Orlandi’s Mondays

An emotional return home

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The South of Wales is like a home to me. This weekend we visited Cardiff, which is just 30 miles away from the place that used to be my home. It still motivates me a lot to play in this stadium, even though I left Swansea quite a few years ago. I don’t get booed when I get out of the coach anymore and the bluebirds fans were quite nice to me, just a little boo when my name was announced and that was all. It’s been a long time since I played in one of those derbies. I enjoy scoring in the City Stadium, 3 goals already, but the one on Saturday was probably the one I have celebrated the least.

Oddly enough we stayed in Bristol, almost an hour away from the stadium. On the trip to the game, when crossing the bridge that goes from England to Wales, lots of memories came to my mind. How many times have I done that same trip on the M4! I remembered the first time, 8 years ago, when I accepted Roberto Martinez’s invitation to visit Swansea. We landed in Bristol, I was with my dad, and Lakey picked us up. We got in his old BMW and drove to Bristol. Lakey took the corners too fast and we had an enjoyable one and half hours; me with my rubbish english, my father translating and me looking through the window imagining how my life would be if I decided to stay.

On Saturday, in the coach, I looked through the window trying to silently work out how long we had left to reach the stadium, remembering that once we passed Cardiff there was only half an hour to go to the ground. And I remembered every minute of my first trip with the same sensations and nervouness of the unknown. On that very first trip we also had a very curious anecdote. When we got to Swansea, a van full of party women stopped next to us and some of them showed us their boobs. What a welcome! Lakey must have been used to it because he laughed like mad at the looks on our faces…

Nothing much to say about the game. One goal from a rebound and two from penalties. It’s always the same, and the second penalty was really tough. I scored a good goal and helped the team as much as I could but we ended up finishing the year without winning a single away game. I could have never imagined that at the beginning of the season.

All is left now is our last goodbye game at Bloomfield Road against Huddersfield. I don’t want to make history as the worse team in the league so it’s a challenge to us, and especially to me, to say goodbye to the Championship with a win.  That is the least our fans deserve after 10 long months of despair. I am actually really looking forward to that game.

Some very special people came to visit me in Cardiff. I explained a few weeks ago about the difficult situation that a family, who are close friends of mine, are going through. Claire, Nicola and Andrew are three beautiful young people. Andrew is a little heroe who protects his sisters above all else, with the love he learned from his parents. Claire and Nicola are two wonderful girls who are going through a really tough time and I love them to bits. They came to see me and they made me very happy. To see them looking so good and with that big smile made me feel much better. They brought some presents for Norah and Emma and they were as nice to me as they have always been. They know that they will always have me by their side as a good friend.

I was a bit envious to see the Watford celebrations for their promotion, but they have been the best team and I am happy for them. Oscar Garcia was there for a month and you can tell they learned a bit about his philosophy. Slavisa Jokanovic is their coach now, a former midfielder who played with Oviedo, Tenerife, Deportivo and Chelsea. They gained promotion after beating Brighton away. Brighton aren’t having a great season either but at least they have managed to stay up. Looking at our situation I can’t really talk about other teams “bad” seasons…

Three things I take from this week’s Champions League, Verratti, Barça and Juve. Well maybe four: the opportunity to see Guardiola returning home as the rival. Or maybe five: what a bad game from Atlético at the Bernabéu! I believe that Italy has found in Verratti their new Pirlo. He is born to play at Barça but was unlucky to have to play against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe right now.

The semifinals game Barca v Bayern is going to be one of the best games that can be seen at the momento. Pep would return home and that would be the icing on the cake. I think Barca could win as they seem to be a bit fresher than Bayern but it will be very tight. I also think would be tight in the other game. I am happy for Juve because they are finally back where they belong. Italian football needed this and now all the other historic Italian teams need to start working hard in Europe. Italy must be back to being head to head with La Liga, the Premierhsip or the Bundesliga. By the way, no one things Madrid will sail through that game…

I said that I was a bit let down by Atletico. It is easy to talk from the sofa with a cup of coffee and maybe one day I will become a coach and will have to eat my words, but I was disappointed by Simeone’s tactics. He had an attack of “catenaccimo” and played too defensively, personally I think they had better weapons to face a Madrid side without Modric, Bale and Marcelo. I missed the Atletico that could pressure their rivals without pause!

We have only got one week left to end this nightmare. I can’t even imagine how our fans have endured such a season. I hope we will be able to give them something to cheer about during our last game.

So, I would like to finish with a “ I am sorry” today. To all our fans, I am sorry.

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

To die for a victory

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To play like your life is on stake makes a huge difference. Whether you want it or not, when a team dies on the pitch for a win and the opposition gives up, this difference in mentaliy gets normally reflected on the score line. That is what happened on Saturday. No one could say we didn’t try but I could see that determination in the eyes of many Fulham players, a determination that we didn’t have.

If they lose and Milwall beat Cardiff away they would have a chance to get just 4 points behind, and they finish the league against Middlesbrough and Norwich, two teams on direct promotion positions. So, Fulham came to Bloomfield determined to get the 3 points and to die on the pitch if necessary. On the other hand we look like we asking for this nightmare to end as soon as possible. We still have some pride and never surrender but the reality is what it is.

Yesterday I watched Betis v Zaragoza from the spanish second division and I was wondering what is like to play as a local on a proper pitch. A beautiful green carpet… I have always been told that if someone can’t play well in the Villamarin, that player is not good enough. They also have Pepe Mel, who deserves a mention on its own.

Betis is an institution in spanish football and their coach is an excellent one with a great personality. They should have given him more time and trust in England because he had done a good job at West Brom. I remember his press conferences and I admit I suffered for him. He would dare answering to the journalist on his own, without any translators and with a very limited english. If you have a chance try to watch the one in which he was praising his goalie Ben Foster and you’ll see what I am talking about.

But he ketp trying. Pochettino helped him as a translator for nearly 2 years. Some times it is important to be a likeable person and Mel wasn’t liked in England. He is, however, a great coach and with time he would have been able to demonstrate that. Right now, he is very very close to return Betis to the first division. I am happy for him.

I must highlight two names this week, Suarez and Mourinho. Both of them are winners and I won’t discover anything if I say that Barca has probably got the best three attackers in the world because they all contribute in their own way. Let’s start with Messi. He has no comparison with Ronaldo in my opinion. Cristiano is a better finisher but Leo is something else. He is above that, if the team is not passing the ball well he is always there to distribute the ball, when the team needs to score there he is to score the goals, when the team needs assists, there he is to pass the ball to someone to finish it. He does everything right, absolutely everything.

There are exceptional footballers who based his game not on being a 10 on nothing but an 8 on everything. Some are a 10 on something and a 9 on everything else. Messi is a 10. I understand that Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player but when I see Messi playing I forget about everything else. You can also tell that he is really full of determination, enjoying himself next to Neymar and Suarez and helping his Barca. That is the key.

I also wanted to talk about Suarez. Neymar is electric, good combinations, very deep in his game and he scores a lot. He will be whatever he wants to be when he changes his slightly arrogant attitude. One good thing he could do would be to look at Suarez. His adaptation has been exemplary and not valued enough by the press. He is not as aesthetic as the other two but extremely effective.

Luis was a crack at Liverpool and an admired footballer in England. He could have arrived at Barca showing off his credentials but he did it showing admiration for his new team mates. He works really hard, runs, defends, finds spaces, puts pressure on…He is a beast and he’s starting to collecting the rewards.

