- 2 months ago
The Ecuadorian wall spoke exclusively to beIN SPORTS, recalling his beginnings in football, his adaptation to European football, the importance of his mother in his career, and the keys to success at Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain.
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00:00You are 23 years old, you are the first player ecuatorian player in the PSG and you are
00:05indispensable in the team. Well, thanks for the invitation, I am very happy and happy for that.
00:12It has costed a lot to get here, but now I am enjoying the team.
00:17How did you start playing football? Well, I was always in the neighborhood with my friends,
00:22with my friends who invited me. So, I started playing for fun, because I loved it a lot.
00:29I didn't see it as much as a profession, but as soon as I grew up, I realized that I could be professional and
00:39well, until now. Well, with 23 you have won a Champions League, I think it is more professional
00:44that I have ever done. Exactly. I tried to play, I liked to play a lot, I liked to play a lot of
00:50the delantero, so I played in all the way, I played in all the field, I was very flacon,
00:56so I used to play all the day with the ball, and with my friends in school I also played a lot,
01:02so I always wanted to play a lot, I always wanted to play a lot, I always wanted to play a lot,
01:06I always wanted to play a lot, but well, it is something when one is a child that always wants to play a lot.
01:13Do you see flashes of when you started? I don't know, for example, when we were in LA and we were in LA and we were thinking,
01:22oh my God, this is 10 years old, I didn't imagine you. Do you have those moments?
01:26Well, yes, the truth is that, more than all, when I was with my brother, with a friend, when we were younger,
01:34when we were younger, when we were younger, we remembered and said, oh, I can't believe that we were playing
01:40at the end of the championship, and for years we were playing in the bar, and it's like,
01:47it's something that, well, a lot of times it comes to me, and well, it's positive because at the end
01:53you realize the things you've reached, and you see where I am now, the moment that I am, and the truth is that it's a lot of energy.
02:00Your brother is the one who is the most in all parts, or who is your point?
02:04The truth is that my brother is much older than me, I am 10 years old, 20 years old than me, but he had some moments,
02:14when he was in the barrio, he was always playing, so I always saw how he was playing, but I always had not only my friends
02:22from the barrio, but he always had someone, someone who was always playing.
02:27You are now, I imagine, going to be able to see your matches.
02:30Yes, sure.
02:31I mean, the matches I can go, I go to the selection, and I look to see all the families all the matches.
02:37What is the feeling that you like to play with this team?
02:40Well, when everything goes well, you like everything.
02:43The way you play, the way you play, the way you play, the way you play, the way you play, the way you play,
02:49the way you play, the way you play, I think, are things that I do a lot, from the coach, from the staff,
02:56people who are there, I think they are incredible people, so when you see all of those things
03:03you give a lot of joy because you are surrounded by good people, people who want to help you
03:08always, that they give you things so that you can be better. I think that at the end, that
03:13is what helps us always to be here, to be able to keep learning, to be able to be able to
03:18be able to get the title. And I'm going to be able to get the title. And I'm going to be able to get the title.
03:25How was this leap to Europe? Because there was some other no in the path and then
03:31you were traveling to Europe, Belgium, Germany, now Paris.
03:37What do you think about all of that? Well, yes, sometimes I can't escape things, but I
03:42started a school, I was always there in Quilindé, I was in Huracán, I had a teacher who
03:48knew my family, so he would be able to train, sometimes I couldn't, he would be able to
03:54go home to train, so I would always be able to train with him, I would always be able to
03:58play with him, I would always be able to play with Amistosos and everything. And so I
04:02got to play with Amistosos with a club in Santo Domingo, and from there just
04:09saw a talent from Independiente del Valle, who is called Walter, he told me
04:16that we wanted to do an independent test, and so I was there. Well, at the beginning
04:23I had to convince my mom, because I had to go to Guayaquil, but I was
04:29two months, I think, and I got back because I had to do a lot of my mom, so I got back.
04:34And then I got back, so when they had to convince my mom to be independent,
04:39I was going to do the tests and tell them that I was going to have
04:42study and everything, so my mom could access and I went to the
04:47independent test and then I started.
04:49How did you convince her? What did you convince her?
04:51Well, I didn't, because she told me that I was not going to convince her
04:54that I was going to do a lot of things, so I was going to convince her
05:01and tell them how to do the structure of the club.
05:05That I was going to do a lot of my mom, because I was going to do a lot of study.
05:08So they told me that I was going to study there, that I was going to do everything, that I was going to be in a club,
05:13that there were people that I was going to take care of.
05:15So my mom was going to see, and she visited the internes.
05:19So I was convinced and I went to independent.
05:23I was there for an incredible year.
05:26I got to the sub-16, just there.
05:29I went to the sub-17, 18, reserve, and my first team that was debut.
