The Villarreal player received the FutbolJobs award for his ‘Sports Career’.
– What do you know about the FutbolJobs project?
It is a very interesting platform that is dedicated to everything that surrounds soccer. Not only for soccer players but also for people who can work, for example, in the stadium, in the ticket office… It is an important tool for people involved in soccer and gives them the opportunity to be in the world of soccer, whether at a professional level or at other smaller scales to be able to enjoy it.
– How do you feel about being awarded the FutbolJobs ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’?
Very happy, proud and grateful. All awards, on a personal level, are important. It is an award that is not only mine, but for all the people who have helped me throughout my career: teammates, coaches, players, physios, doctors, people from different clubs where I have been, who have made it possible to reach this number of games played.
– You have played more than 500 games in La Liga, more than 750 in all competitions, including national teams. And you’re on the list with Xavi, with Casillas, with Griezmann, with Messi, soon…
It is a pride to reach this number of games, it is not easy, it also means that things have gone well for me, thank God injuries have respected me, I have had the opportunity to play a lot, to enjoy a lot, to compete and be with these names, with what they have been in the world of soccer, not at national level but at world level… to be close to them and be able to reach some…. When I was a kid I would not have imagined it, but thanks to the work of many people and myself, I have been able to or I am fulfilling a dream and I have played many games.
– If they told you when you were playing in Coslada, on the dirt fields, that you were going to reach these heights at the age of 35, what would you have thought?
Well, I wouldn’t have imagined it for anything in the world. It’s hard enough to get there, to play at a high level is difficult, but I think it’s even harder to stay there. And even more so as soccer has changed…. In the past soccer was one way, now it’s another, you have to adapt, you have to evolve and thanks to work I’ve been able to reach this figure and hopefully I can get many more.
– Then you moved on to the Factory, to Madrid’s youth academy. Di Stéfano said that you were the pearl of the youth academy. Do you think that what he said weighed on you when it was time to move to the first team, that people looked at you in a different way?
No, it is true that a person like Alfredo, may he rest in peace, said that about me was a compliment. It is also true that maybe you have a position of responsibility, of having to prove that what Alfredo said, that he is not wrong. I am a very normal guy, very simple, I take everything very naturally, I try to manage things normally and I think I have continued to play the soccer I usually play, as I understand soccer, as I like it and because for me it is what has made me who I am, to make my career, which could have been better, it could also have been worse, but well, I am very proud of the career I have had in the world of soccer for the moment and for me it is thanks to the way I play, because I have never changed.
-You played 14 games at Real Madrid, do you still have a thorn in your side if you had played there longer?
In the end it is very difficult to play for Madrid, it is very complicated. They always bring in very good players, they usually bring in the best players in the world in almost every position. Spinita? Well yes, I would have liked at least to have had the opportunity or continuity to play at least six or seven games, which I know is complicated. I think that in one game, playing for a while, it is difficult to show your potential. It is true that I would have liked at least to have had the opportunity to see myself if I had been able to play in Real Madrid for more years or not.
– From there you moved to Getafe. There you really make the leap and you see that you are going to be a First Division player for many years…
Yes, I arrived at Getafe and it’s true that the club at that time was much different from what it is now. I think that before Getafe used to bet more on young people, on people who had been in the professional world for a short time but who were outstanding. As in my case there were also five or six cases of Real Madrid players who went to Getafe. I bet for young people, for people who had projection and I gave them the opportunity to play in the First Division and to be trained. And I spent two very nice years there: the first year we were fifth or sixth, we made Europa League. Until he arrived a few years ago, it was Getafe’s best qualification in its history and I also lived at home, in Madrid, in Coslada, the training was very close to me… it was very comfortable for me and it was a sensational experience. It was very convenient for me and it was a sensational experience. It was very good for me to train and to make the leap to a big team like Valencia.
– And that’s when Valencia signed you, where you’ve been a patron saint for many years, but at the beginning it was hard for you, wasn’t it?
It is difficult. I was still very young, I was a kid, I had been in the First Division for two years in a club that, in the sense of greatness, obviously cannot be compared to Valencia… in terms of club, institution and history. So I did come to a club, to an impressive city like Valencia, a club like Valencia, the mass of society that it has, what it is as a club… Valencia finished third practically every year behind Madrid and Barcelona. The demands were very high, they played in the Champions League and played with very good players. At the beginning it was hard, it was difficult to change, to leave my home, my family, my friends to a new place… it was practically the first time that I left my home alone, without my family… it is always difficult. But well, I have always been treated very well there, I have grown, I have been trained practically at a professional level in Valencia. My professional career has been at Valencia, nine years. I have lived through very hard moments, very difficult moments, but I have also lived spectacular, unique moments, which I keep for myself, they will always be inside me. I have spent nine spectacular years in Valencia, I have learned a lot and I have had a great time.
– Nine seasons, in the top-10 of players with the most games played, idol, captain… and you have to leave in a way that you would have liked to leave in a different way…
Well, yes, the circumstances came about, the club told me that they did not want me to continue. I had two years left on my contract and we talked to the club. It is obvious that if you are not wanted in the place where you are and they want you to leave, it is difficult to be at ease, to be happy even though… not only the fans or on the street, it is impressive how much people love me… In the end, my teammates, the people at the club… I felt the affection of everyone, but soccer is often like that, there are circumstances that do not depend on you, that you have to face in the best possible way and I tried to do my best. I would have liked, it is true, that at the time I would have liked to stay much more years in Valencia, obviously because of what I have lived and because it has been for me an impressive experience and experiences that will always remain for me? But well, I think I dealt with it in the best way, I would have liked to say goodbye in another way too, I couldn’t, but well, in the end what I’m left with is that I walk down the street, I live in Valencia, and all the people adore me, they speak very well of me and in the end I think that’s what you really value in people. What you have left, how people show it to you, they show it to you, and for me that is the most important thing.
