LaLiga Santander: Raúl García: “I have never put any buts or conditions”

Lhe story of Raúl García in LaLiga begins on October 24, 2004 at the Camp Nou and with the Osasuna shirt. Javier Aguirre decided that it was the day to give minutes to a young footballer from Zizur, who entered the field to replace Valdo. 18 years have passed since then and Rulo is still in trouble playing for Athletic, after having also played for Osasuna and Atlético. “I have never put buts or conditions”, she slides it as one of the keys to having had such a long career. “You always have the doubt of knowing what would have been in another League but I have been happy where I have been,” she sums up. And there will still be more because the Navarrese has renewed his contract with Athletic until June 2023.

Third in the historical list of LaLiga players with 551 games in the bag. They are big words.

I have always said that I am not one to think about the past and I will not value all this until I retire, but when they tell you about it and you give it a couple of thought it is true that it makes you feel proud and produces illusion.

He has just beaten Real Madrid player Raúl González and only has Joaquín and Zubizarreta ahead of him.

With the passage of time I will value it even more, but I am aware that it is a fact in which there are many things behind it to be able to achieve it. Apart from the issue of not having major injuries and what it means to take care of yourself to avoid mishaps, I do appreciate that I have had many different coaches and I have been lucky enough to be able to participate with all of them. It is a number that contains many things.

At Zizur, no matter how hard Azpilicueta puts into it, no one is going to play football longer than Raúl García….

And look, César is also one of those who play! It’s nice to be there with César and share with these football names in a neighborhood like ours. I’m happy to have achieved it and to continue playing and fighting, which is what interests me the most.

That there isn’t a colleague who puts a but to his day-to-day work in the field and the locker room after so long is more than a compliment?

Well, I’m very heavy at work, which is something that is not of now. It’s since I started, because they taught me at home when I was little. You have to try to make an effort in what you want and the only way to do it is by investing time and dedication. It’s what you’re passionate about. There is a lot behind.

“What I have endured the worst are some situations that my parents have had to live through because I am a footballer”

In this time, have you ever been tempted to slam the door and say that football was already history for you?

No, because football is something I like a lot, but it is true that there have been hard times. The worst thing I’ve had is what comes from the rebound, what touches the family and my parents, some situations that they have had to live with because I am a footballer… But I like to train and enjoy so much on a day-to-day basis. That’s what keeps me on the wheel.

Do you look back and what do you see since that debut on October 24, 2004 at the Camp Nou?

Hunger, illusion… I have many memories of when I started and they congratulated you inside the house, but my goal was not to say thank you. He wanted to show that there was a way to go. First I was making my debut, then I wanted to play, then be a starter, keep growing. Wanting a little more is what gets you there.

What has cost you more, changing position on the field or role in the teams in which you have played?

I have done it all. I have understood the work from helping my teammate and the club and I have tried to adapt to what they ask of me. There are situations in which you can be more or less comfortable, but I have never put any buts or conditions. Wherever I have been, I have adapted quickly.

Do the boys of today come more learned than those of before?

They come believing that they know more than before. It’s a conversation I had recently with another fellow veteran in the locker room. They are different situations at the level of society and it does not only have to do with the young people of the team. But it’s not bad. You have to try to guide them along the path that you think has served you and then let them decide because it is also good that they offer us those different things.

Who was Raúl García looking at when he appeared in the first training sessions under Javier Aguirre in Osasuna?

More than the players themselves, because of their technical conditions, I have looked at the person, because of the values ​​they have transmitted to me, which is what is important in terms of what you can achieve. Puñal was a reference in the early days in Pamplona, ​​Antonio López and Gurpegui are also people I’ve always wanted to be around because they’re all the kind of people who help me a lot. I have always been to pay attention and talk little. At first I was always careful to observe and spoke only when almost forced to.

You always have the doubt of knowing what it would have been in another League, but I have been happy where I have been

And now? Does the experience give you the opportunity to look at your teammates with the eyes of one who is verifying that next to him there is a guy with possibilities or each one there with what he may be in the future?

You always try to help, but not from wanting things to be done as you think, but from having lived them. Young people have to make a lot of mistakes, which is something we have all done, and we must accompany them to tell them how it went and what we have done, but the decisions are theirs.

At Athletic they share the lead with the third player with the most matches in the history of LaLiga and the player who has played the most consecutive matches in another championship. If the same had happened in the Premier, they would have already paid tribute to them in more than one field!

Everyone knows what we are doing. Acknowledgments often do not come, but they are not sought after either. My day to day is like it’s the same and it doesn’t matter if they’re looking at me. Things have to be valued, personally or in the case of colleagues like Iñaki Williams, because we know the difficulty behind it.

Everyone knows what we are doing. Acknowledgments often do not come, but they are not sought after either. My day to day is like it’s the same and it doesn’t matter if they’re looking at me. Things have to be valued, personally or in the case of colleagues like Iñaki Williams, because we know the difficulty behind it.

I have been very happy in the three teams in which I have been. You always have the doubt of knowing what would have been furea, but not out of pity. I have enjoyed it a lot and continue to enjoy it a lot. And in the end, when you’re like this it’s hard to change.

Who is the footballer you have faced in a field with which you would not like to cross paths again due to the difficulties it posed?

These are difficult questions to answer. I always say the same thing, there are many labels that are the opposite of what each one is. They make me a tough guy and outside I’m totally different. It is difficult to decide on one, but it is true that I have really enjoyed facing difficult teams and rivals because it is one more requirement. The harder things get, the more you learn.

Do you take football home or are you capable of putting a parenthesis in a different environment than training, concentrations and matches?

I’ve been able to push it away, so it doesn’t show, although it’s true that when things don’t go well I’m quieter than other times. I try not to let my work influence me when it comes to dealing with my people, with friends, with family. I have tried not to notice, but it is true that there are times when it is difficult to separate.

But in your relationship with friends, surely a very important group is for soccer players and ex-soccer players, right?

A lot of. And it is one of the good things that football leaves you. In the end you meet people with whom you would not have coincided if it were not for your work. There are people who have been more temporary, others who have been more years, but they leave a mark on you and I know that in my life I will have many of those.

I feel overrated here. The fans trust me and they know that I have a lot to give

Osasuna, 101 League games, was the start and the place where he joined training and professionalism.

The club that, I have always said and will say, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here. Not only for football, but for everything I experienced as a child. I have all my love for him and I follow him every game because I want the best for them.

The European titles and the League championship came at Atlético, with whom he played 216 games in the tournament. Another world.

A new team, a team in which you did not know to what extent you could get involved and that ended up becoming another house. A place where they make you feel important, where you learn what it means to have love for the club, which is something that is breathed in the street. The fans are very passionate and I’m taking it for tomorrow.

With all that already in the saddlebags, he had the opportunity to sign for Athletic. He had to start over. And there are already 234 games.

I see it with my daughter, who was 6 months old when she arrived and now she almost leaves home alone. These are years that pass almost without you noticing. Coming to a club with this philosophy different from anything you can find out there, they make you their own and make you feel super proud of having come here.

In July he will turn 36 and has the opportunity to continue playing for Athletic because he has fulfilled all the performance variables established in his contract to extend it until 2023

I am very clear that when I make contracts I do so because I want to feel important and play. I feel overvalued here and the fans show me every day that they trust me. And they still know I have a lot to give.