TO his 20 years Beñat Turrientes (Beasain, 2002) He speaks as if he were a veteran. Louis of the Source He has found in him the engine he needed for the sub 21. After seeing the bitter side of life, he has fulfilled the dream of defending the colors of the club he used to cheer on from the stands. But since the important thing is to stay, he remembers that he has a lot of work ahead of him. apprentice of Xabi Alonsohas an exciting future.
If you put Beñat Turrientes on twitter to see what people said, what you find is: He’s a great player, a generational footballer, what a pearl, he looks like Xabi Alonso… How do you live with so much praise?
A lot of people tell me that I’m being talked about very well on social media, but I don’t focus on that. I don’t go on my mobile and see what they say about me, I play football, which is what I like, and I try to do as well as I can. It’s a pride that they talk about one like that, but I have to keep working and be at my best.
And what mold do they have in Zubieta to get so many midfielders? Illarramendi in his day, Zubeldia, Zubimendi…
Lately it is true that many midfielders are leaving. The work that is done in Zubieta is crazy in all positions. I’m lucky to have Xabi Alonso as coach this year and that’s been a long time. A coach like Xabi helps a lot in this position, he tells you everything you have to do because he has done it that way throughout his career as a footballer. We hope that many good midfielders continue to come out and that we make a top team.
Is it true that Xabi Alonso was your idol?
Xabi Alonso was one of my role models, because of his way of playing I identified with him a lot. Especially for long passes. But I also paid a lot of attention to Xavi and Iniesta. I have to follow in his footsteps.
A lot of people tell me that I’m being talked about very well on social media, but I don’t focus on that. I don’t look at what they say about me, I play football which is what I like
How is it that one of your references is your current coach?
When I saw the news that Xabi was coming to Real, it was extraordinary. Going from seeing Xabi as a child on television winning the Champions League, playing with the National Team, winning the World Cup… to seeing him as your coach is a source of pride. I am learning a lot from him, he gives me a lot of advice on how to play and how to be during the match. He is helping me a lot.
What advice does he give you?
This year in the Second Division, once again settled in the team after being between the first team and the reserve team, he tells me that I have to be the boss in the middle, ask for balls all the time, offer myself all the time, always look for the best option, to look before receiving to know what I have to do to play the game well… I’m very happy and I hope I continue for many years at Real.
Have you always been a midfielder?
I’ve played every position in the middle. I started playing in children as 8 and as a pivot. Then in youth they put me more as a midfielder, but I adapt to everything the coach asks of me. This year I started more than 8 and in the subsidiary I am playing as a pivot. But I adapt to everything. Whenever there is a need to help the team, I will be there.
As 8 there are more options to reach the goal, but the midfielder is the most beautiful position in football.
It is true that from 8 you get more into the area and you have more chances, but from 4 it is easier to play. One is alone, receives behind the opponents and sees the entire field. There is more time to think. Now I play four, maybe next year I’ll play 8. I’ll adapt to everything.
I have always thought that midfielders are the most intelligent players.
Yes, you have to think a lot. Especially before receiving the ball because when you receive and you are not sure what to do with it, the opponents jump on you and it is more difficult. Xabi always tells me that before receiving I have to think, look back or forward to know what is there and control it. So you can play easy.
What is it like giving passes to Silva, Isak, Oyarzabal and company? A medium bad pass makes it good for them.
It’s crazy. From the first day I went up to train with them they have made it very easy for me. For example, playing with Silva in possession is incredible. Then in games, you hit him with a bad pass but he always makes it good for you. The pass that he gives you is always done so that you have an advantage. Mikel Merino is also very top. When I debuted I played with Zubimendi and with Mikel in the middle and they made everything very easy for me. They are always there to help, they encouraged me all the time, they gave me a lot of passing lanes… I’m very happy and I hope we all continue there together.
In case of doubt, ball to Mikel Merino?
He is a very top player. He is showing it these years and it is a pride to have him there. I have to learn from him in training and in games.
His priority has always been to play, but many players do not accept that after being with the first team they are dropped to the subsidiary. You have taken it very naturally.
