Although we have gotten used to it, post-pandemic football is less football for all that surrounds it. The protocols, the masks, the cement in the stands, the footballers off the bench. Nothing is the same, unfortunately, and it is something that is felt beyond the time of the game. In everyday life, footballers and their environment coexist between daily antigen test and PCR so that nothing detracts from the passing of the competition. The essence and even coexistence has been lost, as explained David Lombán in its passage through ‘Minuto 91’ of 7TV Malaga. “The changing room does not exist”, affirmed the one of Avilés.
He added that this relationship in what has always been a sacred temple for players “is practically zero because even on match days “, indicating” approximate minutes “, they allow footballers to spend” three or five minutes “in the locker room.” At half time you are 10 and after the game another three or five. We cannot share much life, “explained Lombán, sentencing in this regard:” The group or the essence of football apart from the field of play has been lost. It is one of the negative things about COVID, that the wardrobe and the relationship between colleagues is much less “.
And it is that LaLiga, within a protocol that Lombán defined it as “unbeatable” And that last week he added a new “saliva” test, he wants to avoid prolonged contact in closed spaces. That’s why footballers come to the fields dresses with party clothes and they leave a few minutes after the end of the meeting in the same way. In turn, there is now the curious image of giving the last talks at the foot of the lawn, in an open-air locker room where the coaches consolidate the match plan and, in addition, the team’s masseurs and physios prepare the players who require some type of massage or previous treatment.
What’s more, Lombán touched on other topics:
Why did you decide to stay: “I don’t like talking about these issues very much, but it’s true that in my presentation the first day I said it and I repeat it again, that I came here because I wanted to play for Malaga. I had followed him for a long time, it was a club that It caught my attention. It happened two years ago and the first thing I did when they told us about the ERE was to sit down and talk with Manolo and see the sporting and economic options. The most important thing I let him know was the sport. There we started a negotiation that was not easy and it was slow. This is how it was happening during the summer, it was a long and hard preseason. In the end all decisions are respectable, we are people before players. Each one has his life, children and family. If the Málaga fan can boast of anything, it is that they have a committed squad since I have been here. From the first moment, everyone has agreed both this year and in previous years. A bond binds me, I didn’t know how to describe it, I have my own ambitions and my illusions. Playing with Málaga in Primera is one of my illusions. Logically it is to wear this shirt in First “.
What did he transmit to his family: “Luckily or unfortunately I have experienced good and bad situations in football. In Elche we spent six months without payment, an administrative decline. In Granada we experienced a transition of owners and it touched me. The family wants me to be happy . There is something that I like about this sport which is the essence, I try to enjoy it every day. Until the last day I am playing I am going to enjoy it to the fullest. I am in a very big club that I hope will continue to grow and be where it deserves “.
Defensive system: “Last season we alternated the system from four defenses to five. In post-confinement the defense of 5 had more regularity and we had good results. Honestly, I don’t care a bit, what interests me is that the team feels comfortable and identified. And above all to get the results. “
Preseason: “It was long, anomalous. I was focused on everything except sports. They advised me to take good care of rest and eating because it affects everything on a physical level. I don’t know if the injury I had in the final phase of the season came from there. preseason. It was tough, a lot of information was coming in. Luckily everything has already happened. We have 17 points that no one takes away from us. We have a very healthy group, with a lot of desire. We have to be humble, respect all the teams. Hopefully we achieve survival from the club as soon as possible, 50 points, and then allow ourselves to dream. “
Goals of the season: “We have to have ambition. To compete at a professional level we have to have it day in and day out. The challenge is in the short term, to win every game we play. We have many new players and it entails some difficulties. The hope and ambition that we moves will always be there, there is no doubt. But first you have to be cautious “.
How is the group: “All the people who have arrived new have adapted very quickly. There are many Andalusian people who accelerate the whole process. There is a very healthy environment, wanting to get along, to be supportive and to grow. We know that everything that comes along positive for the team will be positive individually. “
Play without an audience: “Playing every 15 days at La Rosaleda is an indescribable feeling. With it full, we would start winning every game. The fans are fundamental. One of the things that have kept me here is what I felt that day when they eliminated us from the play off “It is something that I have never experienced in the world of football. Something very beautiful. It is to be appreciated, it is a hobby that deserves happiness and enjoy the club like no one else.”
Judicial intervention: “One of the most positive things we have had this year since the league started is that the players can focus solely and exclusively on sports. Last year we had too many extra-sports things, which still made us not focus our attention on The really important thing. I am a soccer player, I am not yet a manager or a coach or president. The only thing that interests me right now is the next game. From then on, all the information you want to reach me does not interest me. The maxim for a long time is to see things. No matter how much they sell me, an investment group is going to come, the old owner is going to return … I value things when I see them. “
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