His two goals against PSG were beautiful and it surprised me the way he tricked David Luiz as this is very common in England and David Luiz played for Chelsea. Luiz played without being 100% fit so that has to be considered as a harmstring tear takes more than 2 weeks to heal. PSG missed Ibrahimovic, Verratti and Motta though. I think it’s now game over but we must not take away any merit from the great game Barca played.

By the way, Suarez, Messi and Neymar get on very well. You can tell straight away that their relationship is excellent and that is very important in football. I can assure you that. People say that what it is important is that they understand each other as footballers which is correct but if they also have a good relationship even better.

I will not miss the Madrid derby on Wednesday. I don’t want to bet on any team because you already know how bad I am at that and because someone could get upset if I talk badly about Atletico…. But the truth is that Madrid will have a problem without Marcelo and Modric and probably Bale. I am surprised to see how much criticism he receives and how bad results he gets in the polls (which I hate by the way), without considering that in a game in which Atletico will try to narrow the pitch, Bale’s speed could prove very important for the team.

Tomorrow I will have on eye on Barça-PSG and another one on Bayern-Oporto. I am surprised about Bayern because they can win the League on Saturday and yet we only hear bad news from Munich. Do you know they called them Hollywood FC? A friend from Barcelona told me that the other day as apparently when things go wrong everybody starts gossiping. All the Bayern former players, some legends, are directors and they talk without thinking about what the team needs. The team’s doctor has apparently resigned and left with a few bad words against Guardiola.

I remember when I watched them at the Etihad and how impressed I was by the personality that Pep had transferred to the team. Now they lack fluency and it is in part normal due to the large amount of injuries they have but I think they are capable to recover from the first leg and turn the resulta round. It won’t be easy though as Lopetegui has constructed an excellent team.

Did you realise that the 8 coaches in the quarter finals played for Barca? It might be a coincidence but this says a lot and good about Barca.

I mentioned Mourinho earlier. On Saturday he “won” the Premier with Chelsea. Still not mathematically done but after their win over Manchester united, they are nearly there. I think he is an excellent coach but as I have said before, I don’t like his attitude. I will expand on this again another day.

Now, I prefer to think about the game in Cardiff and the possibility of seeing some of my dear friends whom I will be able to meet given the proximity of Cardiff from Swansea. It is our last away game and we will fight until the end.

Big hugs to all.

Come ooooon!

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

Captain for a day

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In a league where games last for only 10 minutes we would, maybe stand a chance. This is how long we last when we play away before it all goes wrong. It is as hard to understand as it is to explain. It is not a secret that Bournemouth is an excellent team and they are at the top with real chances to become a Premiership team because of the football they play, but they had too many chances on Saturday. How many times can one player receive the ball so easily that he can turn around in the midfield and run towards the goal without any players chasing him…That’s how Pittman scored his first goal. His fourth, right at the end was the icing on the cake, a penalty committed by myself in another game to forget. Too many mistakes.

I am not sure whether anybody in the team realises how devastating the effects of this season can be on our careers and on our families. At the end, everybody will have to think about what they have or they haven’t done and even though it will be too late, they will have to jump to their own conclusions.

On a personal basis, it was a difficult week for me. I trained with the physio all week and was very careful because my quads were still hurting. The scar didn’t hurt but the whole leg got sore and I wasn’t hopeful I could play in the game. On Friday I decided to try with the group and the coach put me in the starting eleven. When the coach shows he trusts you the minimum you can do is to honour that trust by giving everything you have, forget about the pain and play. That is what I did and after four weeks and only one session with the group I had the opportunity to play from the very beginning, which is quite unusual.

When we arrived at the stadium, Lee Clark came to me and told me I was going to be captain. He left me open-mouthed because I could have never imagined that. The only time that I had been captain before was with Swansea in a pre-season trophy in Palamos and once with Alaves B, so I haven’t had much experience in that sense, but it was a very nice gesture and a demonstration of trust. Beyond the final result and what the club is going through, I will remember this day as a special one because Blackpool is a historical club and I was, one day, its captain. To many this would be just an anecdote, to me is much more than that.

We are a young team and despite all the problems the experience helps you to be more reflective and not to let your emotions guide you. Some days I would kick the wall and give up but in the changing room there are many players just over 18 and they see you as a role model. I will try never to be a negative influence on a young player in my team because I don’t want anybody to remember Andrea Orlandi in a negative way and so I will do my best to help them instead.

I know what I am talking about because I would have liked to have been treated this way when I was promoted to the first team in Alaves. There were great players there and great people who treated me really well but some didn’t. One player who played in the same position as me, tried to make my life misery. Had I had then the same mentality I have now, I would certainly have done things differently, but you learn from these experiences too. I am still learning now, and as I said before I will never be a bad influence on a youngster who is just starting and wants to rule the world.

We have 2 home games now and then the break for the internationals. Charlton and Leeds will be tough rivals but we must try to win to reduce the points we need to be safe; although remaining in the Championship is now impossible. I look at the table and I feel ashamed, I change channels when they show us on Sky Sports News, because I get depressed and I can’t find an explanation as to why we are there. If I look at it game by game I understand it, but when I look at the season as a whole and look at the work that we do day by day, I can’t find arguments to explain our situation. I know it’s hard to understand, maybe impossible.

We are where we are for many reasons. Things beyond the football and the changing room and things that even we don’t know about. It is like a scary movie in which you know the end but you still get scared during each scene despite some little happy teasers. I have said on many occasions that I look around and I see footballers, sportsmen, who shouldn’t be living in a situation like this. We are not a bad team, surely not as bad as the table suggests. But the numbers never lie. It is incredible but true.

It gets harder for me to write and find the motivation to sit in front of the computer, I must admit. I keep doing it because I made a commitment at the beginning of the season and I never shy away when things don’t go my way. I might be a strange person, but I am a man of my word.

On the long trip to Bournemouth, by the way, I was asleep. The little ones gave me a hell of a week and I couldn’t really get much rest, so travelling with the team felt a bit like a mini holiday to me (I hope Laura doesn’t read this). Saying that, this year the team trips felt like horror stories rather than anything else. Anyway, I managed to rest a bit and I am sure Darren O’Dea will know what I am talking about as he had the pleasure of enjoying my snoring just 5 minutes after we got into the room. This is what tiredness does to you… I didn’t think I snored but he recorded it on his mobile. I must be getting old…..

Champions league this week. I warned you last week that I was a really bad predictor as I was hoping that my friend Paulo Sousa could get something positive in Oporto but Basel was trashed as Shakhtar were against Bayern. Chelsea out. It had been a while since I got so excited about a game in which I wasn’t involved in as I did with Chelsea-PSG. I saw Ibrahimovic’s tackle and it reminded me of one of Barnes’, but more than that I saw a team who wanted to win against one who was only thinking about qualifying. The result, in my opinion, was fair.

Now I hope that Barça goes through as expected but they should be careful against City who lost against Burnley and will play like a wounded lion at the Camp Nou. I don’t discard Arsenal either, despite having an almost impossible mission in Monaco and we will see who takes the game between Atlético and Leverkusen and Borussia and Juventus. In any case the game I’ll be watching will be the one at the Camp Nou. Good memories there….

