Juanfran: 'We need to beat Osasuna to stay in the fight for Europe'
“If we go with a good team mentality, we can win”
Juanfran will experience a special game this Sunday against Osasuna, as he returns to the place he called home for five seasons. This clash will be more than just a game for the midfielder, which he assured during his press conference after the team’s last training. “I’m really looking forward to facing Osasuna. When I arrived at Atlético the first thing I did was look at the schedule and see when we were going to play against the Navarran side. It’s an important match for the team and for me. We need the win to stay in the fight for Europe. I hope that I get a chance to play,” he asserted.
The midfielder knows that Atlético de Madrid hasn’t done well recently in their games against Osasuna in Pamplona. For this reason he assured that “I’ve played in clashes against Atlético and I know that they haven’t been fortunate. I hope to change that up and that from now on it’s more favorable for us. If we go with a good team mentality, are more humble and hard-working than them, we can absolutely win. Teams that come to watch end up down 2-0 after 30 minutes, and we can’t let that happen. Antonio, Raúl and I have played at Osasuna and we’ll explain that to our teammates.”
Juanfran wanted to make it clear that “Atlético de Madrid is a grand club and whenever they travel to another stadium in Spain, the home team wants to beat them and show their potential. They get more motivated. For me, Osasuna and Pamplona continue to be my home, because of how well they treated me during those five years and they helped me make a name for myself in the First Division there. I have lots of friends there and I’m going to keep up that friendship.”
In analyzing his first few months at the ‘rojiblanco’ side, Juanfran said that “I’m very happy here because of the size of the team and its greatness. Everything has been good, and nothing has been bad. I’ve come to a Club at which I have to be an important player. I signed for several years, I know that they’ve placed their confidence in me and I have to demonstrate that I really want to succeed here.
“It was tough not being counted on by the gaffer because not only I, but everyone, thought that I was going to play more, but looking at the past is a mistake. The present is that I could play in Pamplona and get time to show the coach that I can be a starter in this team, really contribute and make the fans and the Club see that they didn’t make a mistake by signing me. There are 9 games left till the end of the season and I hope that the manager decides to play me,” he stated.
The midfielder continued to speak about his personal situation, giving his opinion that “I’ve shown my level for many years in the First Division and given reasons for my signing. But I still haven’t been able to show what I have inside at Atlético because I haven’t played very much. In these games that are left, 9 of them, if they give me minutes, I’ll give my all for the team. Hopefully the results fall on our side and that would mean that I’d be doing things well and the team would be in European spots.”
Juanfran also touched on the conversation that he held with the manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, and offered that “the only thing that the coach and the Club have told me is that they have confidence in me and that’s what’s important to me. If another teammate plays, you have to respect that and I can understand it. I’ll have to show the gaffer that I’m better than the other guys who are playing. It all depends on me and how I play and the chances I’m given. I need games so that they can see my qualities.”
The footballer showed his desire to be in the starting line-up and assured that “I’d really like to be a starter at Reyno de Navarra. That hope is there, but I also had it in other contests and then it didn’t happen and I only played five minutes. I’m returning home and I have a tremendous desire to play. We hope that everything goes well and that we can come back from Pamplona happy.”
Concerning the absence of Kun Agüero for the match against Osasuna, Juanfran explained that “we have enough strikers to get scoring chances. They’re all playing really hard; we’re working incredibly hard because we know that we’re going to a tough stadium against a team that has a renewed confidence after the coaching change. I hope that those of us who play give our all to get the victory. We have to win, otherwise Europe would grow further away.”
The midfielder knows that Atlético de Madrid hasn’t done well recently in their games against Osasuna in Pamplona. For this reason he assured that “I’ve played in clashes against Atlético and I know that they haven’t been fortunate. I hope to change that up and that from now on it’s more favorable for us. If we go with a good team mentality, are more humble and hard-working than them, we can absolutely win. Teams that come to watch end up down 2-0 after 30 minutes, and we can’t let that happen. Antonio, Raúl and I have played at Osasuna and we’ll explain that to our teammates.”
Juanfran wanted to make it clear that “Atlético de Madrid is a grand club and whenever they travel to another stadium in Spain, the home team wants to beat them and show their potential. They get more motivated. For me, Osasuna and Pamplona continue to be my home, because of how well they treated me during those five years and they helped me make a name for myself in the First Division there. I have lots of friends there and I’m going to keep up that friendship.”
In analyzing his first few months at the ‘rojiblanco’ side, Juanfran said that “I’m very happy here because of the size of the team and its greatness. Everything has been good, and nothing has been bad. I’ve come to a Club at which I have to be an important player. I signed for several years, I know that they’ve placed their confidence in me and I have to demonstrate that I really want to succeed here.
“It was tough not being counted on by the gaffer because not only I, but everyone, thought that I was going to play more, but looking at the past is a mistake. The present is that I could play in Pamplona and get time to show the coach that I can be a starter in this team, really contribute and make the fans and the Club see that they didn’t make a mistake by signing me. There are 9 games left till the end of the season and I hope that the manager decides to play me,” he stated.
The midfielder continued to speak about his personal situation, giving his opinion that “I’ve shown my level for many years in the First Division and given reasons for my signing. But I still haven’t been able to show what I have inside at Atlético because I haven’t played very much. In these games that are left, 9 of them, if they give me minutes, I’ll give my all for the team. Hopefully the results fall on our side and that would mean that I’d be doing things well and the team would be in European spots.”
Juanfran also touched on the conversation that he held with the manager, Quique Sánchez Flores, and offered that “the only thing that the coach and the Club have told me is that they have confidence in me and that’s what’s important to me. If another teammate plays, you have to respect that and I can understand it. I’ll have to show the gaffer that I’m better than the other guys who are playing. It all depends on me and how I play and the chances I’m given. I need games so that they can see my qualities.”
The footballer showed his desire to be in the starting line-up and assured that “I’d really like to be a starter at Reyno de Navarra. That hope is there, but I also had it in other contests and then it didn’t happen and I only played five minutes. I’m returning home and I have a tremendous desire to play. We hope that everything goes well and that we can come back from Pamplona happy.”
Concerning the absence of Kun Agüero for the match against Osasuna, Juanfran explained that “we have enough strikers to get scoring chances. They’re all playing really hard; we’re working incredibly hard because we know that we’re going to a tough stadium against a team that has a renewed confidence after the coaching change. I hope that those of us who play give our all to get the victory. We have to win, otherwise Europe would grow further away.”
