Zubeldia: “I’m not at the point I want yet”

Igor Zubeldia He is now one of the great pillars of the Real locker room. You can even notice him when he enters and leaves the press conference, and when he speaks. Only in Basque. He is not at his best, like the team, but he is very calm in the work being done. Today too, he spent a lot of extra time on the green of Jose Luis Orbegozo first working defensive actions with other defenders, and releasing the ball later with Pacheco and Jon Martin. He laughed when asked this. “There is always something to improve. I had my routine of going to the physio after training. We often do extra work if the coach decides, by positions. Today it was our turn, and as we wanted,” he says.

Zubeldia He acknowledges that he is not at the physical and competitive point he would like to be, but he is fighting to regain it. “I’m not at the point I would like to be, in the preseason I took a step back with the injury. This week’s rest I hope I can get closer to the point I want. It’s not pleasant to go out on the field. And I want to but I don’t so. If you’re away from competing, one doesn’t feel good enough. “First I had an injury (broken fibers), and I had to go back to the grass (low back). bait). I’m still not 100% on these two games but I’m looking forward to playing them. Let’s see if I can recover now, there is time, and there is hope.”

He’s one of the captains, he’s risen through the ranks in the defense hierarchy and he’s happy about it. “Very happy with the rise in the hierarchy. With the advancement of age there are usually changes in the squad also, I have been there for many years and I play that important role. They helped me when I came in a young age and now it’s my turn to play that role, to tell them what to do, to be comfortable wearing it with peace of mind and satisfaction, every year there are new challenges, I see myself as ready is natural, but inside there is work to help and make people feel good,” he said. That rise in rank doesn’t give him extra pressure, he knows how to manage it. “The pressure point is always there, not just now. Even before the games, we always have a lot at stake. Everyone knows how to manage it. In this job, head training is very important. I have learned, I had ups and down at the beginning, normal “I think I know how to manage it.”

Squad left, no Robin

Zubeldia He had no doubts. “The team is very good, but there is a lot to improve. Not to look for excuses, but we don’t train for ten days together. The preseason has been like before. This is a fact. We all want to be well and come together to move forward “It’s just the beginning. We are not where we want to be but we will reach the best point. We will see the Real of other years. We have no doubts about it, we want to put the pieces together and we will go up,” he explained. One of the things that must be improved is the duels. “With Imanol We must always win the battles. This is important. We start to win from there, we have to improve,” he said. To recover feelings, the right time is next Saturday. “(laughs) I don’t know if it’s the right time but it’s a good time to win against our team, it was difficult for us to win at home last year as well. We have that deficit and the objective is to become stronger,” he explained.

Speaking centers

His companion left tired and behind. “We have played many times, but he is gone. What are we, training as much as possible to transfer it to the games.” One is John Martinwhich is not very green. “Obviously, he is still very young Johnhas a lot of future, a lot to improve and show. He has all our help, I see him training hard, and what he plays he does very well. For him before this, he was a worker and if he continues like this he will be able to choose what his future will be,” he said.

He has no formed opinion on Aguerd still but he’s happy with the addition of competition. “I don’t have much to say because I didn’t train with him. I do know him by name. He has experience, he plays in the national team, I think he will be very good for us. The more competition there is, the more advantages are given him to the team.”

This is another foreign sign, and many languages ​​are added to the locker room. Zubeldiaasked how he transfers Basque and Real culture in such a diverse dressing room, is clear. “There have always been different languages, here we speak a lot of Basque among those of us who know it. We try to teach but we know that it is difficult. As long as they learn single words, they are happy. We try to bring them together, teach them theirs is the culture, what we are and I think everyone likes it, what Real is,” he said.