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SERGIO GONZÁLEZ SORIANO
Squad Number 07/08: 8
Date of Birth: 10 November, 1976
Nationality: Spain (international from 2001 until now)
Contract: 2001 - 2009
Transfer: ca. €17,9 million (2.800 million pesetas) (2001)
Previous Clubs: Espanyol (1997-2001), Espanyol B, Hospitalet)
Buy-out Clause: ?
Height: 180 cm
Weight: 77 kg
Position: Midfielder (central/right)
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 Midfielder SERGIO GONZALEZ is definitely in the history books of Deportivo La Coruña. In 2008 he became Deportivo’s fourth player with most Primera matches behind his name, after legendary names like Fran, Mauro Silva and Donato and passing by goalkeeper Juan Acuña and defender Romero. It indicates that Sergio always has been an important player to the club not depending if the coach was Irureta, Caparrós or Lotina. But he also will be very well-remembered for the goal he scored in 2002 at the Bernabéu which led Deportivo to win the Copa del Rey against Real Madrid on their 100th birthday. Despite some troubled-years, when his place in the team wasn’t secured, his recent performances and desire to stay at the club could mean that we’ll see Sergio around for several more years.
GETTING AT DEPORTIVO
24-year old Sergio had made his Primera División debut at Camacho’s Espanyol, three years before arriving at Deportivo, on 12 April 1998 during a 2-0 home win against Tenerife. He played all the remaining matches that season and also scored his first goal during the derby match against mighty FC Barcelona (1-1). It led him to become mid-table Espanyol’s most important figure in the next three years. Whether his coach was Camacho, Bielsa, Brindisi or ‘Paco’ Flores, they all counted on his vision and strength in midfield which made Sergio to play 110 Primera matches in which he scored five goals for the periquitos. Especially during the season 2000/2001 he was on fire when he scored four goals and only missed 79 Primera minutes. And Sergio was Espanyol’s match-winner in 2000 when his team, in the year of its 100-year existence, won the Copa del Rey against Atlético de Madrid. Obviously being Espanyol’s main player, in the ranking above players like Raúl Tamudo and Roger, he became one of Spain’s most wanted players. His performances also didn’t go unnoticed to national coach Camacho, the same who gave him his Primera debut, and Sergio played his first match for Spain on 24 March 2001 during a 5-0 win against Liechtenstein.
During those days, the interest of Deportivo in signing him appeared in the newspapers. The Galicians were defending their Liga crown that year and for the first time ever were in the Champions League. They were the only team able to challenge Real Madrid and another participation in the lucrative Champions League was looming. So, Deportivo needed a broad squad to be competitive in all competitions. Aging Mauro Silva (33-years old) was unquestionable in the team, but his partner Flávio Conceição had been sold in the summer of 2000 to Real Madrid. Coach Irureta regularly favoured to play with two pivotes (defensive midfielders) in his team to gave freedom to creative players like Fran and Víctor Sánchez but he wasn’t too convinced by Brazilian midfielder Emerson and Argentinean youngster Duscher. The place had belonged to César Sampaio, but the Brazilian left the club during the season because of personal reasons. It was evident that Deportivo needed a quality midfielder for its squad, preferably being Spanish as recent history had shown with the signings of Molina, Capdevila, Valerón and Diego Tristán.
 Of course, there was competition for his signature. FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Valencia, Betis Sevilla and Villarreal were mentioned. His buy-out clause was of around €25 million, and at first Deportivo could have tried to lower that price by offering either Capdevila or Walter Pandiani. But because Sergio’s contract only ran until 2004 it was clear that Espanyol had a good position to negotiate, and they wanted €13 million and both mentioned players. Later, the name of ‘Turu’ Flores’ was related to the deal but neither this deal was realized. When negotiations with Valencia and Deportivo didn’t lead to a deal, Sergio himself said at the end of July 2001 that he would stay for another season at Espanyol. It may have helped that suddenly a deal was struck between Espanyol and Deportivo for 2.800 million pesetas, somewhere around €17 million. A big amount for a Spanish player those years as only Mendieta, Gerard, José Mari and Farinós had been more expensive. Deportivo had paid the same amount for Diego Tristán one year earlier, and both players are still the most expensive players of Deportivo until today. It still took two weeks before Sergio and Deportivo agreed on his contract tough. It seems that Sergio aimed at a salary which would break Deportivo’s salary structure and there also was a difference surrounding the length of the contract: Deportivo wanted eight years and Sergio only five years. In the end the deal was done and Sergio signed a 8-year-contract running until 2009.
 2001-2005 | SERGIO RARELY MISSES A MATCH
Sergio was delighted with his arrival at Deportivo. "I'll always keep Espanyol in my heart. They made me who I am now, as a person and as a footballer. Espanyol were my second home for 8 years. But I'm very happy to sign for Deportivo. On the pitch, at Espanyol we most of the time reacted to the other team. At Deportivo there's another mentality. Here they want to control the match" he said. It was a logical step to move to a Champions League playing team and Sergio, who had prepared the new season at his former club Espanyol, was given some minutes during the 1-0 win over Udinese in the annual match for the Juan Acuña trophy and quickly started to have an impact at the club. Only goalkeeper Molina and playmaker Valerón would reach more Primera minutes during the season 2001/2002, but Sergio was the one who didn’t miss a single Primera match. He started the first four of them as a substitute, but after his late winning goal at Alavés (2-3, Sergio replaced Valerón) he earned his first starting place. Sergio also was being picked for the Spanish team that season and was accompanied by several colleagues of Deportivo, something which kept his chances of playing the World Cup 2002 intact.
His place in the team was rarely threatened, although he didn’t very much like being left out of the team which beat Arsenal in Riazor (2-0). "It's clear that nobody likes to be rested. When I signed for Deportivo I knew that it would be difficult to get a place in the team. I had the luck to have one in many matches. But now I have to work even harder for the coach to count on me again", Sergio said. Neither Sergio escaped the famous rotation policy of Irureta, without a doubt the most successful coach of Deportivo ever. That policy worked, as Deportivo were at the top spots in Spain all-season, impressed Europe again by beating Manchester United twice (including the 2-3 win at Old Trafford with a goal of Sergio), achieving two 2-0 wins against Wenger’s Arsenal and by denying Juventus from scoring twice. But it weren’t just only Happy Days, as November until January were very difficult months. Deportivo lost 3-0 in Germany against Bayer Leverkusen and eliminated both Cultural Leonesa Valladolid from the Copa del Rey with only a minimal margin. In the Liga there were heavy defeats at Real Mallorca (4-1), Real Madrid (3-1) and Real Valladolid (3-0) and as a consequence, Deportivo were seventh in mid-January 2002.
