With three Champions League titles, two Intercontinental Cups, one European Super Cup, five La Liga titles and four Spanish Super Cups, José María Gutiérrez is one of the legends of Real Madrid and Spanish football. The former midfielder, who is in Colombia thanks to RushBet, official sponsor of LaLiga, spoke exclusively with Diario AS Colombia about the present of the Colombians in the Spanish league, where this time only four will play: Radamel Falcao García, Bernardo Espinosa, Helibleton Palacios and Johan Mojica.
The ex-soccer player, who currently works as an ambassador for LaLiga, spoke about James Rodríguez and assured that If he is in optimal conditions, he could be a great signing for several Spanish football teams.where he has already played 85 league games scoring 29 goals and making 28 assists during his time with Real Madrid. On the other hand, Guti hopes that Radamel Falcao García will be the great Colombian figure of the season with Rayo Vallecano, as well as highlighting the level that Luis Díaz has had, the player who most attracts his attention today. The Spaniard also remembered Fredy Rincón, with whom he shared in the 1994-1995 season.
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Expectations for the start of LaLiga: “I think it’s going to be a fun season, it’s true that last year it was a little decaffeinated due to the advantage that Real Madrid was able to take in the first stage of LaLiga, but I think that this year with all the reinforcements from Barcelona and with the team that Atlético de Madrid has put together, I think it’s going to be a fun and closely contested league until the end”.
Why do you think there are not so many Colombian players anymore?: “I don’t know, many times football is about generations and having good good generations that can export and succeed in other leagues. That’s what happens, many times a good generation gets together and in the end there are many players from one country in a League and maybe 10 years later for it to happen again. It is obvious that the Colombian player has always been highly appreciated and loved within LaLiga”.
Falcao, Mojica, Palacios and Espinosa… Who do you think will stand out in this League?: “Hopefully it’s Falcao’s goals, I have great appreciation for him, he’s a great professional and whenever he’s had minutes with Rayo in the last league, he’s scored goals, I hope it’s a good year for him and that he does many goals with Rayo”.
Which Colombian do you think could reach LaLiga?: “I think that any Colombian player who is doing things well in any European League, the Spanish one is the ideal one for him, because of the language, the food and because I think he gets more involved in the LaLiga project, but it is clear that there are Colombian players who are better off in the Premier than they could be in Spain”.
Are there any that catch your attention? “Luis Díaz is a great player, being at Porto he already seemed like a great player to me, it didn’t seem strange to me that Liverpool signed him, it’s true that he is a player who has to keep growing, but I think that in Klopp’s Liverpool he will do. Surely when his contract ends, all the important clubs in Europe will raffle it off”.
James Rodriguez lawsuit: “For him it was a disappointment to leave Real Madrid because I think he was very excited. When he arrived he had a spectacular season and we all thought that we were going to have James for a long time in our club, but then due to circumstances he did not get along with the next coach, he had fewer minutes and from then on I think he had doubts, he tried to go to other team, things haven’t gone well for him, but I think he’s an important player with a lot of football and surely he could have had more minutes at Madrid if he had stayed”.
Another destination in LaLiga for James?: “Surely, James, with the football he has in his boots and being physically fit, is a very usable player for any team in the Spanish League”.
Memories of Freddy Rincon: “I have wonderful memories, I was very young, they were practically his last years at Madrid and the truth is that I was welcomed with great affection, it was a pleasure to play with him, a player with immense talent and great quality. It was a shame that this happened, I found out through social networks and the truth is that it is very sad when these things happen so suddenly and especially with people you love and that you lived very nice moments with them.