2023-06-11 10:00:45
SANTA COLOMA DE FARNERSFew footballers represent the meaning of good behavior like Juan Pedro Ramírez, Juanpe (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1991), one of the captains of a Girona with whom he signed in 2016, aged 25, to experience everything there: from the birth of his children to the two promotions to Primera, the three seasons to the elite, the loss of category and the drama of the finals of play-off lost He is the only player in the squad to have gone the full way, despite spending a lot of time this season watching from the sidelines due to a lengthy recovery.
This is a year in which much has been enjoyed, in Montilivi, but you have not had a good time.
— It’s true, it’s been a very difficult season. It was my turn not to be a protagonist on the field, after many years of being so. But I’ve had a blast watching the team play and that’s not normal. Because when you don’t participate, the most common thing is to suffer a lot. And it hasn’t happened to me. The dressing room has grown quite a bit, but we may leave with a bad taste in our mouths. There was a level to aspire to something more, the team has not reached the ceiling, yet. The pity is that it is already over and many footballers will not be there, next year. You have to be proud, because it wasn’t easy. We have to keep that in mind every day, because Girona is the club that suffers the most in the League.
By a hair, the points record of the first season in Primera, 2017-18, under the command of Pablo Machín, has not been caught.
— That was an impressive year, but different. It was the first time and everything was illusion. But this one has a lot of merit, because we have competed against rivals that triple our budget and have been in the elite all their lives. The artificial intelligence gave us as the underdog from day one and we have turned it around and are in the top ten.
Will it be very difficult to remind people on match day 1 next year that Girona’s goal is to stay?
— Míchel is very demanding and last year, when we came back from the holidays, he taught us in a PowerPoint that we had to score 53 points. And we had just won the play-off and climb! We are ambitious, but of course the main focus is to maintain the category. It would be to make history again, because we have never managed to be in the First Division for more than two years in a row. Once done, we’ll see what can come.
Let’s go back to your case, because after fighting so much to get back to Primera, when you got there, you couldn’t play much. How did you experience it?
— I was injured after playing against Elche in the final of play-off 2019-20, with Francisco on the bench. That’s where my first Achilles tendon problems are playing out and I’ve been playing for over a year and a half with discomfort. I lived by my foot and the truth is that I don’t wish it on anyone. My day off came and I couldn’t go for a walk with the children, I couldn’t do anything. And finally this year I had surgery and saw the light. Now I feel like a new person and I can contribute to the team’s day-to-day life.
How did you last so long?
— Last year we looked for a thousand ways, but the goal was to finish well every weekend. How? Compensating loads, missing training during the week to be able to play the games… But I reached the limit, because even doing it like this was not viable. There was one day where I sat down with the physical therapists and the doctor and we worked it out. It was the best decision I made.
How has it affected you personally?
— It has been very hard. I left training and when I got home I had to get on the machine that touched me, I did preventative work three times a day… And the same at night. All this, while I was trying to live my life and enjoy my family, my children. I remember driving while going to Vinya, our training center, and feeling envious of the grandparents walking down the street. He told me: “They walk well, they don’t seem to be in pain and when I get out of bed I would let them steal me because I can’t even run” [riu]. Fortunately, I’m over it.
Do you thank your family enough for always being there?
— We all have our stories and sometimes it’s very complicated. For me, especially, because I identify a lot with Girona and in bad moments the ball becomes infinitely fatter compared to another teammate who has been at the club for less time. Everything hurts me more. My wife, for example, already knows that in the post-match, it depends on how it went, she doesn’t need to tell me anything, because I’m in a period of time where I barely get anything. But our people are loyal to us, they understand us and support us every day. And they should be thanked, of course.
I have been told that you are very excited to become the Girona footballer with the most games in the club’s history in professional categories. You are now third, eight games behind Borja García and Àlex Granell.
— I’m sure that with time I will appreciate it even more. But what excites me the most is that Girona will never be relegated from Primera and stay there for the rest of their lives. And to be able to enjoy it, because I know that I don’t have much left in Montilivi. I arrived there seven years ago, I didn’t know I would be there for so long. And now no one will take me out of here, because I’m already another Girona. wherever it is
#jealous #grandfather #move