Neither Sergio escaped the critics, and despite his numbers he didn’t reach a spectacular form in his first season at the club. But he was an important figure in a team which had form like a rollercoaster, which influenced the players or was influenced by the players. Sergio got some personal appraisal, as it was the Catalan midfielder who cheered up defender Héctor after a mistake of the defender had cost Deportivo the match at Bilbao (1-1). Héctor said: “Sergio is a great player and a great person too. No doubt about that”. In February, Sergio scored the second Liga goal of his career against FC Barcelona in Nou Camp. Some weeks earlier, Deportivo had qualified for the Copa del Rey final by beating little Figueres with a narrow margin but impressed Europe by taking four points against Juventus including an astonishing display in Riazor. In the Liga the title chances were kept intact (leaders Valencia were at three points) when the Copa del Rey final at Real Madrid was to be played.
 Not many gave Deportivo a chance, because of the circumstances: Real Madrid had been aiming at a Copa del Rey win all season, not only because the final being in their stadium on their 100th birthday but also because their last Copa win was from 1993. Besides, Real Madrid (especially Zidane) had displayed great form two months earlier against Deportivo in the Bernabéu. But Sergio indicated that “I want to repeat the win I achieved with Espanyol in 2000. I have great memories of that season and it was magnificent for Espanyol”. Back then, Sergio scored Espanyol’s second goal during a 2-1 win against Atlético de Madrid which gave the Catalans a great birthday gift after 100 years of existence. Real Madrid were thinking about the same festivities, but Sergio’s goal after only six minutes gave him another entry in the history books. The match was eventually won 1-2 by Deportivo, and the key according to Sergio was that “Deportivo were going for it from the start. And we had the luck to score an early goal. After it we played a sensational first half against Real Madrid who appeared knock out. In the second half things changed a bit after the goal of Raúl. We suffered more, especially in the last 30 minutes. But it's normal that one has to suffer in a final. We did against a rival which never gave up”. Asked about his goal, Sergio said that "every player dreams of playing a match like this one, and of course of scoring a goal. I had the luck to do it".
Deportivo had great form and Sergio was a key player. The Copa del Rey already was won and six days after the win in the Bernabéu there was another impressive display of the team at Arsenal’s Highbury (0-2) which qualified Deportivo for the Champions League kick-off stages for the second time in a row. But April 2002 proved to be fatal for the other targets. Manchester United didn’t let itself get fooled twice and eliminated Deportivo, fully deserved, from Europe. In Spain, the Galicians started the away match at Valencia with only a two-point disadvantage but lost 1-0 due to Duscher’s own goal. Nevertheless, the team scored eight goals in the remaining three matches and took seven points which made the team finish second in Spain. On a personal level, Sergio could be satisfied too. He had conquered a starting-place in a team which not only was one of the best in Spain, but also had impressed Europe with fine football. “Everything I could have asked for has come true. I had to think a lot about my move this summer and it was a difficult decision. But after I picked Deportivo everything has been brilliant”, he said. And he had scored six goals in all competitions, including ones at Old Trafford, Nou Camp and the Bernabéu. Asked about this, Sergio replied: “It's true that I score goals in the bigger stadiums, but it does not matter to me if I score them or another player does. I'm a midfielder and no goal scorer, but I should at least score some goals every season".
 There was another great event on its way: the 2002 World Championships in South Korea and Japan. During the year, Sergio already had described the importance of the Spanish team for him. “When I’m called for the national team I forget everything else. Here, there is no Champions league, no Liga, nothing of this kind. This is the national team, which in my view is just as important as the Champions League. One must realize that one is defending the colours of the country and should give it all”. After having played for Spain on a regular basis during the season, 25-year old Sergio was picked for the participating Spanish squad together with Romero, Valerón and Diego Tristán. Manuel Pablo would have made it hadn’t he suffered an awful injury at the start of the season. And Albert Luque was included, who would join Deportivo some months later. According to Sergio he was “living in a dream, but the best is yet to come”. Spain won all three games to progress to the round of sixteen and eliminated Ireland after penalties (although Valerón missed a penalty). But in the Quarter Finals against South Korea, Spain had to cope with two controversial decisions when goals of Baraja and Morientes were ruled out. But the team itself failed to impress against both Ireland and South Korea and refused to take too many risks. Overall, the impact of the Deportivo players was limited despite their excellent season. Romero had two starting places and one entry and Diego Tristán suffered a major set-back in his career when, after having started the first two matches next to Raúl, an injury made an end to his tournament. Sergio only came on as a substitute against South Africa when the group already was decided. Only Valerón was an important figure as he started all four matches when it mattered, and also scored a goal against Slovenia. Sergio commented on his World Cup experience: “It was great, as it was far away at the highest level with great players. It was my dream to play at a World Cup, but being there I would have loved to have played more. But I would be thrilled to have that experience again one day”.
Sergio wished for the season 2002/2003 “to achieve what we achieved last season, which was extraordinary”. On a personal level, Sergio explained that when arriving in Galicia he was a bit afraid of having left his home-town Barcelona. “But only on my birthday I had a little set-back. The players, as well as the people on the street and the press too, make me feel at home”. During the summer, national coach Sáez looked at Sergio when he needed a replacement for injured Real Madrid player Iván Helguera. Deportivo, with Sergio, won the Spanish Supercopa by beating arch-rivals Valencia 4-0 on aggregate. The team added another page to its history book by beating Bayern Munich (2-3) in their own stadium when especially Valerón and Roy Makaay connected very well. At the height of this career, playmaker Valerón was literally eliminated from the Valladolid match by defender Peña and suddenly the Galicians had to be without him for month. Three days later, Irureta tried with Sergio on his spot against AC Milan in Riazor. But that experiment, and the whole match, were a disaster: 0-4. Deportivo struggled until the end of the calendar year. Early December 2002, the team were at seven points of the first spot in the Liga. In Europe, the two (late) wins against Bayer Munich proved to be crucial and qualification for the next round was sealed at already-qualified AC Milan (1-2). In December, the team took six points from Málaga (1-0) and Valencia (0-1) but apparently were led by higher forces.
