Iñigo Martínez breaks his silence in an interview for Mundo Deportivo in which he talks about his aspirations with the Spanish team, his state of form and the football moment that Barça is going through. The defender is clear: "The team will always be with him", referring to Xavi Hernández.
"He is a great coach, he has been proving it for years. He has given a lot as a player and now as a coach to Barcelona. Playing two bad games is not the worst for now," says the former Athletic and Real Sociedad player who sees it as transcendental to be "together." and "united", at a time when “the team's play is not all that good.”
"One day you are up and another down. Obviously, the game is not being entirely good, but we are getting the results forward. We are having a hard time generating chances, scoring... At the minimum they hurt us. These are moments where we have to push forward." the shoulder and press,” explains Iñigo about Barcelona's current situation.
The Basque footballer has more desire than ever to “play and win games”, in addition to having the confidence of the Egarense coach since he arrived at Can Barça this summer. Iñigo has taken advantage "little by little" of the opportunities that Xavi has given him. From a debut that was not "quite good" in Son Moix with the Blaugrana shirt against Mallorca, to starts against Athletic Club, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Alavés.
“From the first minute, he counted on me and that makes things easier,” the center-back acknowledges about the Terrassa coach. The Blaugrana center back even made his debut in October in the group stage of the Champions League, during the match against Shakhtar Donetsk, at the Montjuïc Olympic stadium.
Iñigo Martínez points out the importance of always “trying to improve and put aside “any criticism that there may be” regarding the culé team. “There will always be them and we have to know how to handle them and become strong within. We have to do our job, forgetting the rest," says the 32-year-old defender.
The centre-back's seniority is not only an extra on the pitch, but also off it: “I can contribute a lot to the team and it is important to help the young people of 16, 17, 18... They are very young, they still have time to play. "There is a lot to live for and we have to support them because they are the ones who can suffer the most," he says.
Regarding the discussion between Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal in the last league match against Alavés, he noted the following: “There are moments in the game when one can be hot. From the outside it seems morbid, but we are used to this type of things.”
Iñigo Martínez also dreams of playing in Euro 2024: “All of us who come here think about being able to play in these tournaments that we want so much. The options are usually few, so you have to make the most of them to be able to show the coach that he can count on you.”
Luis de la Fuente called the Barça centre-back for his first call-up and now the defender is confident of “having minutes” and “continuity” to demonstrate his level to the coach. “Things are being done very well. When a new coach arrives, it is always difficult to adapt," says the center back about the arrival of De la Fuente to Las Rozas.
"Now, in the last few games, you can see that the team is more united, playing better in every way," he says about the national team that won the last Nations League in June and certified its ticket for the final in October. next European. Despite this, "there are no friendlies", since "each player tries to give 100% to show the coach that he can count on you in the next one".
First place in group A is not assured for Spain, which is tied on 15 points with Scotland. Spain's next match will be this Thursday against Cyprus at 6:00 p.m. at the Alphamega Stadium in Limassol.
