Mikel Merino (Pamplona, 6-22-1996) repeats in the call of a Spanish team in which he is proud to be. dream of winning his first title, the Nations League, although he knows that it will be very complicated. The realist does not understand that there is so much noise around the figure of Luis de la Fuente, whom he does not hesitate to defend.
Ask. He repeats summons, so I imagine he is very happy, right?
Answer. For me it is a very clear objective to be able to be inside whenever there is a selection list. I work every day for it and, when I am, I try to contribute on any stage, on and off the field. I have two out of two with Luis de la Fuente and I had several calls with Luis Enrique. For me it has been a dream since I was a child to be among the best players in the country and I hope I can continue to be cited.
It is rare that the master is questioned with only two games and five training sessions
Q. This time Le Normand is opening. What would you say to people that Robin can bring to the team?
R. He is a boy with a great capacity to learn. That has allowed him to improve a lot in the last three or four years. For me he is a center back like the top of a pine tree. He is a soldier who competes in every match, who always stands at the foot of the dog and who goes to the death. Having a central defender who will go with you to the end of the world and will stick his head in where necessary gives you security. I think he can bring a lot to the team.
Q. The presence of your partner is one of the novelties in a list that, as always, raises many comments. What is your opinion?
R. They are things of the coach: group management, profile of the player he wants to carry, the state of form… What one has to do is work day by day in his club and, if you are summoned, make a quick pitch and that there is good dynamics and understanding. The good thing about the national team is that everyone who comes is so good that it’s easy to understand each other and create a bond, both on the playing level and off the field.
Q. Are you surprised that Luis de la Fuente is already being questioned, with only two parties in command?
R. To tell you the truth, I don’t share and I don’t think it’s right that people have so little patience and so little memory. But it doesn’t surprise me, because I know what the world of football is like. I believe that everyone wants the best for the team, that they win as many tournaments as possible. But the people in charge know how difficult it is to start a new project, more at the selection level, and win trophies. I think Luis will be calm about it.
P. It gives the feeling that it is at risk in this Nations League…
A. It’s a bit weird. It takes two games, just five training sessions, to capture the idea of him, and the skills of a coach who has won everything in lower categories are already being questioned. And, furthermore, after how the matches went. Because they were not a disaster, nor did they go over our heads to question so many things. Now two games are coming and we are going with the knife between our teeth to get a title for Spain.
Q. Players are not free from criticism. It seems that this Spain is no longer as powerful as before, that the footballers of today are not like those who were world champions, that the national team is no longer among the best. What do you think?
R. They were lucky that one of the most talented generations in the history of football came together, at a very good age of all, and they had their process to win a world championship and two European Championships. I don’t think we can compare ourselves to them. Not even other winning teams can do it. That Spain was magical.
We cannot compare ourselves with the team that won the World Cup and the two European Championships. That Spain was magical
Q. With or without criticism, the coach and the players are two games away from winning a title.
R. We are calm, we know the potential we have, we have some of the best players in the world in some positions. We are confident and hungry. But we know that everything is very even.
Q. You are confident that you can take that step with the national team.
R. It is very difficult to win titles and in the last Nations League we have lost in a final. We were very close to getting a title for which we are now going to fight again, in the semifinals. We have to trust these players, we are eager to put something on display, to show that Spain continues to win things. It will not be easy, to begin with, to reach the final, having an Italy that has resurfaced ahead in the semis.