Sergio was always there. Next to Roy Makaay he was the player with most Liga minutes that season and only missed one Liga match. In October 2002 he was related to a move to Italian giants Internazionale as part of a dealing taking Sergio Conceição to Deportivo, but that deal was never materialized. Sergio, playing at the left, scored his first goal of the season against Celta in Riazor on 4 January 2003. It was Deportivo’s third consecutive victory and the team finally started to roll. Sergio added another goal during the Copa match at Alicante (1-1) three days later from a free-kick. Deportivo achieved a crucial Liga win on 15 February 2003 at Valladolid (0-1) and won another six out of seven matches in the weeks after. Liga Statistics in February indicated that the tandem Mauro Silva/Sergio was very effective in the Primera División. Mauro Silva was the most effective ball-winner in the Liga (winning seven out of every ten efforts) and Sergio, next to three other players including Víctor Sánchez, was most effective in giving goal-assists. It led to compliments being exchanged between the two players. Mauro Silva said that "Sergio and I complement each other very well. I pay attention at the back and he is a better passer and is very fast”. Sergio mentioned that he played next to the best possible teacher in the world concerning defensive work. "Playing next to Mauro gives you much security. You know that if you can't make it on time, he always appears. He is one of the best at these tasks and at his side I have improved my defending a lot". Sergio was used in all mid-field spots during the season 2002/2003, including both wings. “And on those positions I felt better than I had hoped for. Everyone has his own position, but if the team needs me in another position there's nothing I can do. If a coach uses me on different positions it also means that he thinks I can adapt myself well and that makes me proud. Personally I think that the role of right winger suits me better as the one as attacking midfielder”.
 In March 2003, Deportivo suffered elimination from the Copa del Rey (against Mallorca) and Champions League (against Juventus) within seven days, but this season the options to win the Liga title started to look brilliant. On 13 April 2003, Sergio scored for the second consecutive year in Barcelona’s Nou Camp when the Galicians gave a display of force: 2-4. Sergio set up a goal for Roy Makaay, and called it “a special night, especially because I hadn’t won before at the Nou Camp and my family was in the stands”. It was a great match of Sergio, something he needed. “I needed a match like this one, especially the goal I scored. People can ask from me to score more goals than I have scored this season. But overall I think my performances have been good this season and I am proud of my season so far. But this year I don't have much luck in front the goal. I haven't forgotten about scoring goals and I think that I deserved a match like this one”.
Sergio himself was related to Italian clubs Juventus and Milan those months. Despite a lot of negativism in the first months of the season, all surrounding Deportivo now were talking about the title. Sergio said that “ I always expected things to go better near the end of the season. Sometimes journalists asked me whether we were going to qualify for the UEFA Cup, exaggerated questions I think. In La Coruña people suddenly swift from a negative to a positive attitude. Sometimes there's nothing in between. Maybe it’s because we have been for years among the best teams and people expect much of us. And therefore don't want something mediocre. Being a moderate team doesn't attract attention: everything is bad or excellent. But we haven't even reached our best level yet, like last season at Arsenal, at home to Juventus or the epic Copa final against Real Madrid. These were fantastic matches and we're working hard to repeat this”. The team conquered first spot in Spain after beating Málaga (0-2) with five matches remaining, but couldn’t cope with the pressure during the next home match against Valencia (1-2). Sergio commented on that defeat: “It hurts to lose in this way because we fought for it. And after their first goal the only Valencia players not defending were their bench players. They only wanted to defend and had luck behind them”. Still, the belief of the players had disappeared and two out of the next three matches were lost too. Deportivo finished the season at third place at six points of champions Real Madrid.
In the summer there were rumours about Sergio returning to Espanyol (and selling him to Real Madrid) because of a contract stipulation that this was a possibility if Deportivo didn’t pay all parts of the agreed transfer sum. In the end this didn’t happen, but it was another indication of the difficult financial position the club was getting into. And the signing of ‘big players’ became more scarce. The positions in centre midfield were well-covered with Mauro Silva, Sergio and Duscher in that ranking-order. Emerson had been the fourth during the season 2001/2002 after losing his place to Sergio, and 2002-signing ‘Toro’ Acuña had replaced the Brazilian. But there hadn’t been real threats to Sergio, and it would be the same in the two final seasons under Javier Irureta. Deportivo qualified for the Champions League that summer of 2003 by beating Rosenborg in pre-round matches. The decisive goal in Riazor, after the 0-0 draw in Norway, was scored by Luque after a pass by Sergio. The group phase with AEK Athens, PSV Eindhoven and AS Monaco was survived on experience, but the 8-3 beating in Monaco wasn’t forgotten quickly. In the Liga, the team was very regular after a perfect start and third place (at six points of leaders Real Madrid) was occupied when the year 2004 started. In those matches, Sergio’s goal mark was at three already thanks to goals against PSV Eindhoven (a deflected free-kick), Atlético de Madrid and… against FC Barcelona at the Nou Camp. The 0-2 win at 18 October 2003 was another display of Deportivo’s experience against Rijkaard’s team (with Ronaldinho) which almost clinch the Liga title at the end of the season and already showed indications of greatness. It was the third consecutive goal of Sergio in the Nou Camp.
 But, as usual, much (more) was expected of Deportivo and Sergio was one of the players specifically mentioned. Deportivo were big in Spain for five consecutive years and played their fourth consecutive Champions League campaign. Sergio pointed to the solidness of Deportivo and, as before, hoped that the future would bring more bright football. “One cannot deny that we’re at a great moment now and it’s a moment to enjoy. But our best moment has not arrived yet. We’re a solid and compact team and that must be our way to continue. What we’re living through now is great although it’s not definitive. Maybe our game at the moment isn’t at a level we can offer, although playing well is not the solution to all. There are more things at which we have improved and that’s why we have won many matches. Anyway, we will improve our game from now on”. Fact is that his more anonymous role in the team had as a consequence that he wasn’t picked for the Spanish team anymore, although he had been part between 2001 and 2003. Sergio said: “I am doing all I can to get back into the Spanish team. But I am realistic enough to see that my possibilities at the moment are small”.