That’s enough my friends. F1 has just started and it was one of my favourite sports. I say it was because it has become so boring now. I can tell you that Hamilton will win the competition, although it is funny how, after Alonso departed, it seems that Ferrari are doing better and McLaren are doing worse. Very very curious…

See you next week. Hopefully with better news for the people who keep supporting Blackpool after all. For them, for you, I am out of words but I will be grateful to you forever.

Come ooooon!!!

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

The end

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We lost against Sheffield Wednesday… and now talking about staying at the Championship would be an audacity. Mathematics say we are not still a League One team, but it’s not a secret that’s our future. Even our coach talks about it openly and says we should give young players opportunities thinking of next year. That’s the club’s course of action: to trust in youngsters. Those ten matches left until end of season will surely be useful to accumulate minutes and experience.

It’s time to face the facts. It has been, it’s being, a very complicated season, the most difficult one in my entire professional career because I’ve never been in a simillar situation. Not even close. And weird, because I’ve been working even harder than ever due to the anger and the taken hits.

One day I said the most important thing for a pro player is to be able to look oneself at the mirror and I can do it with clear conscience. Very clear. Would you change something you did?, they ask. Ridiculous, since it’s easy to answer ‘yes’ if you are already in misery. But I say «no». I am easily driven by sensations and that’s why I came to Blackpool and, as months went by, no matter the weekly blow, I still feel an absolute respect for this people and I feel myself as a part of the club.

I spent three weeks without playing, three weeks working as an animal to reduce the time they said. «Four weeks out», they guessed, but I tried to arrive on time for Wigan. «Don’t force, take it easy», said the doctor when I increased the amount of work. And I had to obey. If everything goes right I will be ready for Bornemouth, one of the two hardest matches left along with the Derby one.

Now that we have no pressure I trust in show a better face, get some satisfaction y cheer our supporters up… who are still there, by our side no matter what. We need a stroke of proud, allow nobody steps on us, just because I don’t want to live difficult situations on the pitch and, above all, our people don’t deserve it.

«¿Do you feel pressure because you didn’t score the last three matches?» That’s what they ask Romario once, when he played in Barcelona. «Pressure is what a building worker feels when he gets up at six to go work. I would be ungrateful with people if I’d say I feel pressure», he said. I am not Romario, of course, either Blackpool is Barcelona, but those people, those fans, are the same. Anywhere.

We owe people our efforts and work at the pitch. We are the actor they come to see and doing our best is the minimum to fulfill. Proudly. From my point of view, at least.

«Orlandi’s Monday» has been delayed this week because this Sunday I took the liberty to skive off. My family and I drove to Brighton after the match against Wednesday. I hadn’t gone back there since I left the club and I was happy to see all my friends again. Norah could play with her friend Aimar (heir to the Calderon empire), see Adriana and Pol (Bruno Saltor the Great’s children) and Morena and Sofia, that crack named Leo Ulloa’s daughters. We gathered to remember better days, to tell how things are going, have a laugh… It was an excellent relaxing time, which I realised I needed when I came home.

I went to see the Brighton’s sport facilities… amazing what they have got there! Another world if you compare it with ours. Working at a place like that is fantastic and a great help for the players, who have got everything they need. I said hi to my friend Gibbo, the waiters and waitresses, the cooks, the kit men, the physiotherapists… A pleasure, as always.

Brighton and its football club will be always in my heart and I trust they can finish the season without the problems they suffered on the last days. A sad consolation prize if I think of Blackpool’s present, but I guess you can get it. I also wish Leicester to stay at Premier League because of Leo, who is fighting there as he always does.

The Champions League Round of 16 second leg games starts today and I won’t watch the Real Madrid – Schalke 04. It’s a good match, but Oporto – Basel is ahead of everything. The Portuguese are the favourite ones… but I wouldn´t be surprised if my dear friend Paulo Sosa causes a sensation, no matter how terrible tipster I am.

I think Paulo Sousa is an underestimated coach. He was my trainer at Swansea and I learnt a lot from him, as much about football as everything that surrounds it. He gave me very good advices and I remember him with special affection. They have it difficult… but hey, they beat Liverpool on the group phase. Basel have proved to be a team with the serious and working touch of their coach.

Well, my friends, we play against Bournemouth next Saturday and I hope you have better news from Blackpool next week. We are drowning ourselves but we will keep on swimming until the end. No doubt about it.

Translated by Jesús Abascal

El fin

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Perdimos contra el Sheffield Wednesday… Y ahora sí que sería una osadía hablar de salvar la categoría. Las matemáticas dicen que aún no somos equipo de League One, pero no es un secreto admitir que ese es nuestro futuro. Incluso nuestro entrenador habla abiertamente de ello, de probar a jóvenes para el próximo año y que el camino del club es ese: confiar en los jóvenes. Seguramente estos diez partidos que faltan hasta acabar la temporada les servirán para acumular minutos y experiencia.

Llega un momento en que debes rendirte a la evidencia. Ha sido, esta siendo, una temporada muy complicada. La más difícil de mi carrera profesional porque nunca me encontré en una situación similar. Ni remotamente. En el plano personal ha sido una experiencia extraña porque en los entrenamientos he trabajado incluso más que otros años por la rabia contenida que acumulaba ante los golpes que íbamos recibiendo.

Un día dije que lo más importante para un profesional es poder mirarse al espejo. Y cada mañana puedo hacerlo con la conciencia tranquila. Muy tranquila. ¿Cambiarías algo de lo que has hecho? Me han preguntado eso tan ridículo porque cuando ya estás en el pozo es fácil decir que cambiarías, claro. Pero no. Soy, para lo bueno y para lo malo, una persona que se deja guiar por sensaciones y por eso vine a Blackpool. Y con el paso de los meses, con el hundimiento semanal, sigo viendo a la gente con un respeto absoluto y me siento parte del club.

Me he pasado tres semanas sin jugar y llevo tres semanas trabajando como un animal para acortar los plazos que me dijeron. “Cuatro semanas fuera” me pronosticaron e intenté llegar a tiempo para jugar incluso ante el Wigan. “Para que te vas a romper. Frena el ritmo” me avisó el médico cuando aumenté la carga de entrenamiento. Y tuve que hacerlo. Si todo sale como espero debería estar a punto para jugar contra el Bornemouth, que junto al Derby parecen los partidos más duros que nos quedan hasta el final de temporada.

Ahora, sin presión, confío en que podamos mostrar una mejor cara, darnos alguna satisfacción y en la medida de lo posible alegrar a nuestros aficionados… Que ahí siguen, a nuestro lado a pesar de todo. Tenemos que dar un golpe de orgullo para que nadie nos pise de aquí al final, porque no quiero vivir situaciones difíciles de aguantar en el campo y porque, por encima de todo nuestra gente no se lo merece.

¿Te sientes presionado porque llevas tres partidos sin marcar? Esto se lo preguntaron a un tal Romario cuando jugaba en el Barça. “La presión la tiene el obrero que se levanta a las seis de la mañana para ir a trabajar. Yo sería un desagradecido con la gente si dijera que estoy presionado” contestó él, más o menos. Ni yo soy Romario, claro, ni el Blackpool es el Barcelona, pero esa ‘gente’, esa afición, en mayor o menor número, viene a ser la misma aquí y allí. Y en cualquier lado.

