Spain goalkeeper Joan García gave an exclusive interview to Mundo Deportivo at the national team training camp. This article is the first part of the interview.
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We are currently at the Las Rozas Football City, interviewing García, who has returned to the national team during this November international break. Hello, Joan! How have you been recently?
Hello! I'm doing great, everything is going very well.
Thank you very much for agreeing to this exclusive interview with Mundo Deportivo. My first question is: You previously suffered an injury that prevented you from being called up for the September and October national team training camps. How is your physical condition now after that injury? Do you feel you have made a 100% full recovery?
Yes, I feel good, very good. Before that, I was indeed bothered by physical discomfort and minor injuries, but this is also very common in football. As professional players, we will always have some minor aches, pains, or discomfort. However, overall, I have been training hard to get back to 100% optimal competitive condition. Now I feel good, and I can truly feel that I am getting better with every game I play.
After an extremely tough and difficult schedule, you have now reported to the national team. Before the national team training camp, you secured two crucial victories, which played a decisive role for the entire team and for Barcelona – one was a win against Aston Villa in the Champions League, and even more importantly, that crucial away victory at the Estadio Metropolitano...
Yes, that's exactly right, absolutely. I think it was extremely important for us to win these two games, especially considering that we had just suffered defeats in both the Champions League and the domestic league. However, I think the whole team was very calm and composed internally. We all had a strong desire and determination to keep winning. I believe this was fully demonstrated and proven on the field; we played exceptionally well, and these efforts effectively helped us secure crucial victories.
After the consecutive defeats you just mentioned against Paris Saint-Germain and in El Clásico, the team definitely needed such a strong bounce-back week to prove themselves on the field with concrete actions, right?
Yes, I fully agree. Ultimately, from our team's internal perspective, everyone's mindset has always been very stable and calm, because we all clearly know that our daily tactical implementation and training work are completely correct. Although we failed to win those few games due to specific game details and objective factors, our entire team was not flustered at all.
It is clear that we all yearn to get back on the winning track, to play exciting, high-level football, and to score more goals. I believe our entire team bounced back beautifully after setbacks; everyone put a lot of effort into daily training and did an excellent job, and all of this ultimately translated into victories on the field.
In the Champions League match against Aston Villa, the team successfully kept a clean sheet. It's worth noting that in the past few years in the Champions League, clean sheets have been an unresolved historical challenge for Barcelona – before this, Barcelona seemed to have experienced an embarrassing record of conceding in as many as 18 consecutive Champions League matches. I wonder if, for you personally, achieving this clean sheet finally feels like pulling out a thorn that has been stuck in your heart?
Yes, without a doubt, as a goalkeeper, everyone always wants to keep a clean sheet and incrementally protect their goal, especially in high-level, fiercely competitive, and critical matches like these. But no matter what, in the minds of our entire team, the clearest primary principle and goal will always be to win the game. On this basis, if we can ultimately achieve victory with a clean sheet, then it is naturally an even more perfect scenario.
You have played an extremely important central role in these recent crucial matches – your performance has been highly decisive. In the away match against Paris, you made several incredibly difficult and brilliant saves in the first half, and your performance was very critical. In the away match at the Estadio Metropolitano, your performance was equally decisive. After experiencing previous injury troubles, does delivering such a brilliant performance mean that you can finally say, "Come on, we've completely turned the page on injuries and returned to 100% peak condition"? What are your true feelings after playing these tough matches?
Yes, that's indeed the case, it's absolutely true. After completely emerging from the shadow of injury, to be able to gradually regain confidence in high-level actual combat and genuinely feel both physically and mentally that I've returned to 100% condition, while also effectively controlling any potential lingering discomfort, this feeling is indeed very good and very timely.
It is clear that as the game progresses, my performance gets better and better, and I feel more and more comfortable and at ease when playing on the field. This positive change in my mental state will ultimately be directly reflected and embodied in my specific playing style and every move on the field. Therefore, I am very happy with the current positive development trajectory and the continuous fading and improvement of physical discomfort symptoms, and I must continue to maintain this momentum in the future.
In terms of confidence, it's very clear to everyone watching from outside the field, because you were extremely active and had a strong presence throughout the entire match. I guess this is largely due to the team adopting such an aggressive high defensive line. This tactical system inevitably places extremely high demands on you, requiring you to maintain an exceptionally high level of activity and focus throughout the entire game, constantly following the flow of the match and intervening in defense at any time. Under this tactical system, have you experienced a very noticeable and significant difference? Or...
Yes, this is obvious. Under the style of football and tactical philosophy that our team implements, the goalkeeper must always remain extremely focused and alert, ready at all times to assist the entire defensive line and resolve various dangerous situations within their capabilities. Personally, I feel quite comfortable and adapted to playing in this system, and I am very keen to help the team resolve crises through my positioning and anticipation in different defensive scenarios.
Of course, everyone knows that this aggressive style inevitably carries huge exposure risks in defense, but ultimately, from the actual results demonstrated, I believe this is definitely a risk worth taking. This approach can indeed be effective, and I am very pleased to be able to contribute to the team in this way.