In December 2003 he reached the mark of 200 Primera matches obtained at Espanyol and Deportivo and it was time to make up the balance of 2,5 years at the club. Sergio called the 200-number a quite considerable figure and was asked about how he had adapted in La Coruña: “It’s a different city than Barcelona, where I was formed and made my debut. It’s where all my friends come from like De Lucas, Capdevila and Tamudo. But I’ve settled in La Coruña and it’s the city which gave me a permanent spot in the Primera División”. Players of Deportivo that had impressed him during those years at Deportivo were Fran, Diego Tristán, Valerón and Mauro Silva “because of their qualities. But Espanyol-colleague Galca really taught me the good and bad things of football”. As opponent he picked Fernando Redondo “and I always ended up those games totally elbowed. Rivaldo also always has been difficult to stop”. His big dream though, and one of the reasons why he signed at Deportivo, was to win the Liga. “I won’t rest until I have achieved that”, he said. But domestically, the winter months proved to be fatal. First, Atlético eliminated Deportivo from the Copa del Rey on away goals. And at the end of February, a resurrected Barcelona took a 0-3 lead in Riazor and ended up winning 2-3. A crucial match was lost and Liga leaders Real Madrid were now nine points away. Two defeats later (3-0 at Valencia and 4-2 at Mallorca) made the case clear: Deportivo weren’t going to win a domestic prize this season.
 But the season 2003/2004 was the one of Deportivo’s finest moment in Europe. After the group phase, Deportivo beat Juventus twice (2-0 on aggregate) and achieved one of the most impressive come-backs ever by beating AC Milan in Riazor (4-0) after the first match was lost (4-1, with all three Mauro Silva, Sergio and Duscher playing). But the team were unable to score a single goal against Mourinho’s FC Porto in the Semi-Finals and lost an unique opportunity for glory. Deportivo simply weren’t good enough during those matches, but the performance of referee Pierluiggi Collina in Riazor certainly didn’t help. Sergio said about this: "It might be that he's considered the best referee around. But let's hope he never will lead another match of Deportivo. Now he has led two matches of us (the other was at PSV Eindhoven), and in neither of them he did a good job. I don't like his way of leading matches". But Sergio ended by saying that "he wasn't the only reason why we lost this round". No prize for Sergio that season, and he even lost his starting place for a few weeks thanks to Irureta’s variations with using Fran and Valerón. But Sergio called Fran “a great player who’s above most of the others. He always would play if I was coach”. He joked by adding that “I would also use myself on all occasions…”. But Sergio quickly returned to the team and only Jorge Andrade and Molina ended up playing more in Primera. In fact, Sergio only missed two Liga matches during his first three seasons at Deportivo and he played 54 of the 56 official matches during the season 2003/2004. But for Spain his total of matches remained ten and he wasn’t even considered by national coach Sáez for the Euro 2004 tournament in Spain. Players like Baraja and Albelda proved to be too much of a competition to the Catalan. It disappointed him: “I played the 2002 World Cup and hoped that at Euro 2004 I would had become an established member of the squad. It didn't happen, so from now on I will have to convince (new Spain coach) Luis Aragonés”.
More difficult years had arrived for Deportivo and Sergio. He himself was optimistic for the 2004/2005 season “because Deportivo have a strong squad, ready to face any opponent in the Liga or in Europe. And the Greek victory at Euro 2004 shows that in modern football ones has to need a solid framework to achieve results”. That framework still existed, but the motivation seemed to have disappeared from the squad. Irureta was going to start his seventh season at the club, which in the end proved not to be the best solution for getting a new dynamic, and players like Mauro Silva (36) and Fran (35) couldn’t bring anymore what they brought before. Refreshments stayed out, despite a summer full of rumours (and Sergio hinting at the signings of Zagorakis of Maniche). The atmosphere at the club was influenced by actions like the club publishing Fran’s contract on the internet in a public row. Sergio summed up what most people related to Deportivo will have shared with him. “I don’t want to get involved in all his. But I don’t like the way both parties have handled. This could have been solved in a much more ‘light’ way”. Early September, Luque and Pandiani had a fight during a training sessions. Sergio said somewhat jokingly that “it was not a nice thing, but it’s interesting and great to see that there’s intensity during training sessions… Let’s hope that intensity will be repeated against Osasuna”.
 For this season, Deportivo gambled on another trick of this solid squad, which only had been strengthened by Munúa, Songo’o, Pedro Munitis, Rubén and Momo during the past two years. This team needed 150 minutes of football when they scored their first goal against little Shelbourne in the Champions League pre-round. It was scored by Víctor Sánchez after Sergio’s pass. The 3-0 win, after a 0-0 draw in the first match, qualified Deportivo for the Champions League group phase. But the effective combination of this squad and this coach was over. Deportivo didn’t score a single goal against AS Monaco, Liverpool (Sergio missed the Anfield Road match because of an suspension) and Olympiakos Piraeus in six matches. The team was out from the Copa del Rey in November because of little Elche. And a 1-5 home beating against Valencia in September indicated that it would become a troubled Liga season too. As usual, Sergio was a fundamental part of the team that season and only Valerón and Jorge Andrade played more Liga minutes. But the team was too ineffective upfront and also the ‘magic’ was gone. It could have been a consequence of Sergio having to lead midfield now that Mauro Silva was quitting his career. The Brazilian was only used rarely and either Duscher, Scaloni or even youngster Pita accompanied Sergio in midfield. Maybe that 28-year old Sergio wasn’t up to that as he always had been more or less in Mauro Silva’s shadow and in the attacking part had been accompanied by players like Fran, Valerón, Luque and Víctor Sánchez. Now the combination of Valerón and Sergio seemed to lack strength and determination. Sergio even was sent-off during a Copa match at little Cerceda, his first since joining Deportivo in 2001. There was irritation in the team, and both Molina and Sergio were asked by the coaching staff to explain some criticism they had ousted in the press. Sergio missed several matches because of a knee injury, something unknown to him, and recovered in Barcelona. The good news was that from 12 December 2004 on, Sergio didn’t miss a single Liga minute.
But this Deportivo team was as a ship without a captain. On 16 January 2005 the home match against Numancia finished 1-1 and Deportivo were twelfth in the table at a distance of ten points from a Champions League spot, with the title being light years away. Sergio was particularly critical: “We’ve lost our reputation as a team with a solid defence”. A 4-1 win against Sergio’s beloved-team Espanyol could have indicated the return of Deportivo’s best days, but that wasn’t to be. It was probably just a last breath of a team revived by Pandiani’s harsh words in the press which forced him out of the club. It’s not that the team was just bad that season, because not that many matches were lost. But the ineffectiveness caused too many points to be lost unnecessary. Added to this was that at the back the solidness was gone. The team needed a late Sergio goal in the week after the Espanyol-win to save a point at Osasuna. But the results were too irregular. This team desperately needed a confidence-boost, and this could have been the matches against Real Madrid, Getafe, Málaga and Albacete when ten points were taken. But with UEFA Cup football at just one point, the team lost grip and finally slipped away. Again, FC Barcelona destroyed hopes in Riazor (0-1) and Deportivo struggled to the end of the season. Like his colleagues, Sergio suffered from an ineffective season and according to Irureta he lacked enough defensive effort. Also, one could clearly see that his long-distance efforts weren’t precise enough. But there also were numerous examples of Sergio standing up, like when he scored the late equalizer at Osasuna.