05:34Did you study?
05:36Yes, I ended up there in independent school, college,
05:39so thanks to the club I got to do.
05:42Did you get the promise?
05:43I got the promise, which was the most important thing.
05:46When I got the promise, it was something that I got completed.
05:51Check.
05:52Yes, I got completed.
05:53How do you see the difference between clubs in which you have been,
05:57especially because you have been in different countries?
05:59What is the most enriching you?
06:01Well, in Independiente del Valle, you know, I came and it's an incredible club.
06:05In Ecuador, I think it's the only club that has very good structure for all the training.
06:12So I think I learned a lot in the game, you know,
06:17because I come from a barrio where I play to the fight,
06:20so I get there and they give me structure,
06:24they give me a way to play, they give me a position,
06:27where I have to play.
06:29And I learned a lot of controls, profiles,
06:32things basic things that, at the end, today, me serve.
06:35And then, in Antwerp, I came to where my adaptation was,
06:39because I started to see a different way,
06:44because the language is different,
06:46the other continent,
06:47the people, the food,
06:50things that, for me, were a lot, you know,
06:54because there were a lot of changes,
06:55and, well, I was alone,
06:56so it was very difficult.
06:58So, I think that it was a moment of adaptation
07:01where I also helped me a lot.
07:03There were people who understood the situation in which I was,
07:06and that I was very young,
07:09and they understood me and helped me.
07:11and they helped me.
07:12So, that way,
07:13how they helped me there,
07:14it also helped me to help them,
07:17because they had many years of not winning titles there.
07:21And, well,
07:22I also got to support a little bit
07:24to be able to be able to become champion.
07:28I imagine that,
07:29you know,
07:30adapting to food for a ecuatorian is complicated,
07:32right?
07:33Yes.
07:34To Europe and all those other countries.
07:36Yes, the food was not bad,
07:37but very different from the ecuatorian,
07:40because, well,
07:41for me it's one of the best foods in the world,
07:43so,
07:44to see and have another type of food,
07:47and, well,
07:48it has to adapt to what there is
07:50and what it takes in that moment.
07:52And, well,
07:53I would say that it was very fast,
07:55because I had to manage that
07:57and get used to things
07:58that there were.
07:59Important.
08:00Yes, very important.
08:01What is your favorite food,
08:02francesa?
08:03If there is one.
08:04Francesa?
08:05No,
08:06no I have,
08:07but I have a French food.
08:08I can't change it.
08:09Yeah.
08:10I like the croissants,
08:11but I don't see them as well.
08:14But,
08:15the food was really good.
08:17Really?
08:18Yes.
08:19It was really good,
08:20incredible.
08:21The food was really tough.
08:22I surprised me a lot
08:23when I arrived,
08:24and to try everything.
08:26I had very good food for the restaurant and everything.
08:28If you tell me,
08:29tell me a piece of food,
08:30tell me a piece of comfort food
08:32that you can do to eat your nutritionist.
08:34come whatever you want, Kiri.
08:36No, I also have a restaurant ecuatorian.
08:39Ah, okay.
08:40So, if I do a day...
08:42One and one, one and one.
08:43Well, from Ecuador I would go to the cocktail or the onion,
08:49which they are very good.
08:50And here is the meat, like meat or something like that.
08:56The French meat.
08:57Yes, the French meat.
08:58Yes, the French meat.
08:59Well, I don't know, but I'm not sure how to do it here.
09:02Well, tell me what you have most learned with Luis Enrique in this PSG.
09:07Any advice, something that you have told in particular.
09:10Well, what I would say every time I ask is that...
09:16You know, it always is key,
09:19it is clear with the things you tell us.
09:21And, well, it always gives you the way to understand things,
09:25not to have that of...
09:28You know, it's very simple.
09:30You know, it always has to do this or this.
09:32And, well...
09:33It always has a way of wanting to win, too.
09:36It's very motivating.
09:38It always likes to want to win.
09:40We always train at full.
09:43We always try to improve it.
09:45I think that for me, it has been very valuable.
09:49So, we'll see that a person who wants to do the best for you.
09:51You always talk about what you want to do.
09:54I think that you want to improve.
09:55I think that's really good for me.
09:56Well, I personally,
09:59I've got the best to do it for myself to do it.
10:02Every day, I'm going to be able to improve.
10:03I'm going to be able to improve.
10:04I think that I always try to improve.
10:06and I always try to improve and improve and improve.
10:10He insisted on having a good defense.
10:14Did you tell something about it?
10:16Because your spaces have become more precise now.
10:18Yes, yes.
10:20To improve every day, to learn and to listen to him,
10:24I think it's what has helped me grow.
10:26And now, to have a plus of confidence with the ball,
10:29to look at the spaces,
10:31where is the time free.
