Royal Society | Interview with Xabi Prieto: “The team will continue to enter Europe and will even enter the Champions League one year”

Xabi Prieto. Member number…

(laughs) I don’t know. You got me.

But he’s having fun with the team.

Yes, a lot. They have been occupying European positions for almost four years, playing good football and taking a big step forward on the continent with their group title against Manchester United. La Real won at Old Trafford, Moldova and Cyprus, and it’s worth the cost of doing so at home.

Do you feel like you were born too early? Since he did this later, he would now live in the greenery.

No, no, I am very happy with the year I was born (1983). Now I have to experience the good course of Real from another role, the role of partner. I come to Anoeta with my family and my kids have a lot of fun too. The stadium was beautiful, more than 30,000 spectators attend every match and the moment of the club is great.

“I really like the team’s approach of printing from the back… It’s so complete and fits any context”

Is he returning to celebrate goals?

No, because in my district (pointing to the tribunes next to the presidential lodge) people don’t turn to look. But I want to do it.

Even though you’ve been injured almost all this time, Imanol was your coach for just two months in 2018. What did you see then?

At first, the most striking thing was the same requirement that he made the most of every player. He demanded a lot from us on a daily basis during each training session. And from there, I believe that as a coach, he develops and develops himself from season to season and adds records to the team. I think the confidence gained through accumulated experience in this matter will help him. I think December will have four years on the team, right?

Do you see yourself as a player who competes on this team with such a large physical deployment and presses one-on-one all over the court at the coach’s behest?

Fifteen years less the same yes (laughs). I really like the offer of this team, when it comes not only to pressure as you say but also to get the ball from behind, be aggressive, look for space or free man… We see a very complete Truth. adapts well to the different contexts in which it may be presented.

How do you view the team and the game in general? With those of your future coach?

No. I don’t really see myself in the office. It’s true that I took all the relevant titles back then, but I don’t consider myself a coach.

Maybe in offices yes? He works as a sports director.

I’m fine as I am now. And it hasn’t been that long since I retired too. It’s true that I watch football more and more, and that keeps me hooked on TV or live.

“I go to Anoeta as a member with my family and I really enjoy it; I’m fine just the way I am and I don’t want to pursue a career as a coach.”

How can we describe Real’s situation during the current World Cup break?

Wonderful. You are third in the league after chaining a very long streak undefeated and winning most games. And in Europe, you start with fifteen out of fifteen before the game against United, where it served you to lose by the least margin. The season so far has been great.

Why can the team now successfully combine several competitions, playing every three or four days? Is it a matter of physics or a matter of mentality…? It cost much more in its time.

I think it all came together a bit. I can mainly explain this by the fact that I have entered Europe three years in a row as it helps the player adapt.

It is certain that playing duels such as the cup final will also have an effect. How do you remember the night in La Cartuja?

I was lucky to be there and experienced it with a lot of anger, but with a lot of ultimate happiness. It’s true that we miss enjoying the championship with the fans, because these festivities are the best thing that can happen. But that Cup is there. There was an explosion.

Oyarzabal, who aims for infallibility like you, but has experienced his bad spells from eleven meters, scored from penalty.

Every footballer knows he will fail one day, but Mikel is an outstanding shooter. I’m very calm when I see you shoot. Someone else makes mistakes, because in such a situation one is exposed to it, but I think Oyarzabal confronts them very well.

With VAR on, you yourself would have had to take a lot more punishment. What do you think about video arbitration?

I didn’t know it firsthand because it was implemented in the summer of 2018 when I retired. I really like VAR as a tool, but I think some things need to be adjusted.

From the red to Valencia vs. Aritz for example.

Yes, this and many other things that happen. The other day I was reading a comparison of dismissals between the League and Premier, which is much less. I think we should focus on the latter.

I’m finishing. Where will we focus for the rest of the season? A new European ticket priority, looking forward to further progress in Europe or are we betting on another King’s Cup?

Everything excites me. Also, the team assures me that no matter what tournament they play, they give 100 percent and always compete. I have no doubt that this Real will continue in European positions there, and even enter the Champions League one year. These fans and this stadium would have enjoyed it immensely.

And while Zubieta does not stop feeding the first team.

Thanks to the great work done in the quarry, it does not stop, does not stop. Young players come to the top in a much more ready way physically, technically and mentally. It’s good to see them on the field and it’s good to feel that the coach has left that door open for them.