 2005-2007 | UNCERTAINTY UNDER CAPARRÓS
The best news for Sergio in the summer of 2005 was his return to the Spanish team during a 2-0 friendly-win against Uruguay in Gijón. But at the same time it would be the last time he wore the Spanish tricot. He was later picked for the squad against Serbia, but the competition of players like Xabi Alonso, Xavi and Ivan de la Peña was fatal to the Catalan player of Deportivo. Sergio was almost 29-years old and now definitely had to do without Mauro Silva, who had said farewell to football after 13 years at Deportivo. Sergio and Duscher, who already had joined forces in many matches recently, were now supposed to handle Deportivo’s midfield and they were accompanied by new-signing Julian De Guzmán while ‘Toro’ Acuña also still was at the club. Despite all the rumours, as usual, players like Assuncão or Riquelme weren’t signed. Meanwhile, Caparrós (known for his ability to work with youngsters) had as plan to ‘recuperate’ the qualities of ‘lost players’. And he didn’t have much of an alternative because of the lack of new players: Coloccini had been signed in January and the only new arrivals were Taborda, Juanma and already-mentioned De Guzmán. It was evident that Deportivo were going to face a tough season, and the idea of improving the performances players like Manuel Pablo, Duscher, Sergio, Diego Tristán and Víctor Sánchez sounded appealing.
At first, Caparrós wasn’t convinced by Duscher and more problems in midfield seemed to appear. But later he changed his mind, and during the disastrous Intertoto match at Marseille there were two Argentineans covering midfield (Duscher and Scaloni) because of Sergio’s European suspension. Although that obviously wasn’t a success, the trio Scaloni/Sergio/Duscher all appeared during the 0-1 win at Mallorca five days later when Deportivo opened the Liga very successfully. Sergio and Duscher became Deportivo’s references in midfield that season and both started thirty-one matches. Sergio’s role had become something more offensive and he had more freedom now to move to the sides. It increased his performances and his form was quickly growing, indicated by the call-up for Spain. But Sergio also noticed other changes that Caparrós brought: “We were used to play with a lot of combinations and passes and now the physical aspect is more important than the technique. The coach believes that our physical condition should be perfect, in this sense our defensive system will work and later we can think of the offensive aspect”. Sergio said that the team had to be “ambitious” which including to fight for the six best spots in the Liga.
With a new coach and another quality-drain, all surrounding Deportivo knew that the combination of good results and great displays had become more difficult every year. Caparrós aimed at results, and he was very effective. On 17 December 2005 the team won 0-3 at arch-rivals Celta de Vigo and shared third spot with Real Madrid, Valencia and Villarreal. The team had lost just three matches and leaked only fourteen goals, signs of a very solid team. Deportivo had bounced back from two goals down against Barcelona in Riazor (3-3) and achieved the annual win against Real Madrid (3-1). Especially the away wins at Racing de Santander (0-3), Sevilla (0-2) and Celta (0-3), contrary to more average home results, showed that Deportivo had changed. Sergio himself had earned Deportivo another valuable result away from home: 2-2 at Valencia. It’s obvious that in such a solid team, the role of central players like Duscher and Sergio was very important. They were the pillars of this team and together formed a solid block. But Caparrós didn’t always used Sergio in centre midfield. During the 2-0 loss at Real Sociedad he played right wing, and in October and November he only came on as a substitute in four Liga matches because of all Duscher, Scaloni and De Guzmán playing.
 Although Deportivo were doing very well, Sergio had mixed feelings in December 2005. His changes of a final return to the Spain team seemed to have finished and now Caparrós didn’t always count on him. After Sergio retook his starting position and Deportivo achieved three consecutive Liga wins against Sevilla, Cádiz and Celta de Vigo, things started to backfire. The results had backed Caparrós as fighting for Champions League football had seemed impossible at the start of the season. But after that win at Celta de Vigo, the months of January and February were disastrous. Deportivo survived Copa rounds against Osasuna and Valencia (including a goal of Sergio). But mediocre displays were now accompanied by poor Liga results. The team took four points out of the next six matches and early February 2006 not only dropped to eighth place, but also squandered a valuable Copa-lead at Espanyol. The 2-1 loss proved to be fatal as an impotent Deportivo couldn’t break open Espanyol’s defence five weeks later. Meanwhile, few points were accumulated although Deportivo played a heroic match at Barcelona (3-2 loss). But the team never regained the form of the first four months of the season. Deportivo finished the season with average results, and even missed out on Intertoto football on the last day of the season. Hopes of qualification for UEFA Cup football already had vanished when Deportivo had given away a home-lead against Bilbao (1-2), including a penalty-kick caused by Sergio. Caparrós had kept on experimenting and also had tried a scenario with Sergio in front of Duscher and Coloccini as replacement of Valerón. Sergio was taken-off at half-time at Atlético, something which caused him to say that he would “have to think carefully” about his future at the club. Although, as usual, he was an important figure in Deportivo’s team (as statistics indicated) his role as central figure wasn’t secured. Caparrós especially experimented with Sergio which led to many starting positions in roles which weren’t his.
Sergio also seemed to have an attitude problem as he, sometimes, lacked concentration but certainly had gained weight. A possible return of Sergio to Espanyol was even used in their presidential elections as bait to attract votes. It must have been nice news that another Espanyol player was going to play at Deportivo, as Lopo arrived on a free transfer. But in June 2006 a return of 29-year old Sergio to Espanyol seemed to become materialized. Deportivo already announced on their website that a deal with Espanyol was done and sources indicated that the amount involved could be around €7-8 million (to be paid in the next years) including the approval of Espanyol for Lopo’s move (both clubs had disagreed about compensation to be paid). Now it was between Espanyol and Sergio to negotiate about his salary, but that proved to be difficult. Espanyol wanted Sergio and Sergio wanted Espanyol, but financial difficulties obstructed a move. Not only would Sergio have had to accept a lower salary (but still becoming Espanyol’s best-paid player next to Raúl Tamudo), he also would have had to let go financial claims he still had with Deportivo.
