Tafter two successful seasons at PSG, Pablo Sarabia (Madrid; 1992) bet in August 2021 on himself and the 2022 World Cup. Of the numerous offers he had, he chose the one from the Sporting of Portugal to find continuity and get closer to Qatar, knowing that Luis Enrique he loves it Eight months, a Cup, 21 goals (top scorer for the team) and nine assists later, There is no doubt that time has proved him right. He talks about it or about Mbapp, with the recent tribute received in Lisbon still present, in your visit to MARCA.
P. Eight months have been enough for you to be honored at the Alvalade…
A. It was super exciting. I knew about something a week ago because it was announced in the previous game, but I didn’t expect it to be of such a dimension. Because seeing how everything got up, the whole stadium and applauded me, poof. It is a precious memory that will stay inside me. It was difficult to hold the emotion there, inside the game.
Q. What did your companions tell you?
R. That this farewell was not normal, that they do not usually do it. Things had been experienced with players who were going to retire, but with one active, from outside and in a short time… I am very grateful. Not only have I penetrated into them, they also into me.
Q. He left on loan on the last day of the market. Did you expect it at that point?
R. I thought I could go out until the last moment. Admittedly, it was a bit stressful. I am delighted with the decision we made. It has been a very good year.
P. He wanted, among others, the Atltico, and it was seen as a step backwards.
R. We were looking for a club in which from the first moment I felt valued and had the opportunity to play in the Champions League. Sporting brings all that together. Some were a little shocked, but from the first moment my family, my agent and I believed that it was the best option. Eight months later we see that it has been.
Q. You have scored 21 goals! How many did you think he would do?
R. I set myself the goal of 15 goals, but they have been a few more [risas]. What I like the most since I started is scoring and assisting, it’s my way of contributing to the team, among other things. I have found myself very well, at first adapting to my colleagues because it is necessary. After understanding all the mechanisms of the players and the coach it was much easier and I began to score goals, with more confidence. Thanks to that I was able to finish with those 21.
Q. What did Pochetino tell you?
R. Wish me luck in the new stage. There was difficult this year.
P. My partner Miguel Ángel Lara, who knows the National Team very well, tells me that Luis Enrique gave him his ‘blessing’.
R. He told me that he believed that he had been right and that I had to herd, do my job. That’s what I’ve tried since the day I landed in Lisbon.
P. You have been in Portugal with Amorim, one of the emerging coaches in Europe. What is it like to work with him and how did he adapt?
R. From the first moment it was quite easy. Not just professionally, but personally. The concepts you have are very good and have helped me in everything. I like to listen and learn, and Rben is a coach with spectacular ideas, his way of playing… he plays with five defenders and on attack with very tall full-backs, and we fit well into the game scheme of the. He is a coach who has a very nice career ahead of him and I wish him the best.
P. Was it good that there were Spaniards like Pedro Porro and Adan in order to take that step?
RS Everything was done very quickly, but my adaptation has been easier with them there. The language is similar and I don’t just like to hang out with Spaniards because it is one of the bases to integrate you 100%. I coincided with Porro in the National Team and with Adán I played as a child in Castilla.
Q. Even if I just signed for Sporting, in which European club would Porro fit in better?
R. He is a physically strong player, who likes to attack a lot. He enjoys terrain ahead and it is very difficult to defend him. Now in Amorim’s system he fits perfectly, we’ll see if he stays, but playing with two very tall lanes suits him very well.
Q. How do you change a locker room where Mbapp, Messi and Neymar are in for Sporting’s?
R. The change is very big, but very nice. It is true that I have been very good in both. In Paris we had a good group and in Lisbon, too. The only thing is that at Sporting there are very young players, learning, and that desire is noticeable.
P. From 1 to 10, what note of responsibility would you give Spain in your choice of Sporting?
R. A 10, totally. I am very happy with the decision we made. Being able to be among the candidates to go to the World Cup is something very nice. It will be a dream for me and I will do my best to be on this list. This year I considered that I should leave Paris due to the situation and it is clear that it has been good for my confidence.
