Hugo Duro: “Vinicius’s move to send us to second place was ugly”

Hugo Duro (Getafe, 1999) will become the protagonist Valencia-Real Madrid. With ten goals scored, he reaches his record in the First Division and is one of the pillars of Baraja’s team. The striker who I’m proud to have made my Champions League debut with Madrid, think about what spent last year at Mestalla and everything that happened after that game.

– He is on his best scoring streak since he played for Valencia and is just two steps away from equaling his Castilla record of 12 points. Is he at his best?

-I’m happy with this year so far. There are still games left, I think we need to continue, this is not the end, there is no need to settle scores. After a difficult year, I was able to show people that I can be here. Obviously I don’t have to be satisfied with what I have and I have to keep scoring as many times as possible, especially for myself and the team.

– Of the Spanish football players who have more goals than you, only Borja Mayoral and Morata. Do you see yourself in the national team?

– At the national level there are many players who do it well. But just to relate to it and ask me, that’s a lot of pride. I just need to work, and I can do that here in my club, and if one day I have the opportunity to be here, I will be glad, but I know that the competition is great. There are great Spanish football players. For now I want to continue to compete here and that is what will take me there one day.

-How do you cope with the fact that you are one of the players who miss the most matches?

“Our style is that in the end I have to give the team enough oxygen when we don’t have the ball. They told me about it, but I don’t think it means anything. It’s true that I was surprised to see the players who were on this list: Isco, Bellingham… players who are very different from me and my style of play.

-How do you get home after receiving so much?

-In my family they call me a complainer, but I always show them some brand. He didn’t sleep well that night because of all the stress. But hey, come Monday or Tuesday we’re ready to hit the road again.

-What happened to you last year?

-Well, I think I started off pretty well. I remember that at the Taronja Trophy tournament I started with goals, I was very excited. I started well in the first two games and the injury happened just as the club signed Edinson (Cavani). He starts playing and does it well. It’s harder for me to recover from my ankle than I thought, I’ve been there for a few months… After the World Cup, when I’m recovering well from my ankle, I’m having good games, but I’m not scoring any goals. .. it’s the strikers’ streaks that are better for me now and you’ll handle it better. But I think the team dynamics weren’t very good either. Things start to add up that are clearly not conducive to good work… and eventually I turned 23 too. These are new situations and today, if they had happened to me, I am sure I would have had a better time, competed better or my performance would have been better. I’m glad that what I think was a bad year for all of us didn’t end worse and that it helped us all learn. I think it was a year I’ll never forget, but hey, I hope this helps me in the future if I have another situation like this, have a better time and perform better.

-What were you thinking about in the summer?

-I took it personally. I thought: “I haven’t shown anything for a year, I haven’t shown that I should be here.” People obviously doubt your game so I took it personally, I’m very stubborn and this is a club where any player wants to be here. I would like to stay here if it were up to me. And well, the summer was a reset. Everything starts from scratch: teams, goal counter, minutes, everything… From the very beginning I wanted to show that I can be here and, above all, that I am up to the task.

– Did you have to help a psychologist?

-Well, my girlfriend, who is also an athlete, recommended this to me and said that it could be useful for me. He wasn’t out there, he wasn’t out every weekend, it was hard for the team to win. It was like, “We can’t win again, I’m not joining the team again.” Then I fell into this loop and could not get out. When the year ended, I celebrated and cried with joy that it was over. Although it sounds bad, I didn’t want to play anymore. And that’s it, July arrived, and from the first day, to get things moving, with a great desire to show the coach that he should be here, to help the team, to show the fans that they have another Valencian player here who is obviously going to to give everything for the club, and today I am glad that I changed this situation.

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– This year everything has changed so much that they have 13 games ahead to look at Europe…

“Obviously we look at this more than relegation because of the good work of the team, but this should not be an obsession, it should be a reward. I think there are very good teams, like Athletic Bilbao, who are obviously very far away and fighting for something else, like Real Sociedad, Betis… I think we deserve to be there, having opportunity to compete with them. As long as the performance is good, Valencia will aim as high as possible.