Sergio eventually rejected the offer of Espanyol (while interest of Atlético wasn’t materialized) and watched how Deportivo caused a revolution in its squad. Juan Rodríguez arrived from Málaga on a free transfer while Duscher and De Guzmán also still were there and Coloccini as midfield-option. The days of Scaloni at the club were over after a public row he had with Caparrós some months before. All Sergio, Coloccini and Juan Rodríguez started Deportivo’s first Liga match of the season against Zaragoza (3-2). Sergio scored from the spot and was involved at Arizmendi’s goal. Many young players had arrived, of which Catalans Rodri, Cristián and Verdú all aimed at Sergio for their reference. Only Sergio and Valerón had survived from the team that won the Copa del Rey in 2002, and the older players in the squad of Deportivo seemed to connect well with the younger ones. But the intentions of Caparrós stayed the same, which was shown at Mallorca when all Duscher, Coloccini, Sergio and Juan Rodríguez played and there was no central striker. It was no wonder that the match finished 0-0. But as the season got underway, Duscher quickly dropped in Caparrós’ ranking. Sergio, Coloccini and Juan Rodríguez took the midfield positions but none of them would have full coverage all season. If one played, another would surely enter as a substitution. This is why Sergio would only play eleven Liga matches from finish to start that season, his lowest number since arriving at Deportivo in 2001.
 Sergio reached the number of 300 Primera matches early that season surrounding his 30th-birthday. “It’s something to be proud of”, he said. “It means that I have been around for a while in Primera. Although it seems easy to fulfil, the truth is that it is complicated. It took me nine years to achieve this, and makes me realize that I have worked well and that the coaches have understood my work”. Sergio admitted that he might had arrived in the final part of his career, but he didn’t regret his failed return to Espanyol. “I have a special feeling for Espanyol, but things weren't done in a proper way. But that's an old story. It’s something personal that only I and the clubs know about. I knew that Caparrós counted on me and I was satisfied with that, as Deportivo already occupies an important place in my heart”. Sergio also accepted his status as a veteran in the squad. “When I was younger I had to learn a lot. Now it's my turn to hear the problems of the young players. I hope that they will think about approaching me every time they might have a problem”.
As a team, Deportivo were copying the start of the previous season. There was just praise when the rejuvenated team were fifth on 21 October 2006 after having beaten Atlético (1-0). Again, displays weren’t that convincing and statistics showed that matches of Deportivo contained few goals. But this time the set-back came more early. Deportivo obtained only two Liga points in November while December was just a horror-show: one point, no goals scored and ten leaked. Sergio missed two home matches those months and both ended without Deportivo scoring a goal. He was not lined-up against Racing de Santander (0-0) and the week before was replaced during half-time when the team was crushed 4-1 at Osasuna. Of course, Sergio wasn’t happy with that. But he also started to point to a tough reality. According to him, one couldn’t hide the situation anymore that “this team isn’t made to play for the top spots. Our team is mid-table and in this way we can find stability. Later, we always can think about better positions”. Sergio was severely criticized in the press when the results got worse. One paper even wrote that “…definitely, instead of a leader, they (the younger players of Deportivo) are discovering to have a vulgar person (Sergio) at their side”. Caparrós defended the veterans though, including Sergio, and called their work behind the scenes as “invisible, but basic”. Another newspaper gave the theory that by axing Sergio, Caparrós was trying to please the fans as Sergio was seen as scapegoat. But the newspaper pointed to his 300 Primera matches and asked if Caparrós, after the numerous rows he had with players, wanted to become the only star at the club.
 It were the most difficult days of Deportivo since at least 1998 and Sergio felt the pressure. Both he and Coloccini were sacrificed after the 4-0 defeat at Valencia, but the result became the other mentioned home match when Deportivo failed to score at home: a 0-2 loss against Bilbao when De Guzmán and Juan Rodríguez took the central positions. Confusion and uncertainty surrounded the team, and it was back to start when Sergio and Duscher formed the midfield during the 4-0 loss at Sevilla. Coloccini never returned as central midfielder again, and Sergio was benched by Caparrós and now aimed at De Guzmán and Duscher for his final hopes. Sergio missed the next five Liga minutes, when Deportivo achieved two wins and three draws including an show of football against Real Madrid (2-0). This, and Copa success against Mallorca and Valladolid, saved Caparrós’ job. Sergio only played the Copa matches, but an injury of Duscher made him return at Villarreal (a 0-2 win). The duo Sergio/De Guzmán displayed an excellent performance and Sergio set-up the own-goal that was scored by Villarreal midfielder Senna. Duscher returned against Levante (0-0), but another injury gave Sergio a permanent return to the team. A suspension spoiled his presence against Betis Sevilla, when De Guzmán and Verdú weren’t the best couple thinkable. Caparrós now opted for De Guzmán and Sergio in midfield with Juan Rodríguez as back-up. By then, it could have been too late. Deportivo had crawled back into a safe Liga position but the mediocre results of March and April (ten points out of eight matches) indicated that Deportivo, indeed, were not more than a mid-table team. The Copa del Rey matches against Sevilla could have saved the season, but the results (0-5 on aggregate) of and incidents surrounding these matches could have been the beginning of the end for Caparrós. May and June only brought four points from six matches and all involved were looking forward to the end of the season. It was assumed that Sergio’s match at Espanyol (he scored a fantastic goal) could have been his final one at Deportivo and that Espanyol (still) was a likely destination. But Espanyol’s good season lessened the need for an (expensive) midfielder and a deal wasn’t materialized. A summary of Sergio’s season was that he, according to the peña Deportivo-La-Coruna.com, was Deportivo’s worst player of the season 2006/2007.
 2007/2008 | RETURN OF THE BEST SERGIO
It was a difficult season which Sergio faced. His numbers and performances had been the worst since his arrival at Deportivo in 2001. He wasn’t the guide that Deportivo needed nor his defensive contributions satisfied Caparrós. He was honest when he labelled it “my most complicated year, also in a personal sense. But we all should learn from that”. With two years of contract left, including a very good salary, the chance of leaving Deportivo were limited. His performances didn’t arouse interest and clubs knew about his personal wishes. The only chance for Deportivo to retake the player he was three years ago was to try with a new coach. It wasn’t a surprise when Caparrós announced his goodbye and Deportivo quickly hired Lotina.