Y es a la gente a la que le debemos nuestro trabajo y nuestra entrega en el campo. Somos los actores a los que ellos vienen a ver y lo mínimo que se nos debe exigir es cumplir nuestro papel de la mejor manera posible. Con todo el orgullo. Así lo veo yo al menos.

El Orlandi’s Monday se ha retrasado esta semana porque me tomé la licencia de hacer campana el domingo. Al acabar el partido contra el Wednesday cogimos el coche toda la familia y nos fuimos a Brighton. No había vuelto desde que dejé el club y fue un alegrón reencontrarme con todos mis amigos. Norah estuvo feliz de jugar con su amigo Aimar (el heredero del imperio Calderón), de volver a ver a Adriana y Pol, los hijos del gran Bruno Saltor, y a Morena y Sofía, las hijas de ese crack que responde por Leo Ulloa.

Nos reunimos para recordar días mejores, explicar como nos van las cosas, animarnos, echarnos unas risas… Fue una excelente descompresión. Y de vuelta a casa noté que la necesitaba.

El domingo fui a ver por primera vez la ciudad deportiva del Brighton… Es increíble lo que tienen ahí montado. Comparado con la nuestra es otro mundo porque es imposible de comparar. La verdad es que trabajar en un sitio como ese es alucinante y una gran ayuda para los futbolistas, que tienen absolutamente todo lo necesario. Saludé a mi amigo Gibbo, a los camareros, a los cocineros, utilleros, fisios… Un placer, como siempre.

Brighton y el Brighton siempre estarán en mi corazón y confío en que acabe la temporada sin los agobios que ha sufrido las últimas jornadas. Es un triste consuelo pensando en el presente del Blackpool, pero supongo que podréis entenderlo. Como me gustaría, también, que el Leicester salvase la categoría en la Premier. Obviamente por Leo, que está ahí luchando como siempre ha hecho.

Hoy empiezan los partidos de vuelta de octavos en la Champions y no voy a ver el partido del Madrid con el Schalke. Hay mucho por ver, pero primero de todo está el Oporto-Basilea. Los portugueses son favoritos… Pero a mi, mal pronosticador, no me extrañaría que el equipo de mi estimado Paulo Sousa diera el golpe.

Paulo Sousa creo que es un entrenador al que no se le ha dado el mérito que merece. Me entrenó en el Swansea y aprendí un montón de él. Tanto del fútbol como de todo lo que le rodea. Me dio muy buenos consejos y con el paso de los años le recuerdo con un cariño especial. Lo tienen difícil… Pero, cuidado, ya dejó en la calle al Liverpool en la fase de grupos y ha demostrado, el Basilea, ser un equipo con el sello serio y trabajado de su entrenador.

En fin, amigos, el sábado jugamos contra el Bournemouth y confío en que la semana que viene haya mejores noticias en Blackpool. Nos estamos ahogando, sí, pero seguiremos nadando hasta el final. Que nadie lo dude.

The most difficult win

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Bloomfield Road

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To play in the rain can be really tough; if you play in the mud, the snow or the ice it becomes a real physical challenge, but there is nothing worse than the wind. Well there is, windy conditions combined with the grass (?) of Bloomfield Road. The bad pitch combined with the wind made playing football almost an impossible challenge. Not only was it annoying but very difficult. You attempt to get the ball down to try to play it and then…the pitch is so bad that you can’t control the ball or make a good pass. However, amidst all this craziness we managed to win on Saturday against Brighton and it’s very difficult for me to write about Brighton as a rival…

But before that I must talk about us, Blackpool. Many things can be said about our team, you can talk about our limitations but we do deserve some credit because this is a group that, despite all the knock downs, gets up and keeps fighting. On Saturday we had another amazing surprise: we got to the changing room 2 hours before the game just to find out that Ishmael Miller’s shirt wasn’t there, we all looked at each other in confusion as we had assumed he was going to be in the first eleven and we suddenly found out that he wasn’t with us anymore. Miller is an important player, personality wise and historically and as it happens he won’t be with us anymore. Telford came out in his place and he showed that the youngsters in this team can be trusted, but the mood was strange as Big Ish’s departure made the changing room nervous. You read news articles like the one about Lewis, about unexpected departures, about new signings… a Russian roulette that we are not used to and that makes everything even harder. But that, at the same time, makes you feel proud that you kept going, we are at our limit but we are still alive.

You try even harder. You look at the sky and beg for the wind to stop, you look down and realise the pitch is also an enemy. But you look to the stands and you get energy as you discover that, despite everything, the fans are still with us. They support us and you know that, even if it is just for two hours, they put away their frustration and try to help us out. It’s simply amazing.

We won a very special game. Not just because of they are a rival (as this is a very personal matter) but because it was the week after what happened at Watford. It had been a very intense week which started with a very useful meeting. There weren’t any reproaches or accusations or long faces. We simply talked about the fact that it couldn’t happen again and we worked all week like hungry lions. I can assure you that I haven’t been that tired for many weeks. The intensity in the training sessions was really high, everybody was pushing themselves to the limit and it worked out well.

It wasn’t easy for me because, although I wanted these 3 points more than anybody, I knew that my rivals were also my friends. I have always been able to disconnect from what is happening around me once I get out onto the pitch but this time it was very special. Especially during today’s football as it seems players just play for money because our agents want to win 2 extra pounds somewhere else and you find yourself packing again without knowing whether it is the right choice or not.

I understood that my history with Brighton was real, special and unforgettable. I understood why, as the game approached, I had that funny feeling when I went to visit them at their hotel on Friday, and even more so on Saturday at Bloomfield Road. I heard those songs that once were mine and that my daughter keeps singing, I saw my “bro” Calde warming up on the side line, I saw Bruno, Greer, Caskey… I turned around so as not to look at them and focused on the Blackpool fans so as not to listen to the away ones. We won.

I was undoing my boots when Jamie O’Hara scored. We shall see who can deal with him now because he even counts the assists that he completes in the training sessions, so we are in for an interesting week! He deserves big congratulations, as despite not having a perfect day he stepped up and was brave enough to take a free kick which ended up going in superbly. I celebrated the goal with passion and crossed my fingers and spent a very long 10 minutes asking the referee to blow the whistle. How long that felt!

I felt sorry, I am sorry, for Brighton of course. I am not ashamed to say it out loud because that is how I feel. I enjoyed it there with Poyet and I learned lots with Oscar, but overall I found a big family that I can never forget. On Friday I went to their hotel and I was embarrassed by the sincere appreciation that everyone showed me. I managed to say hi to Gibbo, a very kind person who always stands by the players and who is a special friend. I spoke with the physio’s Wato and Anthony as if it had been yesterday when they took care of me. I hugged them, and I hugged Paul the photographer, and Joaquin and the guys from the media department. Of course I had a long chat with Calde and Bruno, as I did with all the other players. I had dinner with them as if we were still playing together and it confirmed something I already knew, we will be friends forever.

It wasn’t a great football game and when I replayed the game at night in my head, I realised we won because we had more faith and we fought harder. Sometimes people talk too much about tactics and strategy when something as simple as the commitment can make a huge difference. That and the quality, because Jamie’s free kick was pure quality. I had a tough game as every time I had the ball, Rohan Ince would come up to help the left back and that player has longer legs than Maria Sharapova (albeit uglier ones!). I tried to out run him but I didn’t manage so I tried my best to control the ball. I worked really hard looking for assists, passing and fighting. I was knackered when I got to the changing room. I gave everything and drove back home shattered but thinking that we are back on the right track.