I have handled it very well. At 20 years old, I am very young and what I have to do is play. In addition, being the subsidiary in Second, it is an exceptional category to grow and continue working hard. It is true that being in the First Division, some would not think it would be good to go down, but I am very happy having the reserve team in the Second Division. I help as much as I can. We had had a good run but the defeat against Mirandés took us away a bit. But I think we played very good football and if we continue like this we can save ourselves.
What is it like to play in the team you are a fan of?
It is a dream come true. Since I was little, being from Real, going to Anoeta every weekend and entering Zubieta in children’s, it’s a dream. Anyone has that dream when they enter Zubieta and it has happened to me. I have worked every year to the maximum so that this moment arrives and I am very happy, but we have to continue. The important thing is not to debut, the important thing is to be there for many years.
Are your friends Real fans, do they give you a hard time when Real loses?
The truth is that I have some very good friends. If we lose, they always encourage me, although some of them may sting me a bit. But they are always there to help me in the good times and especially in the bad ones.
If a colleague tells them that it is not easy to be there?
Yes, at some point someone has criticized me and I already tell them that it is not easy to be there and that we are all people and we all fail.
What have you had to sacrifice to get to professional football?
Everyone says that being a footballer is something easy but I would say no because when it comes to friends, vacations, the truth is that we don’t have many. At the beginning of July we already started training, but I get along well, it’s something I enjoy and I like. We’ll have time to rest. I hope to continue playing football for many years.
Everything I get will be for my father and I am sure that now he will be very proud of me
2020 changed the lives of many people due to the pandemic, but your life has changed for other reasons in these years. Do you notice?
For everyone the pandemic has been a horror, but for me, after the pandemic I started training with the first team and in September I made my debut. When I am in Beasain, the children look at you as a reference for them, a kid who has made his debut and is with the first team. They ask you for photos, like I did when I was little with the Real players. It is a pride that the children see you like this and I have to continue working hard so that it does not change.
Has your life changed a lot off the pitch?
No way! I think that in Donosti the footballers take everything very naturally, it is not like in Barcelona or Madrid where they are world stars and cannot go out on the street because everyone asks for photos or autographs. In Donosti everyone takes it very normal, we are people from the quarry and from towns that are normal. It may be that they stare at you on the street or ask for photos, but for me it is a source of pride and I take it well.
One sees the Real squad and the vast majority are homegrown, something that helps to leave everything for the team.
Yes, in that you can see the work that is done in Zubieta, more than half of the team are homegrown. I am very happy about it and I hope many more will come out.
Personally he had a very hard stick as was the death of his father. I have seen that now he plays for him. How does that affect such a young kid?
The truth is that it was a very difficult moment in my life. Losing my father, who was the one who took me to training when I was little, the one who taught me to play soccer because he was a soccer player at Beasain, in my town, was very hard. It was a change of chip that made me see that I have to do everything for him, everything I achieve will be for him and I am sure that now he will be very proud of me.
He has the You’ll Never walk alone tattooed and puts it in the bio of his social networks. It is something very important in her life.
Yes, my father was very fond of Liverpool and the Liverpool song is You’ll Never Walk Alone. He always played that song for us at home. It means you will never walk alone and when he passed away my sister and I got it tattooed for him. Every time I enter the field I kiss the tattoo and think of him always.
My father liked Liverpool a lot and the Liverpool song is You’ll Never Walk Alone. He always played that song for us at home
Changing and talking about the selection. With two wins in the next two games they can seal their place in the European Championship. Surely Zubimendi or some other Real teammate has told him that a European under 21 can change his football life.
Yes. I played the European Championship and the U17 World Cup, but I think the U21 is another level. People are already professionals and play in the First Division. We have a very good group and these games we have played in we have done very well. If we continue like this we will achieve great things.
And Luis trusts you a lot. I don’t know if as a successor even to Zubimendi.
The truth is that I am very grateful to Luis. From the first moment I came, which was due to Ohian’s injury, he trusted me. In fact, I made my debut as a starter then and I also made the others as a starter. He is a coach with a lot of experience and I can only thank him for everything and give him back on the field.
There is a lot left, but this European is qualifying for the Olympic Games.
I haven’t really thought about that, but it’s a great opportunity to play in the Olympic Games. Zubimendi already told us that it is a unique adventure, they did very well, the penalty was the final, but it is a unique competition. Let’s hope to be in Paris.
