He is late for the appointment because he has had an unexpected video session and has stayed in the gym because the routine has made him better, but Aleix García (Ulldecona, Tarragona; 25 years old) does not object to time during the interview. And that later he has lunch with the team because Bernardo invites everyone after renewing with Girona. With a fluent speech like his football, the midfielder admits that being in the mud made him open his eyes. Today he is a determining player due to his passes and assists, a generator of opportunities like few others. This Monday (9:00 p.m., DAZN) he receives Atlético.
Ask. Are you happier with the ball at your feet?
Answer. I feel more comfortable with the ball than without it. But I adapt to what is there because when it’s time to run, if the team is motivated, I’m also the one who puts in the most desire. Although it is clear that with the ball at my feet, I play with a smile on my face.
Q. It is that you are made from the same mold. Villarreal youth academy, City with Pellegrini and Guardiola, now Míchel…
R. Yes I think so. Since I was young I practiced possession football in the Villarreal youth academy and even more so at City. And with Míchel there is no party that does not want us to be protagonists. And that benefits me a lot. I’m happy to be with a coach who plays what I like.
Q. Is he an intense trainer?
R. I think that is already seen in the band when we play… We have many fights, a love-hate relationship. It squeezes me a lot and even if he finds a good solution, he always asks me for a different one, he asks me for more. Although I think that this demand is good for me to get my best level and he appreciates it because he puts me in the lineup every week. We understand football in the same way, we have found a harmony and I try to convey to him that he can trust me to carry out his idea. He asked me to let go and gave me a lot of confidence to do my best for the team.
Q. Guardiola did not give him that much reel…
R. But he had me on that team all year and he treated me like one of the others, even though I was the one with the least prominence. In addition, playing in his position helped me a lot, especially to be outlined to receive the ball, to look before receiving to see if I had more or less time to filter passes.
Q. Is a pass that skips a pressure line half a life?
R. The best pass is to the furthest player, although you have to know how to interpret it. But if you skip one or two lines of pressure to give your partner an advantage is very important. It is clear that I am more of a pass than a driver, although I try to add more records. And if I lose the ball I usually get angry because I’m a perfectionist, demanding.
Q. And what happens the day things don’t work out?
R. I try to help the team in defense. But Míchel tells me that on those afternoons I can reconvert the situation with the ball, that with two good passes I can reactivate myself.
Q. It was not the same with Machín in his first season at Girona…
R. I felt powerless. I think I had very few chances and only came in when there were casualties due to cards or injury. We all know his way of playing, which I respect. And we get along, huh? But that football was not going for me.
Q. And then he went through a long journey… Another loan to Mouscron, Belgian, then to the Romanian league (Rapid Bucharest), from where he left because they were not paid to return to Spain, to Eibar. Did he come to doubt his football?
R. I had no doubts about my football and what I could give. But I didn’t know if anyone could see what I’m capable of. In Romania I was a bit disoriented.
Q. Maybe because since he was a child he had very high expectations and suddenly he found himself in a minor league team without getting paid?
R. That is. Perhaps I started up very quickly and gave myself a blow that made me see the other side of the coin, know a worse football. But it helped me a lot because it made me mature and demand more of myself day by day to be where I wanted to be, which is where I am now. That made me wake up. I saw that the expectations that were in me could be lost.
Q. And what he did?
R. I started with the bases, with the most basic routines. Get up an hour and not five minutes before to go train. Giving everything in each training session, staying in the gym, doing preventatives… Getting more professional with routines. And look at the food because that gives you gasoline for the weekend.
Q. Well, it seems to work for him because there are many games in which he ends up with sprints…
R. I like that of pressing in the opposite field because I provide energy and because I am capable of repeating many efforts. Three of my assists come from recoveries in the opposite field. Míchel works hard on him, every week he changes the way the ball is released and the pressure depending on the rival.
Q. Have you studied Atlético?
R. Yes, and we are clear that we will have to press very well because it is a team that has very good players and who dominate all facets of the game. If they surpass us, we will have to run back. We know that it will be very difficult because they come in very good shape, in addition to the fact that Griezmann is in great shape and we will have to try to minimize his actions. But here we can give them war. We will go after them like any game even if it is a big team.
Q. You already have girlfriends from big teams too…
R. It’s always good to hear people talking about you. But Míchel, for example, puts my feet on the ground and tells me that it sure isn’t true. It’s clear to me, after what I’ve been through, that I don’t want to enlarge myself but end up at this level and what happens in the summer will happen. I’ve already been to the other side and I don’t want to go back to the bad side of the coin. I’m doing well but I know that’s never enough.
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