– How will Saturday’s game differ from last year’s?

– I remember after that game we went to Celta’s house, if I’m not mistaken. Madrid no longer played in the League. So, between a team that is not playing in the League and another team that is risking their lives, we had to show that we at least wanted to win. Then the game was as it was. Madrid, with the exception of the last 15 minutes, hardly shoots on goal. Now for a different scenario. Madrid still has to fight for the title. We have to fight for what is ours, we raise it out of ambition, out of the illusion of the desire to win. I expect a very good game that everyone will enjoy winning.

-What reflection do you have of everything that happened during and after that game?

“At the end of the day, what worries me most is that the actions of the three fools do not reflect what society is all about.” I’ve read comments that Mestalla was a racist; that all of Valencia was racist; that even in some foreign newspaper Spain was racist. Well, obviously not. There is everything. In this case, there were three idiots who have no other name, who do not reflect Mestalla, Valencia, much less Spain. I think that we are a society that obviously accepts all types of people and that we are also proud of them and I want Saturday to come so that people from all over the world can see that the only thing Mestalla is is a difficult field . to win and that he treats his opponents with respect and that I would like everyone to want to come as a competitor and as a player for the club.

– What did you think when, after the fight, Vinicius attacked you, you were expelled, and then the sanction was lifted?

– As a result, there was a lot of tension in that match and Vini happened. There was a fight, I tried to separate Vinicius, it seems, from Giorgi (Mamardashvili). The manners were not the same, then I saw myself and clearly you are not proud of it. Obviously I had no intention of hurting him or anything like that, I just wanted to break up, what happened was I was so stressed and angry that I wasn’t able to… and I caught him here so in a bad way. Obviously, if I haven’t apologized, I’ll ask for it. I think nothing happened in the first match because I think Vini figured it out… Well, I got caught too. It was a big mess, which is a bit of a tense match, especially in the situation we found ourselves in. And if he believes or anyone believes that he intended to harm a fellow professional, then they are mistaken, they do not know me. Well, that’s what happened, he turned around and it gave me, I think because he was caught, from tension… that then he (the red one) was taken away, well, I really don’t care. This happened and that’s it.

-What didn’t matter to him was that he began to appeal to all the fans, sending them to the Second. You were the first to reproach him.

-At the end of the game I told him. Not because it was Vinicius, any person addressing an opponent’s fan in such a moment of tension, I think, is very rude. Well, it’s like if he loses and someone does something to him, it’s not nice. I think the best way to demonstrate something is on the field, not to the fans or people who are having a hard time. Because he is very good, he is very comfortable, they usually win all the games, and the rest have to earn their bread every day and defend what belongs to us with weapons. I think he made a mistake at that moment and I hope he learns from it and continues to play the way he plays because at a football level he is great.

-How should everyone behave this Saturday?

-I think this is clear to everyone. We must behave like any party. It’s not because of what happened last year that we have to change. I think Valencia, Mestalla, the players, we have shown all our lives that we clearly respect them in this sense, and the only thing that needs to be talked about is the football issue. People need to stop talking and looking for controversy because it’s ugly, it’s ugly for everyone, it’s ugly for the fans, it’s ugly for the players. First of all, I think that at the end of the day it warms up in such a way that it is not necessary to warm up, that the only thing that should be there is the tension of winning three points, that everyone is looking for their advantage at a football level. . When I get into the press and see the events of last year, my blood burns a little because I think the only thing it’s doing is setting fire to a party that shouldn’t be set on fire from any point of view. Let everyone enjoy two great teams, they’re doing great this year and that’s it.

-How was the year you spent in Madrid?

– I had a very happy year, things were going well, we were on the verge of promotion. And on a personal level, debuting in the Champions League is an achievement, and to do it with Madrid – well, you tell me: the team with the most Champions League wins is the team that everyone respects. I was able to play a few minutes with this team, I looked at the players I had and I was amazed. It was an award that year and it was a very pleasant memory. When I have children, I will tell them that I played in the Champions League for Real Madrid. It’s a very big club, I’ve been there and seen it.