly relationship with many.
It’s a great luck to go with the Dominican Republic and represent my roots
He has been called up for the first time with the Dominican Republic’s under-23 national team. Did you expect it?
I am very happy. It’s a great opportunity to be lucky enough to represent my roots. There had already been contact with Ibai Gómez, but I was a little surprised. I have to keep improving and growing with new experiences like this.
In addition, he will play in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Every athlete dreams of going to the Olympic Games. There are many who prepare for four years, not knowing whether they will go or not, just for this appointment. To be lucky enough to be able to go there is extraordinary.
Do you miss your family?
They know that I am sacrificing a lot to pursue my dreams. I would like to be with them at home, but it is the price I have to pay if I want to be a footballer. For them, seeing that my effort is getting small rewards fills them with pride and joy. Seeing that they are happy makes me happier too.
Do you go to Figueres often?
Yes, whenever I can. With the AVE it’s a moment. When I have a day and a half of party, I go there to be with my family.
How does the fact of having become independent? When he played for Girona, he went back and forth every day by train or his parents took him to training.
I used to go to Girona every day from Figueres. I’m doing better every time. In the beginning, there were difficult days because I couldn’t stand it being so quiet. At home, if my parents weren’t there, my brothers, my nephew or my friends were there. Going from always being with people to seeing you alone is a hard change. But in the end, it’s the sacrifice you make to fulfill your dreams. I would sacrifice it a thousand times over, for sure.
In Cartagena it was more complicated, then?
Communication is not as good as from Figueres to Madrid. However, there I met people who helped me a lot and they marked me. They will have my help whenever they need it. If I am a child now, in Cartagena I was even more of a child. It was the first time he left the house and he did it alone. It was a huge change. The first few days, I even felt fear. In the end, though, I was really good. The only pity was that it ended badly because of the injury.
At 20 years old, he has a very mature speech.
My parents brought me up very well. I have seen that their life has not been easy and they have taught me to be humble, to work for my dreams and to communicate well. My parents sacrificed everything by coming to Figueres so that both I and my brothers could have a better life. I always keep it in mind. I look forward to one day being able to give back to them for everything they have given me.
2024-03-16 05:30:36
#leave #Leganés #great #player