– In whose hands is Valencia?
Valencia has been in a difficult position for several years, not only this year, but also at a sporting level. When I understand that the management is not good, sooner or later it comes to the sporting level. On a sporting level, Valencia, for the club it is, for the social mass it has, for how important it is nationally and globally, that it is in the situation it is in, it is difficult to see and even more so when you have been there and have experienced what you have experienced. It seems that situations of this type will never come, but soccer often, or life, when you leave aside what you love, it ends up punishing you. In reality it has been several years, at a sporting level …. I think that for me what Valencia is or I consider Valencia to be because of what I have experienced, it has to fight for European competitions every year as a minimum. Then there will be years that can not qualify, but at least fight for European competitions, not to save themselves from relegation. I understand for the people of Valencia, as I know them very well and have many friends, they are going through very difficult times, but I believe that in the end, when the management is not good, it ends up taking its toll.
– You end up in Valencia and Villarreal opens the doors for you. In your first year, you win the Europa League, your second title after the Cup with Valencia…
Yes, the moment came when they told me that I was out of the picture and then I talked to my agent and we tried to go to the best possible place or where I thought it was the best for me. So, before talking about anything, it is true that it was a very difficult time, very hard for me, for my family, leaving Valencia the way I did and I also wanted to clear my head a little. Then, the Villarreal opportunity came up, I spoke with Unai, who was the Villarreal coach, and he told me that he was interested in my return, that I should sign for Villarreal, he called me, I was talking to him: ‘Hey Dani, look, I have this possibility, I would like you to come and play and so on’. I didn’t think about it, first of all because I talked to Unai, I knew Unai, I know his career, I know the coach he is and then because I think that Villarreal, all the years I’ve been in Getafe, in Valencia… has always had a very clear entity of how they want the profile of the players, how they want their teams to play and I thought that my conditions, my characteristics as a footballer, were ideal for a club like Villarreal. Because of the way they play, because they want to take the initiative, they want to control the game, they want to be protagonists, they always fight for interesting objectives: to get into Europe or even the Champions League. It is an ambitious team, I did not change my home, I still live in my house, my children continue with their friends in the same school, my family, my wife is very comfortable in Valencia, we have been here for many years and practically my life did not change… I had to come to train in Vila-real. But well, then when you come here and see the Roig family, Fernando Sr., Fernando Jr. and Llaneza, may he rest in peace, he was still alive at the time. All the people at the club, the services that the player has to perform at his highest level. I think that apart from clubs like Madrid, Barça, Atlético de Madrid… which I think are another level of clubs, worldwide, in terms of social mass and the ‘megaclubs’ that they are… I think Villarreal is a great example of how to manage a club, how to give affection not only to the first team… you come here on a Saturday afternoon to see the youth, the cadets and there is Fernando Sr, Fernando Jr, Llaneza, Miguel Tena… I think it gives them a special affection, they treat the people in a special way. Obviously the owners are the ones who do and undo because it is theirs. But well, when they show affection, they do things with affection, with passion? Then it is true that if the ball doesn’t go in here you have a problem, don’t you? But it is no coincidence that the years they have been with the club, I don’t know if it is 23 or 24 years, they have played I don’t know if they have played Europe 18, 19 or 20 times. I don’t know exactly but that’s an outrage. And in the end I believe that when you do things with love, as they do, almost always, not all the time because life is like that many times, but almost always rewards.
– You arrived at the age of 31. Many people said that maybe you were coming to retire, but you’re 35 and you’re playing for everything?
I am very happy. Thank God, injuries have respected me and I have played a lot and enjoyed a lot. For me, 31 is still very young. It’s true that in the past people used to retire at 31 or 32, but now thanks to the whole issue of recovery, rest, food… I think there are many more tools in that sense for the footballer to be much more optimal than years ago. Obviously, everything has evolved a lot. I’m 35 now and I enjoy it as much as when I was 18. Well, now I enjoy it more because I understand the game much better and because many times when you understand the game is when you enjoy it, when you make things happen, when you anticipate something that you know is going to happen… When it comes to understanding soccer, like everything in life, is when you really enjoy it. So I’m 35, I’ve played a lot of games every year and I’m really enjoying it. I have one year left on my contract, this year and one more, but it’s true that I don’t know what will happen in the future, but I’m very happy, very comfortable, and today I see myself playing for many more years.
– How long Dani Parejo?
As of today, to tell you the truth, I don’t know because I feel very well, I am very comfortable, I am enjoying a lot and I can tell you that I don’t know? Let’s see if I can play for three or four more years. I don’t know, maybe next year I’ll tell you that I see that this is going to be my last year due to some circumstances or whatever, I don’t know, but today I see myself playing for many more years.
– Have you thought about what you will do when you stop playing? Would you like to be a coach?
I’m taking a coaching course, I’d like to train. I’m training, I’m getting my internship… to learn, to do things… I’m taking the B coaching course, this year, next year I’ll take the A. To have it, it’s true that I’d like to coach, it’s something I have there. I have always said it, that before coaching I would like to train, I would not like to finish and the following year enter as a coach in a team and work? I would like to work with an assistant coaching staff that understands soccer a little bit as I see it and be able to live with them on a day-to-day basis, learn how to prepare videos, how to prepare press conferences, how to deal with different situations or problems within a dressing room… It is not the same, for example, in my case now, as if I were the coach trying to make a series of decisions. I would like to be well trained and if I were well trained, I would like to try to become a coach, yes.