Q. Do you feel, without sounding relaxed, that you have done the hard part a little? A year ago a few put him in the pool of the European Championship and look today …
R. I do not consider myself one of the permanent ones because I am like that, my personality is like that, of wanting to improve every day. It is what led me to be at the European Championship. Work day by day, not think that nothing is done because the best is yet to come. That mindset is the right one and everything I think up there can lead to relaxation and I don’t feel comfortable.
P. Where is there more competitiveness, in the National Team or in PSG, two scenarios in which a gap has been opened?
R. We are talking about two places where competition is very great. Obviously, in Paris, there are three, five or six of the best players in the world. In the National Team you can see how competitive there is. The master removes one and removes another and we continue to win, the team continues to demonstrate the same thing. And that is very difficult. That is the value of the master and of the idea.
P. In the League of Nations you were also a starter. After losing the final against France, do you think you are the toughest rival for the World Cup?
R. It is clear that she is one of the candidates, she has a great team, but we are there. In the final it happened that way…, I think we deserved more. But football is this. There is always a rematch for the good and the bad. That’s the beauty. They are one of the teams to beat, of course, but first we have to focus on ourselves. If we are well, let others worry.
P. In the Champions League final you have your friend Carvajal…
R. I follow Real Madrid and Liverpool, they are two great teams that have done things very well to be there. The other day Liverpool won another Cup, Madrid won the League and they are going to arrive in very good shape. What we like football we are going to enjoy a great game.
P. What does Carvajal tell you, that in this 2022 he has avoided injuries and has been recovering his best level?
R. He is quite happy, I hope he continues like this. We wish you that. He has suffered a lot, he has changed things and we hope he continues like this because he is not only going to enjoy himself, but everyone who likes football.
P. How do you see the future of Mbapp?
R. If he is at Madrid, obviously, he will be the emblem and do great things because he is the player he is and the Bernabu will enjoy it. And, if not, Paris is going to enjoy it a lot and it is going to follow a spectacular trajectory. If we see the statistics that he is having there, they are incredible and the goals he has scored in the games he has played are scary.
Q. What ambition do you have?
R. He is a boy who trains quite well and who wants more every day. He scores three goals and the next day he wants to score another three. That is his ambition and it is the right one. In the end, the examples he has of players who have done great things in football have tremendous ambition, as does he. If he continues with that attitude he will get what he wants to get.
P. A bit like Real Madrid this Champions League, it has recovered time and time again. Is that mentality?
R. Real Madrid we know how it is. It is never dead and in the Champions League it is a different team. Trust until the last minute and this year has been seen in its splendor. We don’t know what’s going to happen to Kylian.
Q. You have competed against Luis Daz and Darwin Nez in Portugal. How would you describe them?
A. They are different. I have coincided with Luis for half a season, but he was absolutely differential, this year also with many goals, not only generating chances. I finished with 14 goals in the first round. And with Darwin we have all seen how easy he is to score goals. He is fast, smart and can be one of the great strikers in Europe.
P. Contract ends in 2024. What will happen?
R. So far I have not considered it. I’m enjoying the season, the moment, the tribute they gave me, and now in a few weeks I’ll have to focus on, hopefully, going on the National Team list because the season hasn’t finished yet. Hopefully I can be in those four Nations League games. From there we will sit down and see what is the best option for PSG and for me. I am very grateful to Paris, to Leonardo, who has been spectacular with me, and whatever is decided there will be no impediment.
Q. Do you see yourself at PSG or in another assignment to get to Qatar?
R. I have not yet stopped to think what is the best option. Last summer it cost us a lot in the end to make a decision. It is time to assess the entire season, which is not over yet. When these games are over, if I am lucky enough to be in the National Team, we will sit down and see what the options are and the best one for the objective, which is to be in Qatar.
P. Upstairs, the competition at PSG is great with the ‘bugs’ they have, but it’s not something unknown…
R. When I have been there I have played 79 games in the two seasons. In the end I had my niche. He made my goals and my assists when it was my turn to play and it is not something that is ruled out.
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