I have explained how my happiness is also mixed with sadness for Brighton. I will explain. If you look at the table they still pretty low down and if you compare it with last year, the team is very different. Their football is very different and now I understand the huge job that both Poyet and Oscar did when they were there. I remember the 3rd of May in Nottingham when Leo Ulloa scored in the 92nd minute to give us the pass to the promotion playoff. It was an unforgettable feeling that will stay with me forever. I hope our mission to avoid relegation doesn’t mean that they will go down. I wish.

We need to keep going. We must now win away from home. We are the only team who hasn’t won an away game yet and we really need to win away from Bloomfield Road to let our rivals know that we are going to keep on fighting. We have shown in our home games that we are not an easy rival for anybody and although Norwich is currently fighting for the promotion positions we are obligated to try to scare them as the wounded lions we are. After that we will have Middlesbrough and Forest and these three games must make a difference.
Don’t count us out yet.

Come oooooon!

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

The worst of the nightmares

por

HAZ CLICK AQUÍ PARA LA VERSIÓN EN CASTELLANO

I got home last night after a long trip from London in complete silence. It has been a long time since I have listened to the sound of silence like we did on Saturday. Sometimes you wonder what happened, you are sorry about an error, about a particular mistake, a bad pass… A thousand things. On Saturday, for the first time in a while, I couldn’t think about anything. It felt like waking up from a nightmare that makes you feel bad, even though can’t remember what the nightmare was about. And you feel down and frustrated.

We didn’t make a fool of ourselves I think, because at least we got out there and competed. We went for it, and we competed and we enjoyed it… until the lights were switched off. When that happened, we suffered the worse defeat that I have lived through in my career. Seven goals in 45 minutes. Even worse, five in twenty. “Good, good, we hold them up in the second half and we get the win” we were saying at half time when we were 2-0 up. It is impossible to explain what happened next. Even more impossible is to understand it. We didn’t make a fool of ourselves but we were humiliated in the most cruel manner I can remember.

For the first time in my life I can’t explain what happened. Watford’s first goal came from a very clear fault and moreover it was off side. Ok, that was a cheap shot and no justification of why we lowered our arms. We didn’t realise what was going on. They looked like a well oiled machine and we were a bunch of blokes who didn’t know each other and got together to kick the ball around. We were looking at each other without seeing each other, we were running around like headless chickens and we were humiliated.

I am sorry. Sorry? Yes, this time I really feel for the fans who came to support us and I can’t say sorry enough. There was a moment in which I thought – I could fake an injury, get substituted and run away from this craziness. But immediately I thought I wouldn’t be able to do that without feeling ashamed of myself when I looked in the mirror. I felt ashamed of myself anyway.

A few weeks ago I had the feeling that I was improving, I kept repeating that to myself and I was convinced that a goal was all I needed. I scored and went crazy without knowing what was to come. A goal, the best sensation for a football player, just to end up that way…

At the end of the game the mood in the changing room was baffling. We spent half an hour talking, without reproaches, without shouting…Trying to explain what had happened, trying to understand what happened. Later, the silence came. I guess everybody was dealing with it in their own way. If I think about Elliot I can imagine how he felt, if I think about Clarke I can guess how he felt when he left the pitch after Ighalo scored the 3-2. It was just crazy, like a horror movie.

The return trip was bad. The coach and some of the players stayed in London and I spent the whole trip looking nowhere. I answered 3 or 4 messages that were trying to cheer me up, but they made me even more down. On these occasions you think about the times people tell you how good the life of a professional player is. Sometimes you need to remind them how hard it is, the frustration you feel, the anger, the sadness and the powerlessness.

I listened to the sound of silence. It was so annoying that it still bothers me. I arrived at home after 10pm and at least I got an innocent, sincere and caring hug off my two daughters. There were five, maybe ten minutes of peace which helped me psychologically. Then Laura. She didn’t say anything. She just hugged me to show her support and understanding. She knows me so well, we know each other so well, that we know when we need some space and words aren’t necessary.

Again, for the first time in a while I didn’t sleep all night and when I got up, I was silly enough to look for the game’s highlights. Even more pain. You see all the goals in barely two minutes but your head discovers what happened before and after, how the ball was lost, how the position was maintained, that fault, that defensive cover… I got depressed again. “Stop thinking about it” Laura told me, trying to cheer me up. I have always said that I never surrender, that when the situation is tough I will fight even harder. I feel good physically, I know I am ok and I am not saying this for the sake of it, because you know when you are good despite what the coaches or friends say. I rebel against this situation because that is the way I am!

On Saturday we are playing against Brighton who lost 3-2 against Arsenal in the FA Cup and are not at their best. It’s not a surprise to say that it will be a very special game for me because I will play against my former team, where my “bro” Calderon plays and a team in which I have lots of friends. But on the pitch I will play with anger. Not at them but for myself, for my team, my teammates, my coach and our fans.

I always wanted to be a football player. I still want to be one. If it’s true that you have to learn from your mistakes, I hope we have learned a lot about what happened on Saturday in London.

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

La vergüenza del fútbol

por
football

CLICK HERE FOR THE ENGLISH VERSION

Ayer murió en Madrid un aficionado del Deportivo de La Coruña. Tal cual. Una pelea entre ultras, dijeron, una movida de mucho cuidado cerca del Vicente Calderón antes del partido con el Atlético de Madrid. Y un muerto. Lo más fuerte es que llamé a un amigo de Barcelona para enterarme de algo más y resulta que el partido ¡se jugó como si nada! Luego descubrí que los presidentes de los dos clubes dijeron que eso no tiene nada que ver con el fútbol. Y blablablá… No me lo puedo creer.

Dando por hecho que un suceso así es imposible que ocurra hoy por hoy en Inglaterra, si llegase a pasar alguna desgracia tengo claro que el partido se suspendería de inmediato. Ni haría falta llamar a federaciones, ni a la Liga ni a nadie porque los responsables de los clubes implicados serían los primeros en entender la situación. Para que quienes me lean desde España se hagan una idea: En Inglaterra alguna vez se ha retrasado el comienzo de un partido por problemas de tráfico ¡Para dar tiempo a los aficionados a llegar al estadio!

Soy futbolista profesional pero sigo manteniendo dentro de mi algo de aficionado, el que me inculcaron de pequeñito cuando iba a Sarrià a ver al Espanyol. Y con el paso de los años voy entendiendo que el futuro de este deporte lo quieren arrancar del corazón de la gente. Aquí, en el Reino Unido, se tiene claro que son los aficionados los que mandan, o al menos aquellos para quienes jugamos, pero esa es la excepción. Por desgracia.

Y cuando se llega al tema de la violencia, ya no sé qué se puede hacer. Pero desde luego sí sé, estoy seguro, que no se puede no hacer nada. Lo que pasó ayer en Madrid no es una novedad porque también allí mataron hace pocos años a un aficionado de la Real Sociedad y hace más unos ultras del Barça mataron a uno del Espanyol. Pero esos directivos dicen que no tiene nada que ver con el fútbol. Creo que llegados a este punto deberían ser los propios aficionados los que parasen esta locura, pero en España, a diferencia de Inglaterra, no existe ninguna asociación nacional de hinchas con la suficiente fuerza como para hacerse notar. Y, claro, los directivos de los clubes, de la Liga y de la federación hacen lo que les da la gana.

