A his 21 years, Sergio Camela regular in the sub 21, has been one of the great revelations of the season in LaLiga Smartbank. The Atleti youth squad scored 15 goals in 37 games with the red team. Now it’s back to Madrid to try to settle definitively in the first team.
How was the 4×100 match against Málaga’s homegrown players?
The truth is that very well. The goal was to have fun. We all enjoyed a lot. Hopefully it will be repeated every year and other colleagues will come to experience what I have experienced. See the faces of the boys and how they took it well fye nice. They were not afraid to put their leg in! It was impossible for us to beat them… there were too many.
After a year on loan at Miranda, do you feel you have taken an important step in your career?
Yes I think so. It has been a year that has served as a springboard to put my name a little in the elite. I have been able to show that I am ready to play at a higher level.
What footballing differences are there between the Camel now and last summer?
So many! This year I have matured a lot. I have learned to play in a higher category. I have gained that confidence that I could lack. I think I left as a child and have come back a little more of a man.
On a sporting level, everything has gone quite well, but on a personal level, how has your first year away from home and away from Atlético gone?
I have surprised myself. I adapt well to any situation. We were in a completely different place than Madrid, but I soon got on well with the people in the city. I have been very happy in Miranda, I am very happy with this experience.
With that football he has earned being one of the fashionable players in Spain. Many teams want him, how do you get along with that?
For better or worse I’ve always been a quiet boy. I try to enjoy the moment. I believe that fate has very good things in store for us. You will have to enjoy them.
Do you feel that you may be ready to have an opportunity at Atlético or is your idea to go out on loan again?
At Atleti there is a lot of competition up there. They understand that I have to leave, they want me to continue with my progression. Now it’s time to go to First. I think I can earn a place in the Primera squad at Atleti.
During your stay in Miranda, did you have contact with people from Atleti?
I have kept in touch, especially with managers. They wrote to me from time to time. They were attentive to me and that they were so attentive to me is something to be grateful for. They were all messages of joy and hope because it is true that everything has gone very well throughout the season. They have always been attentive, they told me to continue working like this.
Would you like to do the preseason with Simeone before making another decision about his future?
For now, as far as I know, I’ll start with them. It is my fourth preseason with them. I am happy to be there.
Those beginnings with the ‘Profe’ are not easy, are you ready?
If you keep inviting me to these places, where I’ve sweated what isn’t written, I’ll go more than prepared to the preseason with ‘Profe’ Ortega (laughs).
With the presence of Manu Sánchez, Riquelme and you in the sub21, do you feel that the Atlético Academy has taken a step forward?
Yes, the step has been very big. I think there have never been so many people from Atleti in the U21. It’s been a long time and that’s why it’s an honor that we can go.
In Miranda he has stood out for his goals, but also for being the first defender, something that Simeone always highlights in a striker.
Soccer is a sport that is played more without the ball than with it. If you’re good with the ball and have that defensive edge, you can help the team a lot. That is important. And the manager I’m trying to convince likes that, so I keep working on it.
Do you feel that the decision you make this summer could be key in your career?
All the decisions that are made in life are key. I don’t think I’m confused. What you decide will be the best and you will have to enjoy it.
Your challenge is to be in the first team, do you think that your time has come?
Man, a boy who has been playing football all his life dreams of reaching the top. For me the maximum, obviously, is to play for Atlético. I work for it because it is what is in my head. I think I’m on the right track. Hopefully I can reach the goal.
How have you seen the squad this year? It hasn’t been easy…
It has been complicated because we came from winning LaLiga and the expectations were high. But in the end this is football and in football you don’t always win. At Atleti we are quite patient and we are used to suffering. In the end, we got up there. We have been among the first for several years and playing in the Champions League. It is an honor to be from Atleti.
Of the last cracks that the mattress box has had up, who do you stay with?
There have been very good strikers in the history of this club, but I had the honor of training and playing last year with Luis Suárez. I think he is one of the best strikers who have passed through here. Training and playing with him makes you learn a lot because they teach you a lot.
The last one: for you, how would you form the ideal striker?
I would do it with Suárez’s calm in the area, Joao Félix’s ability, Griezmann’s left leg and that touch of magic that Angelito Correa has.
MSW22 test:
If you had not been a footballer, what other sport would you have dedicated yourself to?
It’s funny because I started, I did two training sessions, ice hockey.
A childhood idol?
Fernando Torres.
His greatest achievement to date.
Having been able to score with Atleti.
Fulfill a dream.
Play in the First Division with Atlético.
The question she wishes she’d been asked but has never been asked yet.
How does it feel to have won the World Cup?
