Yuste, Omonia player: “Playing in Anoeta is a prize for me”

Héctor Yuste (Cartagena, 1988) arrived in Cyprus tired of touring the fields of the Second Division. After his extensive journey through almost the entire ‘bull’s skin’ (Cartagena, Salamanca, Cádiz, Racing de Santander, Hércules, Granada, Mallorca), he fell on the island and at the age of 34 he sees it as a milestone in his career dressing short in European anoeta it was converted into a boiler.

What is a 34 year old from Cartagena doing in Omonia in Cyprus?

I am 28 years old and I am tired of the Second Division, where I have spent most of my career. I wanted to try something new, a new language, a new league and a few things came up. My partner and I chose Cyprus because, coincidences of life, my brother studied here. And I have a friend, Sardinero, who I was with at Hércules, at Apollo, the club I went to. He told me wonders about the city and the club. We went, it went well, I started playing games and this is my sixth year.

Mikel González followed with 36

And that’s how it happened. Cyprus is the perfect place to extend a player’s career for a few years. It is an island that has everything to be comfortable and well. It’s so beautiful here and your life is so beautiful. That’s why so many come and stay. Both are not too demanding on a daily basis and allow you to play until later.

If Omonia were a team in the Spanish League, which one would it be?

Omonia is, by history and titles, the biggest club here. It has 20 leagues and 15 cups and is also the club that attracts the most fans. It’s going to be like one of the two big ones out there.

Apart from the tie against Genk, which was very good for them, they didn’t start in the best way, what happened?

Genk was the favorite for budget and status, everyone expected to play in the Conference, but we qualified. In the league we spend more. Just the first game we came from losing to Genk and we didn’t do well, we won at home and a few days ago we lost against Apollon, who are the champions.

Real Madrid fans consider victory against Omonia

Looking at player budgets and caches, it’s normal for people to think that. We cling to the desire to do well and the dream to play there. It was amazing for us. Real are favorites because they play at home and have a big squad. He plays well; they lost the other day, but they had a massive game at Old Trafford. This is a total kit.

What does playing in Anoeta mean for Omonia and for Héctor?

For any Cypriot player to play in a stadium like this is a prize. A dream. We are different every day. La Real is also among the teams that play best in Spain. It’s great to see him and everyone wants to play against Real. And more than that new and beautiful stadium. For me it is a prize.

But you’ve played in Anoeta…

Thinking about yesterday, I remembered that I played in Anoeta in 2009 with Cartagena, against Griezmann’s Real in the Second Division. It was very difficult, we lost in the end. What I see now on TV is the new stadium, it’s beautiful and the sound is great. It’s still silly, but on TV you can see a very wide acoustic. And I always see it full because the fans are incredible; so I really want to go.

Who do you like in Real?

I also remember that I was lucky enough to play against Sorloth when I was playing for Midtjylland. We beat them to qualify, he was very young and Crystal Palace signed him. He is a tremendous piece of player. But I will stay with people I have watched and enjoyed for many years, like Silva, which for me is a great luxury that he continues to play, and with Mikel Merino.

Do you see Real qualified to top the group?

Yes. The main game was Old Trafford and they won because we assumed that both teams could win by a few points. That success gave him a lot and now his main game is the one at home against Manchester. La Real is very good and should not scare anyone.

And can Omonia finish third and finish in the Conference?

That’s our fight. The penalty is 0-3 against the Sheriff. We really wanted to, but the match started badly and it upset us a lot. We scored a goal in minute 2 and our game plan fell apart soon. But we will try to do it. The group is divided into two parts: those fighting to be first and those fighting to be third.

Tell us an Omonia player to watch out for

We are more humble players and, if we can do anything, it is for the collective. We have no one else.

And for the fans, who pressed…

Yes, luck. Much of our success in Europe, in the league or when we recently won the cup, is down to our people. You bring open qualifiers to our field, with our dedicated people and this sultry weather, with extreme heat, and you have more options.

Will he try to change any jerseys on Thursday?

Yes, I will try to get something. I am a soccer fanatic and I would like to have a souvenir.

As a soccer fanatic, have you followed a former Real player?

Xabi Prieto is an icon, a reference. For those of us who love football, he is the perfect player. I suppose you will like him very much there, for he is very honest and of great quality. Also, I was lucky enough to play at Ansotegi in Mallorca. I have to touch it and see if I can see it. What a player and what a person and what luck to find people like that in football.