The captain of Betis, Joaquín Sánchez, who announced his retirement on Wednesday at the age of 41 after twenty-three seasons as a professional, fourteen of them at the Sevillian club, stated that "hopefully at the end of the season" he "hangs up his boots and Betis be in 'Champions'; hopefully, so be it", stressed the man from El Puerto de Santa María (Cádiz).
After the institutional act of tribute that he received this Thursday at the Benito Villamarín after his announcement, Joaquín declared in a subsequent press conference that the team will fight "until the end" for this challenge and said that he did not want to "condition his withdrawal, such a special and beautiful moment", with the goal of "achieving an objective that is there and that God wants" that they reach, nor with that of breaking "the record" of Andoni Zubizarreta as the player with the most games in LaLiga. In the last hours he has received the support of the world of football.
"I am 41 years old, that is, I had to retire at some point," said the portuense with a smile, who admitted that "it is true" that he commented that he could continue if Betis qualified for the Champions League, "but I did not want to condition him" to said objective or to him fulfilling Zubizarreta's "record", of which, with 615 games in the League, he is only 7 behind those of the Basque goalkeeper with nine league games to go.
The Betic winger defended, in any case, that his "decision is considered, thought out and discussed" with his "people", especially with his wife and daughters, present at the press conference, and that he has not taken it "at lightly", since this year "it was much more on his mind" because "it was something like he wants to leave you, you can't stand it and, in the end, you end up saying it".
Excited and in tears, he specified that if he had to choose his best moment as a player, he would stay with "that shameless boy, who didn't care about anything to feel like a footballer" and fulfill that long-cherished dream with the help of Aurelio, his father, and his family, but he assured that he feels that "the physical has not withdrawn" from him.
"It is true that the (physical) conditions are diminishing you. Age and years take their toll, but in my humble opinion my physique has not taken away, it has been more my head, but not because I was bored or I did not feel like a footballer, but because I believed that it was the ideal moment to decide it", he stressed.
He added, in this sense, that he felt "as if something, the body", asked him "every morning: 'Joaqui, it is your moment' - he said -, and I have done so". Even so, she insisted that "on the physical issue" she continues to "enjoy, train" and feel "pretty good for being 41 years old, although the conditions are not the same."
Joaquín revealed that his coach, the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, has "tried to convince him many times" to continue working after the end of this campaign, "because he knew what it meant to come to train every day" for him, "travel , play", feel "a footballer, next to your teammates, have a smile and everyone plugged in, make a family out of the locker room".
"He (Pellegrini) knew the value of all that and that he could still give much more; he has tried until the last moment, it's not a joke, we have mutual admiration for each other, he sees me train and I know he enjoys watching me, but the decision is already was there", indicated the now legendary Verdiblanco captain.
Regarding his future in other fields and as a director of the Heliopolitan club, he indicated that they still have to specify it with the president, Ángel Haro, and the rest of the council, although he would like his work to be linked to "the sports line" in his desire to contribute his "experience", to feel "important and useful" and to "always add" to help Betis, which is his "life and his family" because he feels like "one more son", continue to grow and consolidate in Europe.
Regarding the possibility of being president in the future, Joaquín stressed that "who would not like to be president of Real Betis Balompié one day", although that is not his "place" and his "will now be elsewhere" for "add" and feel "happy next to the team" that "has given everything", while thanking all the support received, even with "thank you messages from Sevilla fans, so the greatest thing" that takes is "the love and admiration of the whole world".
