“I love what I do, I have the best job in the world”

Ander Herrera He is completing his second spell at Athletic. Ibaigane confirmed his joining as a loan from PSG on 28 August and since then he has played six League games and one Cup game, the Cup match against Alzira, with delays due to injuries in the muscle that prevented him from having the continuity that all football players need. .

Today he addressed the media in Lezama. The midfielder never shies away from an explanation and handles himself in front of the microphone as he does on the football field. “The balance of the group is very good, we are in a very good position in the standings and we have advanced one round in the Copa del Rey with the possibility of playing another in Sestao. Personally, there are moments where I feel great and others not so physically. I can contribute sometimes, but not with the regularity I want”, he stated.

The team is back at work after fourteen days off for the World Cup in Qatar. “I took these vacations as a semi-break to work alone. Trying, above all, to keep the team in the positions we are in. In the end we are elements, but what is important is the group and maintaining the European place. We have already said that we are excited to represent the club in Europe next season”, he said about the goal set by the board of directors, the coaching staff and the players themselves, dressed in black which is white in a public appearance at the beginning of the course.

Until now, Herrera He played six regular season tournament dates, three of them as a starter, with 239 accumulated minutes in fourteen days played. The medium doesn’t set deadlines to get the best version of itself. “I go game by game, I don’t want to look anymore. The goal is to get better every day. Yesterday I played 45 minutes (against Valladolid in Anduva) and hopefully more on Sunday if the coach wants (in the friendly against Chivas de San Mamés). I want to have the required regularity for a month or two without any physical mishaps. I don’t like to set dates, every day and every training session is important. I faced it in a new way. I have the best profession. I love what I do, I have the best job in the world. You have to try to stretch it every day”, he stated.

After a month and a half of not competing, the Bilbao team will play their first official match on the 20th in Las Llanas in the second round of the KO tournament. The question is how the teams and Athletic itself after this disagreement. “We are a team where the physical aspect is very important. This is the group that does the most kilometers and puts in the most intensity. This is something we cannot lose. This should be one of the arguments in every game . People (his colleagues) worked at home during this break, they came to weight. It is a joy to belong to a professional group, which puts the collective before the individual”, he added.

The rojiblanco team now faces a tough season of competition, with the Cup round against the green and black and the league clashes against Betis, Real Sociedad and Celta at home and Osasuna and Real Madrid at home. “Today we have very important matches against rivals who will fight for Europe, but you have to face all the matches in the same way, with the utmost respect. It will be a very difficult month, but it will not be the key either . It is a mistake to mark a match on the calendar”.

The lions are in fourth position in the League with 24 points, two behind the third place occupied by Real. “Our position is very good. We set ourselves the goal of Europe, it’s something the team has to fight for and demand. But records are set in June. The position is not worth it now, it serves to bring you together in a way of playing and believing in what we do. We want to continue in the Cup. The best way to prepare for the records for June is to win the Sestao. For us the Cup is life. The most important game is always the next one”, he remarked.