Bueno, no sé que más podría decir de lo que pasó en Madrid, porque de lo que vamos viviendo en Blackpool sí habría mucho que hablar, aunque por otras circunstancias.

Otra semana y otro puntito que nos sirve de más bien poco. El sábado jugamos un partido muy tenso, con poco fútbol y muchos nervios, que viene a ser la tónica general de los últimos tiempos. Yendo último destacado, uno no está para jugar atractivo, aunque sigo convencido de que podríamos hacerlo bastante mejor. A nivel personal, 0 minutos. A mis 30 años tengo la calma suficiente como para no entrar a valorar ciertas cosas. Y lo que pienso no lo voy a poner aquí, claro está. Quien me conoce sabe qué pienso y es hora de trabajar más, y si no cambia nada, trabajar más todavía. Y ya está. Poner malas caras, decir cosas inoportunas… Eso ya lo he vivido en el pasado y sirve de bien poco.

Me acuerdo de mis primeros entrenamientos con el primer equipo del Alavés. Era tan pretencioso que creía saberlo todo y merecía ser titular. En un equipo con jugadores de Primera luchando por ascender. De entrenador estaba Pepe Mel y en los entrenamientos me ponía de lateral izquierdo para que mejorara defensivamente. Eso era lo que él me decía. Pero mi tozudez lo veía como una afrenta. ¿A mi me vas a poner de lateral?, pensaba. Pues si te ponen de lateral, te callas. Al final el que manda es el entrenador, te guste o no y de esas cosas aprendes. Así que si no juego, me callo. Mi primer agente en el fútbol, el que me llevó a jugar al Alavés, siempre me decía: “oír, ver y callar”. Y eso es lo que ahora hago.

Además de autocrítica claro. Eso le falta a mucha gente en el fútbol. Siempre vemos la paja en el ojo ajeno pero a veces uno tiene que mirarse al espejo y enfrentarse a sus errores y aceptarlos. Solo así puedes mejorar, tanto en el fútbol como en la vida. O eso es lo que pienso.

Pero en fin, la vida sigue. Nos acompaña en la zona de descenso un equipo al que en la vida me gustaría ver allí. ¿Qué le ha pasado al Brighton? Durante dos temporadas luchamos por ascender, el primer año éramos sin duda el mejor equipo de la liga y ahora luchan por no bajar. Me sabe fatal por los aficionados y por mis amigos que siguen allí. Aunque cada vez me cuesta más reconocer a alguno cuando veo las alineaciones. Si conozco a más de cuatro soy afortunado. Miro al Derby County, que lleva con prácticamente los mismos durante años y ahora recogen sus frutos, y pienso que en Brighton debió suceder lo mismo. Hacer un equipo completamente nuevo tiene sus riesgos y lo estoy viviendo en primera persona aquí en Blackpool. Pero por afición, estadio, instalaciones y equipo, porque creo que tiene muy buen equipo, espero de corazón que el Brighton luche por metas más ambiciosas y en no muchos años espero verle en la Premier League.

Hablando de Brighton, el jueves tuve la ocasión de cenar con tres ex-compañeros que, por circunstancias, viven alrededor de Manchester como yo. Ashley Barnes y Stephen Ward, que juegan en el Burnley, y Adam El Abd, que está en el Bury Town. Nos lo pasamos en grande, recordando anécdotas, contando nuestras experiencias y escandalizándonos de que Íñigo Calderón siga con el mismo coche. Pero sobre todo coincidimos en lo bien que estábamos en ese vestuario. Había tipos extraordinarios. Me alegra volver a ver a gente a la que le tengo aprecio y cariño, y comprobar que mantenemos el mismo feeling, jueguen en la Premier, en la Championship o League Two.

Volviendo a Calderón y su coche, no se trata de tener un cochazo por jugar a fútbol, sino uno que supere la ITV sin tener que rezar antes en Lourdes. Leía un artículo de Cristian Álvarez, el portero del Rayo Vallecano que va en metro a Vallecas, lee a Steinbeck o a Marx, huye de la etiqueta de futbolista despreocupado de la realidad y frito neuronalmente. Hay muchos más así de los que la gente cree gracias a Dios. Calde me recuerda a él. No va en metro porque en Brighton no hay, pero si que se pasea en su bici, viste como un estudiante de INEF –carrera que cursó con éxito–, se preocupa por aprender y mejorar a nivel intelectual y es la humildad hecha persona. Además del mejor padrino que podía elegir para Emma. Un amigo de verdad. ¡Pero cámbiate de coche!

Esta semana tenemos amistoso el martes. Siempre es mejor jugar, aunque sean partidos a veces desagradables, que entrenar. Al final, el gen competitivo hace que quieras enfrentarte a algún rival e intentar ganarle. El gusanillo del partido, sea el que sea, es lo que me mantiene conectado al fútbol porque el día que desaparezca se acabará la aventura.

Una vez que pasas los 30 empiezas a pensar en lo que viene después. Ya no te queda tanto. Y yo nunca he dado por hecho que al año siguiente fuera a tener un contrato sobre la mesa. Y aun teniéndolo, alguna vez he pensado en parar antes de tiempo. Así desde los 20. En mis primeros dos años en Swansea pensé en dejarlo, por ejemplo.

Lesiones inoportunas, horas y horas de trabajo en la sombra sin recompensa, a veces quema. A mucha gente le ha pasado, aunque al final las ganas de seguir jugando han podido con todo. Y ahora tengo muchas, muchas ganas de jugar para demostrarme a mi mismo lo que valgo. Así que a intentar mejorar esta semana, entrenar mejor que la pasada, e intentar hacerme un hueco en el equipo. Ya lo dije hace un tiempo, va a ser un desafío intentar convencer a un manager británico de que puedo entrar en sus planes. Y a eso voy.

Han sido unos días extraños. El sábado no pude apenas dormir de la rabia interior que sentía y ayer me quedé helado con lo que pasó en Madrid. Hoy empieza una nueva semana y el sábado jugamos con el Birmingham, que se salvó en el último minuto del último partido de la pasada temporada. Los milagros existen cuando hay trabajo y determinación. Y a eso es a lo que debemos agarrarnos ahora en el Blackpool.

¡Vamosssss!

Shame in football

por
football

football

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Yesterday a Deportivo fan was killed in Madrid. Just like that. A fight between hooligans near the Vicente Calderon started on the morning of the game and a fan was killed. What is disgusting is that when I called my friend in Barcelona to find out what happened, he told me that the game hadn’t been called off, it was played as if nothing had happened! I then found out that both presidents said that it had nothing to do with football and blah blah blah. I cannot believe it!

Something like that would never happen in England nowadays but if it did, it is clear that the game would be called off straight away. It wouldn’t be necessary to call the Football Association as the presidents of the clubs would be the first ones to understand the situation. For those of you who read my articles from Spain, the FA has delayed the start of games on many occasions just because of traffic problems, so the fans have time to get to the stadium.

