This Sunday at 11:30 am, Sestao River faces Ejea in Las Llanas. It won’t be just any match. This duel will serve … farewell to Jon Madrazo, one of the leaders of the current squad on and off the field, who is leaving the club for work reasons. The 33-year-old winger faces firefighter exams that he has been waiting for for many years. Therefore, at least momentarily, he hangs up his boots to dedicate himself body and soul to a profession that gives him greater stability.
–Why do you leave Sestao River?
–It’s for a firefighter exam that I’ve been waiting for for several years. There have been many trials, a resolution has been pending…We have spent many years with uncertainty and it has arrived now. It’s a train that I can’t let pass. We cannot lose sight of the fact that I have just turned 33 and we also have to find a profession that will feed us until we retire. I still felt eager and came to train with the enthusiasm of a child. I’m sad to leave because I wanted to continue playing. I was really enjoying the Sestao River. I feel very identified with the values of this club, but it is a good decision.
–Did the club know that this could happen?
–Yes, the club knew that this option could be given. It could also have happened in my previous years in Logroño and it didn’t happen. We all hoped, including me, that it wouldn’t happen. At least, when I make a commitment to the team, I don’t do it with anticipation that this would happen. I wanted to start and finish because the challenge is nice. It hurts to leave it halfway, but we knew it could happen.
–What does this event provoke in you?
–Well, it’s curious. We are used to going through very bad or very good moments, where you clearly identify your feelings. This is strange because there are very opposite feelings here. I am excited and happy to start something that I have worked on for many years, but at the same time I am sad and sad to leave aside something that I have enjoyed a lot and that has fed me for many years. It’s strange.
–And how have the club and the staff received the news?
–Well, I wanted to publicly thank how the people of the club have taken it. I know that I am an important person in the team and it has been an unexpected crash, which may force them to make some readjustments. Even so, I have found myself supported, with people who have put common sense and ethics first to understand the situation and make things easier for me. That has helped me free myself from the pressure that I have experienced these weeks, because it has not been easy for me.
–Is this goodbye or see you later to football?
–Time will tell. For now, it’s a point. We will have to see if it is a final point or a full stop. What is clear is that this year I am not going to play for any other team, whether in this league or a lower one. I’m not going to combine it with anything. Next year, I will see how my work situation is, my personal situation because I have a son on the way who is coming in June…There is a lot of time that I owe to my loved ones and time will tell what my body asks of me.
–Wherever it has passed, it has left its mark. What does it have to earn so much affection?
-Don’t know. I consider myself a normal person, within this world, which is not very normal. Even from doors to the outside, the crest also draws attention. I am a person who gives everything in all areas of life, I don’t like to leave anything half done. I am also close with people. That also humanizes you and makes you connect more with the people in the stands.
–How have you experienced this brief stage in Sestao River?
–I had been in teams from Bizkaia, but never from the Left Bank. I am from Ortuella, which is a town that, in terms of values, is very similar to Sestao. Of working people, who have had to fight to get their chests out of the fire. So, playing here, next to home, defending values that are very much in line with my way of understanding life, have made me feel in line with what is experienced here in Las Llanas. Furthermore, this field has something special. That’s why it didn’t feel good to me. I am sorry for not having played here before, I have the feeling that I would have stayed here for many years.
–Do you see the Sestao River rising?
–I have no doubt that the team, this year, will be fighting for promotion, but it is a difficult objective. There is a competitive squad, desire and enthusiasm. Now, I will be one more supporting riverzale.
