You only have one mum and May is her month. Always in the background watching over their children’s lives, the mothers of Malaguistas Adrián, Tete Morente, Kellyan and Iván Jaime tell us about their sons. What they were like as children, how they grew up and how they fought to get where they are now. Emotional, fun and, above all, they are proud of their sons, these are the mums of our footballers.
Merche Morales, mother of Adrián González
How are you getting on in lockdown?
“We’re all fine as we see each other on the screen every day, so I send my love and kisses to them that way”.
What’s his favourite meal?
“He lives with an excellent cook, my daughter-in-law Natalia, but one of his favourite meals I cook is lamb chops with tomato.”
What is Adrián like as a son?
“He is a wonderful son, I couldn’t be without him”.
How do you watch his matches?
“I always feel very anxious the morning of the match, always confident that they’ll win”.
There’s a lot of talk about football in your house, right?
“How could we not talk about football when we’re so passionate about it and it brings us so much joy?! Long may it continue”.
Mercedes Leal Sierras, mother of Kellyan
How does a mother experience her son’s games?
“I’m always bursting with enthusiasm at my son’s games, but also very nervous. When he goes out to warm-up I always say ‘come on Kellyan, you can do it’, and I start to warm up with him. As a professional he’s played two matches but I couldn’t go and watch him, which was a shame. However, I have seen him play in Segunda B and it was so exciting being part of the atmosphere at the stadium. It was great. I know he’s doing what he loves, which is the main thing. He’s fought so hard for many years to get here”.
How do you manage the distance?
“The distance…well it’s almost nine years since he left and you never get used to it, but even though he’s far away we speak every week, after every match. We stay close via phone and videocalls. There are many kilometres between us and circumstances don’t allow us to be there, so we speak a lot by phone”.
Does the distance seem bigger now in lockdown?
“During this time of confinement, the distance is the same, but you live it in a different way. It’s not the same being here and knowing if he’s well, or poorly, if he’s eating more or eating less… I always ask him how he’s getting on, not just him but those around him. There’s always a degree of uncertainty”.
Kellyan’s favourite meal?
“Kellyan doesn’t have one favourite meal. He has lots of favourite dishes, all of which I make for him. I’ve always cooked, since he was young, and when he leaves he always says I’ll pay the fine as I fatten him up. Nevertheless, there is a dish he doesn’t like at all, which is fennel stew. It’s something his grandmother makes”.
What’s Kellyan like as a son?
“As a son, what can I say. He’s my eldest, the tallest, the most handsome, the blondest. What can a mother say about her son? I love him so much, he’s living his dream, which is what it’s all about. He left home at 13 to learn his future, like Tarzan in the jungle, I love you, Kellyan”.
Was he mischievous as a child?
“He got up to so much mischief you could write a book. He used to play hide and seek and not tell anyone. He’d say ‘let’s see if you can find me’. He would hide between the table and chairs, empty the kitchen cupboards and hide inside, inside the bookshelf. He hid inside one and fell asleep once, but luckily we found him before alerting anyone. He used to throw things off the balcony, mops, plugs, we had some trouble in the community… He also used to have a piggy bank, at the time the ‘Play Station 1’ was around. My husband went to pick it up one day and said how heavy it was, then Kellyan said it was his piggy bank. He would play with his friends pretending to be chocolate, covering themselves with mud and water. It wasn’t easy getting it all off when the mud had dried. He did so many things, you could write a book”.
Mónica Pajuelo, mother of Iván Jaime
What’s Iván Jaime the son like?
“Iván was always a good child. He’s very family orientated. He loves spending time with us. His biggest virtue is he has a good heart, but his biggest weakness is he’s very stubborn”.
How’s lockdown going?
“Not counting the first few days, that were a little overwhelming and involved so much uncertainty, we’re doing fine now. During the day he spends several hours training, we watch box sets together etc. He likes cooking and we often make many ‘fit’ recipes, as he calls them. We’re doing fine”.
What’s his favourite meal?
“His favourite meal is ‘fideuá’ and he also loves meat. He enjoys a nice fillet steak”.
Is it true you do sports together?
“Yes, two or three times a week we do pilates together in the afternoon. Some mornings I like to start training with him, although a lot of the time he corrects the exercises I’m doing and, obviously, I can’t keep up with him”.
Iván Jaime, a curious name…
“There are people who think Iván Jaime is a compound name, but Jaime is his surname. Iván Jaime Pajuelo. I love it when they call him Iván Pajuelo, as do my dad and grandad (laughs)”.
How do you experience Iván’s matches?
“I’m always very nervous, both when I’m at the stadium or watching on television. I’m more nervous when I’m there though. I know it’s a game, but you don’t want anything to happen to anyone, especially your own son”.
Lourdes Oliva Fernández, mother of Tete Morente.
Were you pleased when Tete signed to Málaga, so you could be closer to him?
“Yes of course, I was thrilled. When he told me he was coming to Málaga I couldn’t believe it. We’re delighted as we can spend much more time together and can watch him in action when he’s playing at home and enjoy his matches. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, we remain strong and are looking forward. Better times are on the way”.
Despite being so young, Tete has lived away from home for many years. How does a mother live through that?
“Although I know it’s best for him, it’s very difficult as we’ve lost many things between us. I’ve always been strong and supported him in everything he’s decided to do. We’ve cried a lot, as has his dad. It’s been difficult, particularly at the beginning, he left at 12 years old and moved 900 kilometres away from home. However, we were happy at the same time as we knew he was living his dream”.
How does a mother experience her son’s matches?
“With great excitement, but I’m always very nervous. I prefer to watch him at the ground as on TV it makes me realised how far away I am from him. I ask God to make him play a good match, but above all that he doesn’t sustain injury, and if he does, that it’s nothing serious”.
Was he mischievous when he was younger?
“Tete has always been a little bit naughty, like all children. One day he gave me a fright. He went to a friend’s house, but as we live on an urbanisation of different blocks, he went to a girl’s house who lives in the house opposite without telling me. I was looking for him everywhere, knocking on all the doors to see where he was, and the entire urbanisation was searching for my Antonio. Of course, I never thought he’d have gone to a girl’s house, I thought he’d be with the boys. I called the police as he didn’t appear after an hour. After two hours of searching with the police, I saw him come out of the house opposite, he’d been at Cristina’s house and they’d been to see a film with her parents. I was angry but also so happy when I saw him that I didn’t tell him off. I had been thinking the worst, so I was delighted when he returned”.
What’s his favourite food?
“His favourite meal is stew, he loves it. He doesn’t like turkey stew. I love seeing his enjoying his food, and I love making it for him”.