Both Sergio and Lotina had to count on each other. Sergio badly needed new confidence and something to play for while Lotina was looking for veterans in a squad which had become younger every year. Talks of a possible move were quickly over and Lotina ousted his confidence in the press. “Sergio is a reference with his experience and football. We have to recuperate the best of Sergio and we must ask a lot from him. If he is fine, it will be a key factor. He puts quality in midfield. He is a 'second pivote' with a good ability to support the work up front. Sergio is a player with a tremendous qualities and one of the most important players in Spanish football. I want to see him becoming an important player for the team, for football and for him. The squad needs Sergio. He is a great player, different. We have to make him feel important, because he is like that, we must demand this from him”. Sergio himself kept quiet during the pre-season. But when the season approached, he said that "I’m hopeful and I’m trying to start from zero. This year is like having a new chance to play in Primera. For me, it's an important challenge and I don't want to disappoint anybody. I know that the coach trusts in me and I want to demonstrate on the pitch that he isn't wrong”. Asked about the fact of being a leader in the squad, his response was: "I am able to throw of the car of my back. The coach is demonstrating that the veterans must fulfil an important role inside the team, and I'm hoping that all of us will be able to throw of this car in some kind of way, that's the important thing. As long as I can, I will try to liberate my team mates from their responsibilities. I will try to carry with me the weight of the team, as others did with me when I was younger”. When asked about the targets of this season, he said: “This year the objective is the permanence. But we will try to improve what we did during last season”.
 But first, Sergio had to take a final blow to his confidence. The duo De Guzmán/Sergio never could cope with the Almería players during the first match of the season (0-3) and Sergio was picked out by the supporters to be blamed. Sergio responded with courage that “I am not afraid of their whistling. They are free to do so, because they are the ones paying the tickets. But I won't give up, I will just try to change their opinion. During the last seasons, every time we had a negative result in Riazor I was seen as the cause. I have to accept that, but I am not here in order to cry, but to lift my head”. Lotina supported him: “I'm asking the public to judge him for his behaviour. He played a bad match, yes, but he is training well and it was simply a bad game of all of us. I believe that people must show their disapproval when a player doesn't run or when he isn't doing his job. But a player trying but nothing works out, I believe it’s the right moment to cheer him up”. The results didn’t help either. Sergio and Juan Rodríguez were the duo when Deportivo obtained a late point at Valladolid (2-2), but they had a troubled match. Against Betis Sevilla (1-0 win), both men did much better and Sergio seemed comfortable covering the back of playmaker Verdú. But Sergio/Juan Rodríguez had renewed troubles at Getafe (0-0) and were helpless against Recreativo in Riazor (0-2). Tensions now rose very high. Sergio asked the supporters “to stay home if they simply want to whistle at us What happens is that the players want to please the fans, and perhaps that's why we commit mistakes. Sometimes, it seems that to be at home is better for our rival than for us. The exception should be the Riazor Blues, they demonstrated their support”. Sergio had to hurry to correct his words and said that his intention "wasn't to offend the fans nor anybody else involved with Deportivo". Again, he was defended by Lotina: “I believe that his statements were made with the youngsters in mind. Maybe he didn't use the right words, but he was trying to cheer up the fans. He wasn't thinking of himself, he was thinking of the team. We must keep that in mind. Besides, he clarified his words the next day. You must look at all the facts”.
The Galicians got into more troubles, the relegation zone that is, after losing 1-0 at Sergio’s ex-club Espanyol. But it was different this time. The team, changed on several positions and with De Guzmán next to Sergio, displayed a great game and could have won it with a wide margin. Lotina expressed his satisfaction about Sergio and De Guzmán and more or less found his central duo for the rest of the season. It was always kind of obvious to compare De Guzmán to Mauro Silva as the Canadian was signed when the Brazilian left. But Mauro Silva always cared that Sergio could play his game, which is more offensive than the one of the 1994 World Champion, and De Guzmán took over Mauro’s role. One week after the Espanyol-defeat there was a major success when Sevilla were beaten in their own stadium (0-1) with a perfect centre midfield of Deportivo. The Galicians started to display good passing football and would do so in the remaining months of the season. But the results didn’t accompany that. In the next three months the team only took nine points out of thirteen matches but only against Atlético de Madrid were helpless (0-3). Seven points were taken against the teams which would be relegated (Murcia, Zaragoza, Levante) and draws against Mallorca and Bilbao did the rest. But when Deportivo played against quality sides like Valencia (who still had to start their descend), Real Madrid, Barcelona and Villarreal it wasted several leads. Especially the late defeats against Racing de Santander (0-1), Osasuna Pamplona (1-2) and Almería (1-0) were a huge blow.
Even during that difficult period, Sergio was climbing out of his personal valley and started to perform better. In October 2007 he once more pointed to the fact that regularity was his main virtue, and not playing great the one day and crap on another. He also admitted that the season had started more difficult than expected. “But it’s now up to us to show why we are in Primera. I don’t have an answer to the question why we beat a team like Sevilla in their own stadium but lose points against more inferior teams. Football doesn’t give explanations, and that’s why people follow it with passion”. The match at Real Madrid was special for Sergio’s statistics as he become Deportivo’s fifth player in Liga numbers by passing Romero and situating himself behind Fran, Mauro Silva, Donato and Juan Acuña. He would end the season on fourth spot, although he needs almost three full seasons to reach Donato’s third spot. He already was in the top five of current active players in the Primera División with most Liga matches after Raúl González (Real Madrid), Santiago Cañizares (Valencia), Joseba Etxeberría (Bilbao) and Alberto (Valladolid). The Madrid-match wasn’t just of festivities though. The Galicians scored an early goal, dominated the match for sixty minutes with Sergio and De Guzmán being its motor and winning it against Gago and Guti, but started to lose it when both midfielders lost their breath. The match was done when, near the end, Madrid took the lead and Sergio was immediately send-off for a second booking. Sergio apologized for that, and described Deportivo as “having swum for so long and then to drown near the beach”.
