Rubi: “The key to this Almería is the human factor and involvement”

ANDThe coach of the leader of the Second Division, Joan Francesc Ferrer Sicilia ‘Rubi’, is the cornerstone of the Almería project, whose priority objective is promotion. He is the coach of the best Almería team in history and has the privilege of being the coach with the most consecutive victories in the club’s history, with a total of seven. In addition, the team from Indál is one of the teams with the most points achieved during the first round of this century, which will close next Wednesday against Lugo with the match postponed from matchday 21.

Since we arrived, we have been able to work very calmly, both the owner and his trusted men support and help us.

What do you keep from Almería, its beaches, tapas or the desert?

With everything [risas]. It is an impressive place that I did not know. It has good weather, beauty and its people are kind, correct and very respectful.

What assessment do you make of the season your team is doing?

The assessment of these first six months is extraordinary. I couldn’t be happier with the first lap we’ve done and how we’ve competed. The team is playing very good football. There are still a few months ahead, but this is the way to continue being in privileged situations.

After an outstanding first lap, do you see the possibility of repeating something similar in the second lap?

It’s hard to repeat something like that. The first round hasn’t finished yet because we have the Lugo match pending, but we have the possibility of scoring 45, 46 or 48 points. Repeating that level of scoring is difficult, but I see the team capable of having a great second round.

Has the feeling of the owner of the club reached you for the great work you are doing at the head of the team?

Since we arrived, we have been able to work very calmly. Both the owner of the club and his trusted men support us and help us with what we need and we feel reciprocated.

I couldn’t be happier with the first lap we’ve done and how we’ve competed. The team is playing very well

Rubi, coach of Almeria

Your team’s numbers are scary, does this team have a ceiling?

The collective is always the most important thing and that the ideas are clear for the players to carry them out, but in the end you also depend a lot on the state of form, the individualities and the pressures. We are going through a delicate moment due to the casualties we have. Now our objective is to recover footballers. Meanwhile, we are going to compete to the fullest with the good players we have.

Where is the key to leadership?

The key to Almería is the human factor of the squad. There is no one here who is not committed and excited about getting promoted. Involvement is another important aspect of this team. Players compete and go 100% in every game and training.

Almería is the most successful team in the category and the team that concedes the fewest goals. The footballing cliché that the best attack is a good defense is being fulfilled to perfection…

Yes, but sometimes conceding a few extra goals isn’t so bad either if you have a good attack. We have been able to score two or more goals in many games, but any team can score a goal and more in this category. The two facets are very important and I am a great defender of both.

On a personal level, in terms of numbers, it is also being the best season of his career…

In Second Division I can not complain. This is my fourth season starting in this category and in all of them we have had the team among the top six. Previously I already did it with Girona, Valladolid and Huesca. I am very happy with how things are turning out and hopefully in this campaign I can be first, which I have never achieved.

You already know what it’s like to get promoted to Primera with Huesca, has the category changed a lot since then?

Now I see the teams that play from behind and try to have a leading role. In that season there were already many teams that tried to practice that football. Nowadays there is a little more verticality.

I am very happy with how things are turning out and hopefully in this campaign I can be first, which I have never achieved

Rubi, coach of Almeria

Many candidates for promotion. How do you see the fight to return to First?

The fight is tough. We had the misfortune of not playing a game and losing the next and all our rivals pushed. We do not expect it to be otherwise. There are big teams with big budgets. This makes us value what we have done to date and gives us the illusion of repeating it again because it is very difficult.

The week you lived after the outbreak of positives, has it been the worst situation you have faced in a locker room?

Yes. The week back from Christmas was very hard and like this I don’t remember one like it. It was seeing how your players were disappearing in each training session and with the added mental component that in a situation like ours a game had been suspended and we could not be granted that. Even so, we competed well against Cartagena and the team showed its face.

In those moments you were key, did you act more as a psychologist than as a coach?

Yes, because we had the team confused because one day you trained something and the next day it was no longer useful because we lacked troops. And so for several days. In the end, in life, either you adapt quickly to adverse situations or the result is later worse.

Replacing Sadiq is not an easy task, and even less so if the other first-team strikers are out due to injury…

Yes, we are talking about the team’s top scorer and he does a great job of intimidating rivals. If on top of that we can’t count on Juan Villar and Dyego Sousa, who have shown their ability to help the team, then it’s a greater difficulty. I am also convinced that the figure of Ramazani as a striker, with continuity, would give a lot to talk about.

Would you strengthen any position of the team in this winter market?

We are very happy with the squad we have and we have not proposed any departure. If there are any signings, they will be few because the players we have have shown that they can perform. If you had to look for something, maybe in the position of midfield or a central defender. These would be the positions to reinforce.