Mikel Oyarzabal has experienced both sides of the World Cup in less than a week. From the half hour of the debut against Cape Verde in which he did not touch the ball to the double and the assist in the first 30 minutes against Saudi Arabia.
Your physical state. “I’m fine. I have discomfort, but like everyone. Everyone has something that needs to be taken care of a little more. The other day I didn’t really know what I was going to have, but it went well.”
Possible rivals. “It is inevitable to keep it in mind and see it. There is a lot left and it does not depend on us. Until everything is decided we have to wait.”
Your future. “I am focused on helping the team win in three days. I am where I want to be, in what I consider to be my home, Real. My head is not on that, but on arriving in Uruguay in the best possible conditions.”
Responsibility of being the goal man. “I’m lucky to have teammates who I know can score goals. On that part I’m calm. I trust myself. I’m not worried about the individual, but about the collective.”
Play with Olmo from behind instead of Pedri. “They are different and it influences. Just as the side or those who play on the outside influence. Once you have one or the other at your side, you have to try to adapt. I am not going to discover Dani or Pedri now. You have to adapt in the best way to get the best performance.”
Underrated? “I’m bored with this question. I don’t care what my teammates, the staff, tell me… We know how the world of football works. It’s normal to talk, but I don’t think about it.”
Your name in the World press. “I don’t care. It doesn’t worry me in the least. I’m not going to waste time focusing on that. When someone does something wrong, they know it. No one needs to tell me. If someone has to tell me, they tell me inside here. And when things go well, the same thing.”
The players. “If you surround yourself with the best, it is logical that your performance will benefit, but you also have to give a plus.”
Can you play? “For my part, I want to play. I want to have as many minutes as possible, but I feel good.”
What makes you not calm? “Less and fewer things. I already know how this works. Right now I’m fine, very healthy. My family helps me a lot. There are fewer and fewer things that take me out of it.”
Lamine Impact. “He is one of the best in the world, one of the most differential with the ball. With what he generates you benefit from very little.”
Uruguay. “It is a team that has a lot of determination and competes. It is very united with Uruguay. We have to focus on ourselves and not let them get us out of our boxes.”
The first part against Arabia. “I don’t know if they are the best 45 minutes of my career. I was lucky that the ball fell to me on those two occasions. I want to think that I have had more games in which I have been at that level.”
Define yourself. “I like to interpret what happens on the field and what can be the best way to hurt the opponent. I try to get the best out of it on an individual level to help as much as possible on a collective level. Trying not to bother in some situations, you can help a lot.”
The influence of Luis de la Fuente on his evolution as a player. “I went from midfielder to winger because I had to. And as a result of the injury I had to play more up front. It wasn’t something they had to explain to me. They told me I could help there.”
Playing style. “Being a striker you can’t expect to touch the ball every minute, but you have to be right in the few moments you have. There are moments when you can help the team even without touching the ball. Since I was little I have had the option of interpreting the game in the best way.”
Release ballast after victory. “I haven’t taken a weight off as such, in here we were calm and confident.”