10:33I think it's not the training.
10:36It's not the training.
10:37It's not the training.
10:38It's not the training.
10:40It's not the training,
10:42to improve and adapt to the style of the game that we have.
10:46Where my friend is positioned,
10:48to see who is the number of players,
10:50and to see who is the number of players.
10:52You're a very young team,
10:54but very young.
10:55Is it heavy or is it a point?
10:58No.
10:59At the end, I don't see much in that.
11:01I play football,
11:02and my friends are incredible,
11:04very good.
11:05And the truth is that,
11:06we're coming from the hands,
11:07like a family,
11:08we're going to grow together,
11:09together, together,
11:10together, together.
11:11And I think it's important for us,
11:12to be able to be together,
11:13to be together,
11:14together,
11:15as a family,
11:16because it's what helps us,
11:17and helps us,
11:18to be together,
11:19and always together.
11:20What's the best thing to do?
11:21Yes,
11:22it's a great thing.
11:23What are you doing with the team?
11:24Can you say,
11:25I'm not a part of it,
11:26I'm not a part of it.
11:27I'm not a part of it,
11:29but...
11:30I think...
11:31What are you doing?
11:32I'm not a part of it,
11:33but...
11:34I have a part of it.
11:35I'm not a part of it.
11:36I've seen the same thing.
11:37I have a part of it.
11:38person, so now I pass a little more with him, I speak Spanish, so I always try to speak with him and
11:46pass a lot of time. What do you have to avoid as a player when you are playing under pressure?
11:52What do you have to avoid?
11:56Well, avoid having to think a lot. If you think a lot of things, I feel like
12:05a lot of times when you have to take decisions like this, I feel like it's a lot better.
12:11Mente despejada, before the match.
12:14Yes, in the Champions League I think it helps us to think about what will happen in the match,
12:22if not to be sure of what we are going to do in the match, in the team and then to do it.
12:28How do you relax before a match so important?
12:31Well, listen to music, listen to music, I really like listening to music, so I think listening to music is something that helps me to relax and listen to music.
12:42Do you have any songs in particular?
12:44No, but I like the Salsa a lot, and now there are some ecuatorians that play a lot of music that play a lot,
12:55which is called Dan Salsa, so I also listen to them a lot, who are doing great music, so I always listen to them a lot.
13:05What are the things you get to do to have a good luck in a match?
13:10Well, I don't know if I have a good luck, but I always try to...
13:16For example, I like to lend me the hand, but it makes me feel a bit more secure.
13:24For the game, well, I don't know if I have a good luck, but I try to relax, be calm and not think about it.
13:32The numbers are very important, statistically, in the game, as well as the numbers that you carry out.
13:40I'd like to ask you, what does it mean for you, the 51?
13:44Well, the 51 I use it a lot for my mother and because I'm also in Independiente del Valle, when I was young, I started to use it there.
13:52And, well, in Antwerp too, we're champion, so I always try to take it where I can take it.
14:03What advice would you give to the ecuatorian players, young people, who come to you like Pacho?
14:11What advice would you give me?
14:14I always try to learn things, you know, to learn a lot of things, to learn about football, to try to learn how to play.
14:28For example, you asked me about how to play a game, how to play a game, how to play a game.
14:33So, I always try to have that and, well, I'm hungry to win, I'm hungry to be very resilient.
14:40I think resilience is a phrase that I love, because it's like being resilient, being there, being there, being there, being there and being there,
14:49being there, being there, being there and maintaining there, I think that is what will always help us to grow as a player
14:53and always to be prepared for the moment in which you hit.
14:56Because, well, you never know when you have the opportunity to debut or to play or that you have a championship championship,
15:02so that always be prepared for all those moments.
15:06What best advice would you give me?
15:08My best advice is that your worst day doesn't have a difference between your worst day.
15:16That your worst day is not so bad, but that your worst day is very low.
15:24I always remember because he was a professor who taught me a lot of things.
15:32I was very happy when I was independent of the Valle Juste.
15:38Thank you, William.
15:40If you could describe a word to describe a Luis Enrique.
15:46A Luis Enrique?
15:48Well, let me think.
15:56Ayer esturdo, too.
16:02What do you think of Luis Enrique?
16:08I think it's...
16:10What is it?
16:12Resilience.
16:13Resilience.
16:14Yes.
16:15I feel that he's very resilient in everything that he does.
16:20Because at the beginning it didn't cost a lot in this season.
16:24I think that he always insisted on being resilient.
16:27As for what he is, or what he was a character, what he used to do.
16:31So I think that's been a good point.
16:33And I really think that it's a good point.
16:34Thank you, William.
16:35Thanks, to you.
16:36Have a great time.
16:38It was a pleasure.
16:46Thank you so much.
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