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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Fri Nov 05 2010 - 06:43:07 EST
http://www.football365.com/spanish_thing/0,17033,9405_6486434,00.html#
Life In La Liga At...Almer�a
Posted 04/11/10 14:55EmailPrintSave
Every minute of every hour of every day of every week, the constant
chatter in the world of Spanish football is of Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo
Messi and little more.
The faces of players titillatingly referred to in Spain as
'mega-cracks' are a constant feature on the front pages of the
country's million-selling sports dailies to such an extent you can
easily forget that there are some 500 other footballers plodding
around the pitches of la Primera week in, week out.
One of those is Swedish striker Henok Goitum, a forward who has spent
his career in la Liga playing for those less glamorous sides that only
make the news when facing the big two of Madrid and Barcelona.
The Stockholm-born player with Eritrean heritage began his life in la
Liga with second division Ciudad de Murcia in 2005, before moving
across town but up a division to Murcia, then Valladolid. Relegation
for the Pucela side last season now sees Goitum at top-flight Almer�a,
and chatting to Football365 about what life is like away from the
Galactico gaze.
Q - Playing for some of the smaller clubs in la Liga must be a very
different life to that of Ronaldo or Messi?
A - If you play for Madrid or Barcelona you're well-known wherever you
go. If you play for smaller teams you're well known just in that town.
My life isn't like theirs. But people do recognise you in the street
and say that you need to win the next game and maybe they ask for a
picture, but that's it.
Q - Tell us a little bit about Almer�a, a club that's been in la
Primera now for four years.
A - It's a very small club. But what they want to do is sign young
players. The city is very nice, it's very sunny and you've got the
Mediterranean. You can see a little bit that we're trying to play like
Barcelona. Of course, Barcelona have better players so they can do it
better!
Q - Almer�a coach Juanma Lillo is famous in Spain for being a bit of a
character who owns thousands of books. How have you found him?
A - He's very intelligent. He likes to read a lot about psychology. He
wants to be the boss of the players' brains and he can do this using
psychology. And he just wants to play good football. He's not afraid
to play that kind of football against teams like Atl�tico Madrid.
Q - There has been criticism after a poor start to the campaign for
Almer�a. Are you suffering from being over-achievers in recent
seasons?
A - What people don't understand is that you have six clubs in Spain
that are going to be at the top. The rest depends on the year. For
example, Celta Vigo were in the first division, qualified for the
Champions League, then went down to the second. Maybe last year you
finished in seventh place and maybe this year you'll be 19th. I''s
always like that.
Q - Do you think that the problem with racism in Spanish football
situation has improved in recent years?
A - I haven't felt it. But the problem is that if you're a footballer
then people respect you in a different way than if you're normal guy,
a black guy. Then, things are different. This is why I like to talk a
lot to more normal people to see how they feel about racism. I think
they can give you a better perspective than a footballer. Football
players are almost like gods here.
I haven't felt it but I think it's getting better. I think that in
Spain, for example, what's missing is the next generation to come
which will have black people who are younger and alongside Spanish
youngsters. When they grow up together it'll become normal like in
Sweden, for example, or in England.
Q - Do you watch a lot of football when you are not training or playing?
A - I like to watch everything, even the Swedish League. Even though
it's not that good, I like some teams. I have no problem watching
football from 11 in the morning to 11 at night.
Q - So what are your tips for la Liga and the Premier League?
A - If Barcelona play like they did against Sevilla then I think
they'll beat Real Madrid. They don't have the players that Barcelona
have. But with Mourinho it could happen. Mourinho always surprises
you. Like every year, it's going to be between Barcelona and Real
Madrid.
In England it's between Chelsea and Manchester United. Arsenal play
good football but they have too many young players and I don't think
they'll do it. When they were winning the Premier League they had
footballers like Henry and Pires so that's why they were always up
there fighting.
Q - And a prediction for Almer�a?
A - If we win our next game then we'll have more confidence and I'll
say that we'll be safe and that's very important for a club like
Almer�a as you can have problems with money if you go down.
Tim Stannard
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