I am a professional footballer but I keep saying that there is also a fan in me, the one I started to be when I was little and was taken to Sarrià to watch Espanyol. And with the passing of the years I realise that the politics in football is taking the passion out of the fans. Here in the UK they know very well that the fans are the owners of this game, we play for them and to them. But unfortunately this is an exception in today’s game and when violence is part of the equation I don’t really know what can be done. What happened in Madrid yesterday is not a one off. A Real Sociedad fan was killed in Madrid a few years ago and some Barça ultras were killed, an Espanyol fan a while ago… But the presidents of the clubs still say that has nothing to do with football! I think at this stage, it should be the fans that are stopping this craziness, but in Spain they don’t have, like in England, a fan association who can make their point. And of course, in Spain the club directors and the football association do as they please. I am not sure what else I can say about this really, but I can certainly talk about what is going on in Blackpool.

Another week and another point, which doesn’t help much. On Saturday we played a very tense game, with little football and lots of nerves, which seems to be the norm lately. Being bottom of the table, one cannot try to play attractive football, although I still think we could be playing much better. On a personal matter; zero minutes. At my age I should be calm enough not to talk about certain things and I am not going to write what I really think, but those people who know me know what I think and all I can do is work harder, and if nothing changes I will work even harder. And that’s it. To pull a face or to say certain things won’t help. I’ve gone through that already in the past….

I remember my first sessions with Alaves. I was so pretentious that I thought I knew everything and I deserved to be in the first eleven. It was a team with Primera players fighting for promotion. The coach was Pepe Mel and in the training sessions I would play as a left back in order to improve my defensive game. That was what he told me but I was stubborn and I saw it as an insult. He’s going to make me play as a left back? I would say to myself… Well if they make you play as a left back you shut up and play. At the end of the day, the coach is the boss and you learn from these things, whether you like it or now. So if I am not playing now, I keep quiet. My first agent, the one who took me to Alaves, always used to tell me: “listen, watch and keep quiet”. And that is what I am doing right now.

Some self-criticism is also needed. That is something that many people in football lack. You always see the faults in your brother’s eye but not in your own. You have to admit your errors and accept them. That is the only way to improve, whether in football or in life. That is what I believe.

Anyway, life goes on. Close to us at the bottom of the table we have a team that I don’t like to see there. What happened to Brighton? For two seasons we were fighting to get promoted, during the first year they were, without a shadow of a doubt, the best team in the league and now they are fighting relegation. I am really sorry for the fans and for my friends over there. It is harder and harder to recognise any of the players now, if I know more than four I am lucky. Look at Derby County, they have been playing with almost the same players for years and they are now getting the results. I think the same should have happened at Brighton. To completely change the team has many risks and this is what is happening here in Blackpool. But Brighton deserve better, they have got great fans, stadium, facilities and team, so I really hope they can compete for more ambitious targets and I hope to see them in the Premier League in a few years time.

Speaking about Brighton, on Thursday I was able to have dinner with three of my former colleagues who live around the Manchester area, Ashley Barnes and Stephen Ward who play at Burnley and Adam El Abd who plays at Bury Town. We had a great time remembering anecdotes and talking about our experiences and wondering why Iñigo Calderón has still got the same car!! Moreover, we agreed on how nice our teams are. I like to meet up with nice people who I really like and to see that we have the same feeling, whether we play in the Premier, the Championship or in League Two. Coming back to Calderon and his car, its not about having a big car just because you are a footballer but at least one that can pass the MOT without having to pray to the Virgin of Lourdes first.

I was reading an article by Cristian Alvarez, Rayo Vallecano’s goalkeeper who takes the subway to the training ground, reads Steinbeck and Marx, who runs away from the stereo typical footballer label and who don’t give a damm about society. There are lots of players like Alvarez, thank god. Calderon reminds me of him. He doesn’t take the subway because there is no subway in Brighton but he rides his bike a lot, he dresses like an university student, he successfully earned a degree in Sports Science, he cares about learning and improving intellectually and is a very humble person. He is the best bestman I could have chosen for Emma. A true friend, but please get a new car!!

This week we have a friendly on Tuesday. It is always better to play, even if they are friendlies, than to train. In the end, the competitiveness in you comes out and makes you want to play well in order to beat them. The excitement about a game is what keeps you connected to football and when you lose that excitement, your football adventure finishes.

When you reach 30 years old you start thinking about what comes next and there is not much left now. I have never assumed that I would have a contract on the table for the next season and even if I had, I have sometimes thought about early retirement. I have been like that since I was 20… During my first years in Swansea for example. Badly timed injuries, hours and hours of work in the shadows without rewards, all these things consume you. It has happened to lots of people before but in the end the love for the game prevails.

I really love this game, and I want to play to show myself that I am worth it. So I am trying to improve every week, to train better than last week and to try and get in the first eleven. I said a long time ago it is going to be very challenging to try to convince a British coach to let me play, but that is what I am trying to do.

I have had some strange days this week. On Saturday I hardly got any sleep because of the anger I was feeling and yesterday I got upset about what happened in Madrid. Today a new week starts and we play Birmingham on Saturday, who managed to stay up during the last minute of the last game, last season. Miracles do happen when you put work and determination together and that is what we are going to do now at Blackpool.

Come oooooooooooooooooooooon!

Translated by Alfons Vinent.

Ayúdanos, Lady Suerte

por
lady luck

lady luck

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‘Lady Luck no está de nuestro lado‘. Eso es lo que nos dijo el entrenador el sábado, apenas acabó el partido contra el Bolton y aún nos preguntábamos qué había pasado para no ganar. La verdad es que un poquito de suerte no nos vendría mal tal como estamos porque cuando estás en una situación así de delicada cualquier error acaba por hundirte. Un mal despeje, cuando ya empezábamos a saborear una victoria muy trabajada, acabó por echarlo todo por tierra. Y volver a empezar, y seguir sufriendo. Y ver como las mejoras no se traducen en el marcador. Y el tiempo se te tira encima… Hay momentos en los partidos en que el campo parece una cuesta y el césped un campo de minas. Cosas que en cualquier momento salen fácil y de manera natural se hacen imposibles. Es lo que tiene ir últimos, supongo.

El sábado debutaron los nuevos fichajes y a primera vista entendí que nos van a ayudar mucho. Tienen la ventaja de llegar con la mente despejada, sin haber vivido todos los problemas que padecimos desde el comienzo, y se nota esa frescura, además de la calidad que tienen. Me tocó quedarme en el banquillo de entrada y son cosas que en este momento pasan a un segundo término. Cuando conoces la alineación y ves que el entrenador no te pone en el once siempre sufres una terrible decepción, pero cuando la situación del equipo es la que es, antepones rápido un carácter positivo. Siempre me han dicho que transmito ese sentido positivo y aunque me cuesta lo mantengo como una seña de identidad. Ojalá no hubiese jugado ni un minuto y hubiera bastado el golazo de Murphy… Me fastidió la lesión de Mellis porque es un jugador que me encanta y mantenemos una gran relación. Siempre hablamos de cuanto nos gustaría jugar juntos y aún no lo hemos hecho. Espero que tengamos la oportunidad porque nos entendemos bien.

