Unusual Winter market
“I’ve had two Winter transfer windows, and both have been different. Juande’s resignation was a surprise to us all, there was no way to redirect it. I also want to point out, again, that Juande behaved like a gentleman throughout the subject of his resignation, and on the contractual issue. Following this, the decision was made to name Marcelo Romero as coach. We had to prepare the coach, tell him where the team was at, although he was at an advantage as he was already on the inside. However, we had to talk about the Winter transfer market, the possible shortcomings within the team, and the potential incorporations we could make”.
Signings, one by one
“I like to work in consensus. We decided on Peñaranda, who was a quick signing as we’d already half-spoken, and it also meant talking to Weligton about the non-EU place. I’d like to thank Weli for his conduct throughout this process, in order to help the Club. The next player to arrive was Demichelis, which was a far more straightforward situation, as he had rescinded with Espanyol. Luis Hernández followed, who perhaps occupied me the longest, due to the complexity of the negotiations. Luis pressed to leave there, and neither the club nor himself presented us with a loan possibility. Lastly, José Rodríguez arrived, according to the plans we had in mind to reinforce the three lines; defence, upfront and midfield. The intention of the sports management was to equip the team and the coach with maximum possibilities to form a competitive team every weekend”.
Making plans
“I’m satisfied with what we have, with the positions covered during a complicated season because of the injuries. We had to make plans to replace the players suffering with long-term injuries such as Weligton, Kuzmanovic and Charles, the latter who is now returning, and who I hope will perform at a high level like the other day in Pamplona”.
The commitment of Sandro
“There are always rumours. We know perfectly well the level at which Sandro performed in the first round, which, naturally, sparks interest from numerous teams. Sandro’s commitment to the Club has been immense from the start. In certain cases, it served to close the ears against possible siren songs. He’s always been delighted to be here, feels incredibly well-liked and has proven it during this Winter transfer market. Sandro is staying with us and we hope that when he recovers from injury, he’ll be back to his best”.
Marcelo Romero
“The team has an impressive tone, I think the players are now automatically taking on board the coach’s requirements. This has to be accompanied by results. We can play very well, but winning is what matters, and I see that the foundation the coach has prepared is equipped to do so”.