 Sergio lost the Mallorca-match (1-1) because of suspension but started the four after. One of them was the 2-2 draw at Bilbao, a team led by ex-Depor coach Caparrós. Several players of the team were asked about their relationship with him now that the Andalucian coach was gone, but Sergio wisely didn’t go into that too much. When asked about as possible physical fight between both men that could have occurred last season behind closed doors, Sergio replied: “ What happened or not between us is a thing that should stay in the dressing room, that's a secret of him and me”. Although Deportivo rescued a late point from that match, the late defeat against Osasuna (1-2) led to a meeting of the players behind closed doors and Sergio spoke to the press as the team’s representative. One of the issues he touched was that “the squad supports the coach and he has our confidence and also the one of the club”. Personally, Sergio started to face new difficulties. He and Aouate were ‘sacrificed’ for the Osasuna-defeat and Sergio only was a substitute at the Barcelona-match. Antonio Tomás took his place and also started the home match against Zaragoza (1-1). Sergio did start the Copa match at his ex-team Espanyol, together with Juan Rodríguez, and scored another goal (a free-kick) in the city of Barcelona which gave Deportivo a good result for the return match (1-1). Four days later he was back in the starting line-up, together with De Guzmán, for the crucial match at Levante. It was do-or-die for the team, and eventually it was Sergio who took his responsibilities and converted a penalty-kick near the end (0-1). He scored his third goal of the week during the Copa home match against Espanyol, but the team lost this one in extra-time (1-2) and were out of the cup tournament.
 Despite the success at Levante, the team were still 19th and more misery was to come. The team lost the matches against Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal and Almería. Sergio started all of them, and scored his fourth goal in five matches during the Villarreal-match, but Deportivo occupied its worst Liga position since the season 1991/1992. In the mean time, Sergio and the other captains, appeared in public to condemn the row between goalkeepers Munúa and Aouate. The match against Valladolid was like a final to, at least, Lotina and the coach introduced a new system: three central defenders, with two defensive midfields in front of them and a playmaker. Sergio wasn’t part of this team which won 3-1, as Juan Rodríguez, Antonio Tomás and De Guzmán took the places. It was a huge blow to Sergio and he also didn’t start the next three matches against Betis Sevilla, Getafe and Recreativo. He substituted Antonio Tomás during two of them, but an injury of the young Cantabrian midfield gave Sergio another starting place against Espanyol (his fourth against them that season). Sergio provided Coloccini with an important goal, and the midfielder was praised in the press for his convincing performance during the 2-0 win. The Catalan midfielder had to miss the Sevilla-win (2-1) because of flue, but made his final return to the team at Valencia (2-2). Lotina now could choose between De Guzmán, Sergio and Antonio Tomás and picked first-mentioned players because of ‘the characteristics’ of the game. Sergio scored a great volley which started Deportivo’s come-back from 2-0 down, and in the remaining part of the season he only missed the match against FC Barcelona because of suspension. Especially during the wins against Murcia (3-1), Racing de Santander (1-3) and Bilbao (3-0) he was all over the place. In the fourth match of this series, at Osasuna, he scored the winning goal from the spot and saved an effort of opponents at the goal line. It was Sergio’s finest hour, also because he was involved at half of the goals the Galicians scored. A newspaper described him being “a field marshal, defined with class, plasticity and being cold-blooded”. He scored seven official goals during the season 2007/2008, a record during his seven seasons at the club. Most of them were from the spot, something he explained to the press: “I feel the moral obligation to take those penalties. My experience is something that should be used for the benefit of the team. Of course, I have scored important goals from the spot but I think that it was simply my obligation”. Sergio also revealed his secret: “I always kiss the ball. It's a mania, an amulet. It's like thanking the ball for the goal. And also for showing my love to the ball, no matter if it enters the net”.
 In the meantime, Deportivo were storming to the top spots. The team was unleashed after the Almería-defeat and took 32 points from the next 14 matches. Sergio scored two important penalty goals against Bilbao (3-0 win) and Osasuna (0-1 win) which even started to give Deportivo options to achieve direct qualification for the UEFA Cup tournament. The supporters and Sergio were in love with each other again. Sergio was the calm, and veteran, leader directing the team towards a 1-0 win against Real Madrid and received a standing ovation from the Riazor crowd when he was substituted. He said: “I know that the relationship with the fans is a love-hate one, something that's difficult to explain. But on Saturday, I felt like a privileged person. It was a long time ago since I felt the same sensations at the Riazor and I'm talking about the moment in which I was replaced. I liked it a lot and let's hope it can be repeated”. Asked about his future at the club, he revealed that “I will finish my contract which runs until 2009 and then I will think about if I can still contribute to Deportivo or at another place”. It’s a pity that Deportivo was out of steam at the end of the season as direct qualification for the UEFA Cup had become a realistic target. With four matches remaining, and the team already being safe from relegation, concentration faded away. The team had played with a lot of, mainly negative, tension for eight months and started to relax more. The relaxation, as announced by Sergio, was lethal when the team played at Real Zaragoza and Atlético de Madrid. Both these teams desperately needed a win for their personal targets, and the idea was that Deportivo could have achieved something more than two 1-0 defeats if the team had kept up its concentration. A late, and narrow, 1-0 win against already-related Levante almost assured Deportivo of Intertoto football and not even the 0-2 home loss against second-placed Villarreal spoiled that. There was an symbolic incident in the Levante match as the Levante players, in protest towards the Levante board, declined to play in the first minute of the match and gathered around midfield. Bodipo kicked-off the match and Sergio advanced without opposition, and passed the ball outside Levante’s goal as signal of support.
The conclusion of the season was that Sergio was back. Poor striker Bodipo had taken over his ‘role’ as scapegoat of the team because of very inefficient finishing. Sergio, for his part, claimed at the end of July that he was already considering to extend his contract which runs out in 2009. “I’m conscious that I’m fulfilling the last year of my contract and this idea is already in my mind, although it’s only a thought. But I have to recognise that as the end is closing in, I have the sensation that this won’t be my last year at Depor. Two years ago it seemed clear and now it doesn’t. It’s an uncertainty and I don’t know what’s going to happen. But no matter what decision will be, it must be a benefit for everybody, for the club and for me. Sergio won’t be an obstacle. What if I am not content or at the top? If the club decides to talk, we will do it, but it’s not something passing through my head at this point”. As he already did it in the past, the Catalan midfielder said that a possible renovation won’t depend on the financial compensation. “I am a coherent person, because I always have both feet on the ground. I know how far I can go. I have been locked in the economic aspect and it’s clear, because the contract is there, but it was signed during other times. Now, money won’t be a problem. I am in the last third part of my career and I know how much I still can offer. Therefore, it is more a sporting subject than an economic issue”. The ex-Espanyol player even mentioned that he’s thinking about a renovation of two more years with the option of an additional year. “I think about it when I talk with friends. We talk about the typical contract 2+1 or 1+1, but it’s just a thought. It’s not something planned yet”.
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