Guti extremely grateful: "Capello has been key in my present form and for the contract extension"
Just after having extended his contract and positively elated, Guti offered a press conference where he expressed his satisfaction for the way things are going. He will hang his boots at Real Madrid, where it all started and, as he says, “it's a dream come true.” Regarding his two-match suspension, the Madridista playmaker assures that the team's back is well covered and that there is enough bench depth to substitute him. “This team has many phenomenal players who can take over for me,” said the midfielder.
You finally signed your contract extension.
It was one of my dreams: extend the contact and finish my career here. It's definitely a dream come true from a sporting viewpoint. I am grateful to the President, to Mijatovic and to the fans.
Do you feel more valued than ever?
Yes, I do. There is no better reward than playing and having signed this contract extension. This means that the coach trusts me and has confidence in my skills. I'm doing great now.
Are you still hung up about the play that meant your sending-off against Racing Santander?
I've thought about it a lot. I lost my temper. That hurts me and the team. I end up not featuring in games that I am dying to play. I was very tense at that point in the game and I made a mistake.
It seems like many people were waiting for you to do this to renew their criticism against you.
That's my fate. I'm not the kind of player that people have lukewarm feelings for. Many journalists are not very happy when things are going well for me and vice-versa.
How do you feel physically?
I had the MRI and the doctors confirmed that I had a small fibirilar tear on my groin. I will be back with the team and fully recovered in a couple of weeks.
Is there an excessive dependence of you out on the pitch?
No. The team has many quality players. None of us stand out above the rest. We have a very large squad and it will become obvious that the team is able to win without me. Both Raúl and Reyes can play in my position.
Was getting to an agreement on your contract extension harder than you imagined?
Not really, because both parts agreed on years and money. I very much wanted to stay at the Club, and they in turn wanted to renew my contract. This made things easy.
Capello has been key to making it happen.
He has trusted me a lot and has given me continuity as a starter. He's been key to my renewal. I hope I don't disappoint him.
Did the situation surrounding your renewal affect you when you were sent off on Saturday?I was the first to be angry with what I did, and so was the coach. I will now miss some important matches. But, a player doesn't think about things like contract extensions when he steps onto the pitch.
Did you tackle so harshly because you had been challenged badly during the rest of the match?
They fouled me several times, but that is no excuse to do what I did. I had to be calmer on the pitch. I still have to mature a bit when it comes to that. I don't feel unprotected.
Do you think you're too far behind in form to teams such as Barcelona and Chelsea?
We have to improve a lot in order to win more matches and win titles this season. It is important to get positive results. Barcelona are playing very well, even with injured key players, but there are better teams this season and it won't be easy for them to win again. We are going to put a lot of pressure on them.
Does the great number of serious injuries in the League worry you?
Many tragedies are happening that didn't use to happen before. No one starts a game thinking about that, but something must be going on for it to happen. I guess the ground is an important factor, as well as the excessive number of matches played. There are many different reasons.
Have you stopped thinking about playing for Spain?
As long as Luis Aragonés is coach the doors are shut for me. I have to get over that. There have been other times in which I haven't played that much and in which I wasn't drafted. Iniesta, Xavi and Cesc are very good and strong players.
Do you think a future replacement for you will come from the youth system or in the winter market opening?
It's up to the Club to decide, but I would like my future replacement to come from the youth teams. The coach knows there are many good players there, and if he considers it for a while, he will get my replacement from the youth system.
People talk about Luis Aragonés getting the sack in December.
I hope he doesn't get it. I wish for Spain to win and get to the very top of international football.
Report by Luis Navarro
Photography by Daniel Sastre
Translation by Luis Orueta & Michael J. O'Donnell
posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 10:57 PM
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