El caso es que el sábado tuve que entrar por él a la carrera, sin haber calentado y me costó entrar en la dinámica del partido porque era muy intenso. Entendí rápido que había que trabajar fuerte porque el Bolton apretaba mucho y eso es lo que hice, dejar el toque y apretar los dientes, correr, cubrir campo, doblar los marcajes, fijar al rival lo máximo posible… Con el tiempo aprendes que si no tienes el día debes redoblar el esfuerzo trabajando para el equipo sin descanso y más en esa segunda parte en que se notó la realidad de los dos equipos. Ellos han estado en nuestra situación y se notó que el haber ganado cuatro de los seis últimos partidos les ha devuelto la confianza porque eso que a ti te sale en los entrenamientos, ellos lo trasladan mejor a los partidos. Es esa dinámica de la que hablo siempre y que pareciendo poco importante os aseguro que lo es. Un par de buenos resultados te hincha y te catapulta.

En el campo coincidí con Darren Pratley. Es un tipo muy especial para mi y mantenemos muy buena relación desde que coincidimos cuatro años en el Swansea. Cuando se marchó al Bolton se convirtió en mi casero al irme a vivir a su casa de la marina en Swansea… ¡Y es el mejor casero que he tenido nunca! Me puso un alquiler barato, no me hacía pagar las facturas de agua o luz… Un tipo estupendo. Hemos mantenido el contacto todos estos años y el sábado me animó al acabar el partido diciéndome que tenemos matería prima para salir del pozo. Es de agradecer.

Para que quienes lean esto desde España se hagan una idea de lo que es la Championship, en entrenador del Bolton es Neil Lennon, que no hace tanto dirigió al Celtic y consiguió clasificarlo para los octavos de la Champions League ganando incluso al Barcelona en Glasgow. Me pregunto si en España podría pasar algo así… Y lo dudo. Esto es otro mundo. El nivel competitivo de la segunda división inglesa es brutal: el Nottingham Forest, que era líder y estaba lanzado, enlazó ocho partidos sin ganar y aunque ha reaccionado ahora es octavo y el Bournemouth, que en la octava jornada era 15º y estaba cuatro puntos por encima del descenso, es ahora segundo. Lo que decía de las dinámicas de los resultados.

Lo cierto es que con Lee Clark las cosas han cambiado bastante en el Blackpool y empieza a notarse en muchos aspectos. Creo que el club, por fin, se ha dado cuenta de que muchas cosas tenían que mejorarse. En una liga donde hay equipos con presupuestos astronómicos… Nosotros competíamos sin preparador físico. Esto ya no es así porque ya tenemos uno específico y la novedad se ha notado. Ahora, además, ya desayunamos juntos antes de los entrenamientos y quieras que no la relación profesional se ha estrechado. Cosas básicas de las que antes no disponíamos ahora las tenemos. Es verdad que el margen para las excusas es cada vez más limitado y que sea tarde o no depende de nosotros… Pero creo ciegamente que es posible aún darle la vuelta a esto.

Por cierto, cuando Murphy marcó el 1-0 mire a la grada… Pero no encontré al aficionado del Bolton con el que charlé en el aeropuerto de Manchester. ¡Y eso que me acordé! Lo cierto es que en ese momento tuve un subidón importante, como todos, y más mirando a nuestros hinchas, sufriendo con y por nosotros pero sin cesar de apoyarnos. Es realmente increíble el empuje que notamos en Bloomfield Road, es una sensación bestial que te sirve de vitamina cuando el mundo se te viene encima por cualquier situación del partido. Y, buff… Cuando acabó el partido con el empate noté el bajón. Necesitamos a Lady Luck.

La semana pasada algunos jugadores fuimos a jugar un amistoso en la ciudad deportiva del Manchester United en Carrington. Ellos pusieron a los reservas más Ander Herrera y a Lindegaard. Las instalaciones son espectaculares… Es otra historia. Empatamos a uno y fue un buen test. Me quedé muy sorprendido con Herrera: lo pequeñito que es ¡y lo bueno que es! Hay futbolistas que piensan antes que los demás y que se equivocan menos que los demás. Ander es de esos, el que diferencia entre un buen y un gran jugador. No se necesitan hacer bicicletas ni regates imposibles, simplemente hacer rápido y fácil lo que parece o es difícil. Es una gran virtud. Ahora esta volviendo de una lesión en la costilla y montan partidos para que coja el ritmo. Por lo demás me pareció un chaval estupendo y espero verle pronto en las alineaciones de Van Gaal, que es todo un personaje y que merece un punto y aparte. Allí en la banda estaba viendo el partido un tal Ryan Giggs y varios jugadores del primer equipo del United que habían entrenado en un campo anexo, entre ellos el gran Jesse Lingard, que la pasada temporada jugó conmigo en el Brighton y con el que recordamos con cariño los pocos meses que estuvimos juntos.

La anécdota, desgraciada, la protagonizó Edu Oriol. Lo está pasando mal, tanto él como su hermano Joan. Y yo lo paso mal por ellos. Salió en la segunda parte y a los 25 segundos fue a presionar un balón que el defensa contrario despejó con fuerza, se llevó un rodillazo importante… Cuando las cosas te salen mal te pasa de todo y desde aquí les quiero dar todo mi apoyo a los dos porque les tengo mucho cariño y siempre les digo que el sacrificio acaba dándote recompensa. Y más con la calidad que ambos tienen.

Ahora empieza otra semana con la mirada fija en el Rotherham. El sábado perdieron con el Birmingham y los tenemos diez puntos por encima. No llevan una buena trayectoria en los últimos tiempos y han perdido los dos últimos partidos en casa, pero empataron en Sheffield y Brighton y serán duros, mucho. Pero nosotros vamos a serlo más si cabe porque de la necesidad nace la fuerza y la necesidad del Blackpool… Qué os voy a decir.

Empezamos con la mente despejada, tranquilidad y confianza. Porque eso no quiero perderlo nunca. Ayer, día de descanso, teníamos la idea de ir a Londres y pasar el domingo con mi amigo Calderón y su familia, pero las peques no estaban para muchos trotes. A Emma ya le han salido dos dientes y la pobre estuvo mala toda la semana, por lo que aparcamos los planes para mejor ocasión. Justo el día en que sus padres celebraban nueve años juntos. Sí, soy afortunado. ¡Gracias! El caso es que empecé el domingo jugando al escondite con Norah, que sin tener aún tres años ya hace trampas (la muy lista tiene que contar hasta diez pero empieza por el seis) y luego nos dimos un paseo por el Christmas market de Manchester.

En el aspecto personal me chocó el sábado por la noche ver la televisión de España. Con los pies bien estirados y recuperándome del esfuerzo del partido con el Bolton nos pusimos a ver la entrevista con ‘el pequeño Nicolás’. Para los británicos que lean esto, Nicolás, que se llama Francisco, es un veinteañero imberbe que se colaba en actos políticos, mítines y en la mismísima coronación del Rey de España sin que nadie supiera a ciencia cierta quien era. Mantenía, dijo, reuniones con personajes muy destacados del panorama político español, viajaba en coches oficiales… Un personaje y una historia extrañísima. Parecía muy seguro de lo que contaba y si se inventó todo lo que decía tiene un mérito enorme, ahora bien, si es verdad ‘apaga y vámonos’. A mi, de entrada, me pareció que es carne de Torrente 6. Pero con la distancia y el desconocimiento… Y viendo las cosas que pasan en España ya me lo puedo creer todo.

Una última cosa: Quiero desear toda la suerte del mundo a Zoko en su cesión al Bradford. ¡Le voy a echar mucho de menos! ‘Papa Z’, como le llamamos, es un tipo muy especial, muy buena gente y se merece lo mejor.

Vamossssss!

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