Aihen Muñoz shared yesterday with MARCA the feelings that staying at the Real produces Sociedad, after the injuries of Monreal and Rico and his good performance have led him to continue as txuriurdin, after starting the summer as transferable.
Question. The summer market is over and it is still in La Real. Happy?
Answer. Yes, I’m happy, because I wanted to continue being a Real player, I really wanted to continue here, and that’s how it was. There were options for everything, but I was always focused on the day-to-day, on training as well as possible and being available for whatever happened at the end. I was going to be satisfied with all the possibilities that could be given, but I already told you that the one I liked the most was to continue here and here I am.
I am happy to continue at La Real and I want to enjoy what that means
P. The football director, Roberto Olabe, praised his attitude during all that time. What does it have to say?
R. What I have learned in all the years that I have been at Zubieta is that I have to give everything in each training session, to be comfortable with myself and for the coaches to count on me. I believe that I have not lost my focus at any time and that I have always been there for what was needed.
When it was said that it was transferable, I did think that my cycle here was over
P. At the beginning of summer you handled some proposals, including from abroad. Did you get up one day seeing yourself outside the Real?
A. Yes, I came to see close to the possibility of leaving, that my cycle in the Real could end, because even the club made public my status as transferable, but I did not give it many laps, I considered that it was wasting time, that the decisions of others they did not have to affect my day to day. He spoke with the coach, with the coaching staff, and we were all clear that, while he was here, he was going to give everything.
P. The fact is that the preseason starts with you in Zubieta, waiting to define your future, and the injury of Nacho Monreal arrives, the other player in your position …
R. It is true that he had some physical problems that lasted longer, which made me see that I could stay, although the signing of Diego Rico also raised doubts in that regard … Imanol and the coaching staff have trusted a lot in Me, also my teammates, and one afternoon, after a training session, my agent called me and told me that my situation had changed, and very well.
I have felt good playing, brave with the ball and solid in defense
P. He has played as a starter the first three days and has been one of the highlights. Happy?
R. The truth is that I have felt very good, brave with the ball, very solid in defense and, taking the day off Barcelona, the results have been consistent with the work that the group has done. But, if I have learned something these years, it is that in the summer it could not be wrong, when my future was in the air, even now, because I have played three games well, I can think that everything is done.
P. Now even the club offers the renewal …
R. The truth is that I do not want to think about that. I was going to renew, then no, in the end I continue … I have already seen that things change from one day to the next, and the only thing I want now is to continue enjoying being in the Real, to play with the Real, that the team win and I’m comfortable.
Q. Do you look askance at how the recoveries of Monreal and Diego Rico are going, knowing that their return could change their situation again?
R. The three of us have a very good relationship and we help each other in everything. Now it is my turn, because I am physically very well, but they will surely recover and it is obvious that I will have to fight even more for the position. But I already tell you that, with everything that has happened, my only objective now is to enjoy the present.
I have been two seasons and we have both gone to Europe and we have won a title, to see if we continue to achieve nice things
P. That present and the closest past say that, despite everything, he is fortunate, as his arrival in the first team coincided with two European qualifications and the Cup title …
A. In general, I feel privileged for what I do every day. It is true that I have had very good seasons. In the debut season we almost entered Europe, something we achieved in the two that I was already part of the first team, and we won that wonderful Cup title. Let’s see if we can continue to do nice things.
Q. Those aforementioned achievements leave the collective bar very high, repeating them, don’t you think?
R. I think that, fortunately due to the good trajectory of the team, we have already had a few seasons in which we seek to repeat qualification for Europe, fight close to fourth, fifth and sixth place, and try, at least, to repeat playing a final in the Cup. It will not be easy, there are very good teams out there. Betis, Valencia, Villarreal, Athletic, but we are going to compete as we have.
