“I saw that I had no place at Real and I decided to go to Celta”

Among the many moves Real made in the summer market, one of the most unexpected was the transfer of a youth squad to Celta de Vigo. Julen Lobete (Lezo, 2000) explained how his departure came about, explaining that he chose to change the scene because he saw that he had no place and he was glad that he was right. On loan to Waalwijk of the Dutch Eredivisie, he will experience tomorrow’s match “very comfortably”, facing the club of his life in Balaídos where he decided to join for his projection. Lobete answered MD’s call from Biezenmortel, where he lives, 20 kilometers from where his current team plays.

He participated in all the league matches. Is happy?

Yes Yes. At first I knew that my body was not good. I was spent. I need the ‘box’ that training gives you every day. I’ve been a starter for four days in a row and I’m really good.

This is a new phase for you.

Everything is very different. Here they wake up very early, have breakfast and eat early. There were times when we ate at half past eleven in the morning, after training! Dinner is served between five and seven in the evening. I have to adapt because if I don’t…

another culture. More European.

When we play at two in the afternoon, we meet three hours before dinner. And they put the dishes, I’m dying! It is a very different food. In Spain there is a nutritionist upstairs and here I don’t see that. The meats here are breaded, with sauces like barbecue.. I always try to get salmon and the most normal meat.

They are doing well in the Eredivisie, seventh. What are the prospects?

I really didn’t expect it. There is a good team, to stay, but it has changed in ten days. It’s still wrong for me to say, but since we started playing with the new ones, the results have been great. It’s a league where everything below seventh is very competitive and physical because everyone has to go first.

What position does he play?

In front, there is another tall one and he is the one who is bringing them down. We usually play straight, not too low. There are five defenders, three in the middle and two up top.

Are you good at that role?

Yes Yes Yes. I’ve never played with two strikers and they always tell me it could be used, alongside another ‘bolt’, because of my mobility. I didn’t like it. Well well.

You have to put him towards the south of the Netherlands, right?

Yes, that is, one hour and 10 minutes from Amsterdam. Waalwijk has 40,000 inhabitants and is a very quiet place. I live 20 minutes away, in a town I don’t know if it has more than 100 inhabitants: Biezenmortel. There are many cows, sheep with different faces there, even people have ‘bambi’ in their houses! It’s crazy. Milk production takes a lot in this area and people eat a lot of cheese. I have a very bad relationship with the owner of the house I live in. They are very kind people. I usually have coffee with him.

Are you heartbroken over Celta-Real tomorrow?

I’ve always been a Real Sociedad player, I’ve never been in Celta’s first team… Well, well, may the best team win. I will watch the game at home, very comfortable, happy. From Real I watch all the games through an application I downloaded. And Sanse’s, too.

This is a situation you have never experienced. Weird, weird… How do you define it?

Yes, it is very special. I’m even more excited that the youngest players I’ve played with are playing this game, like Pacheco, Karrikaburu and this one. It’s great to see teammates on the pitch who have played with you all your life.

And with Lezo who is with them?

I can already imagine in Real. There must be no Celtic people in Lezo! My gang members, yes, they are part of the team I belong to. And my parents, too. It’s good to ask my parents who they’re going to (laughs). I think my mom would tell you that Celta. And my father, what do I know. Or maybe they told you that they will support Real because this year I am not at Celta.

Given his profile as a young and promising footballer, it was surprising that he was transferred to Celta. How did you experience it in first person?

I thought that if I wanted to be a professional footballer, Real Madrid might not be the best choice. It was not clear to me, of course, and I had to choose another destination. Celta came and I liked the project. I also had the opportunity to play this year in Spanish football. I think I took the right path, I don’t regret it. Life changes completely, it’s true: from being with family and friends to being alone for the first time.

Did La Real count on you?

I have no obligation to leave. I decided to go to Celta. I talk to my trusted people, I tell them what it’s all about. I live in Real, but I don’t think I have much space. If you are not sure… I chose to find something better to grow as a footballer.

Does it hurt a youth squad like yours not to have a career at Real?

My heart belongs to Real, I always felt that I had to return all the trust they gave me from the beginning, but for me who is still a little different from others, it doesn’t hurt. I mean it doesn’t affect me badly because I’m positive. As a child you think about being a Real player, but in the end this is my job and I have to do it in the best way, in San Sebastian, Holland or America. I want to improve, evolve and I thought it was my time for a change of scenery.

Real-Majorca

“The most exciting goal of my life”

The next visitor to Anoeta is Mallorca. It’s a good time to remember the goal that Julen Lobete scored against vermilion last season, serving to win in the last minute. “That is my most exciting goal. One of the most important moments of my life. Wow, I just don’t know how to express myself. I got goosebumps. Like every time I see the video. We won by three points, then we celebrated the Cup title with the fans at Anoeta, which was packed… Don’t fuck with me, man”. He needs to invite some dinner to celebrate. “I went to society with my parents and family and we ate some steaks. What madness. With friends we had a good party, very top”, recalls a happy and natural Lobete.

They are together in Zubieta

Unai’s death was “a huge blow”

Lobete shared a dressing room at Real with Unai Arruabarrena, a 22-year-old who lost his life on Sunday. They went together with the cadets, while Lobete was doing the exams to get into Zubieta, and during the first junior year. The lezotarra dedicated a small part of the interview to the memory of Unai: “I was very good at him, I was shocked. I couldn’t attend the funeral because I was far away, it was my parents. It was a severe blow. From here, I send all the encouragement in the world to his family and friends.”