Cortez: I've finished the youth team stage & hope to stay in Barcelona's first team

According to Mundo Deportivo, Alvaro Cortes is participating in Barcelona's pre-season training camp at St. George's Park, and he was interviewed by the media present this Sunday. Cortes showed great ambition, stating clearly: "I have completed my youth team stage, and I hope to stay in the first team and secure a place for myself."

Speaking about his future, he said: "I will calmly accept any decision the club makes about me. I long to stay at Barcelona, this has been my wish since childhood, and no matter how the club eventually arranges it, I will accept and respect it, and obey all team arrangements."

But he re-emphasized: "Every summer when the transfer window opens, there are many external rumors, but my idea remains unchanged, I want to stay here and continue to fight, and make it into the first team based on my performance."

When asked if he had discussed this with Flick, Cortes revealed: "I haven't spoken to Flick yet, but in daily training, I can genuinely feel the coach's trust in me."

Cortes highly values this opportunity to participate in the pre-season training camp overseas: "For me and other young players, this is a valuable opportunity. Affected by factors such as the World Cup, many young players are participating in the training camp. We all regard this training camp as an opportunity to secure a place in the team, to give our best to show ourselves, to strive to win the head coach's trust, and to earn a place in the first team, which is also the common goal we all pursue."

The central defender described his characteristics: "I love defensive confrontations, whether it's intense one-on-one confrontations on both offense and defense, I can handle them calmly. I like to participate in the game with the ball, and I have the ability to deliver penetrating passes and participate in offensive organization; on the defensive end, I adapt very well to the rhythm of the game and can fully utilize my strengths to help the team."

Speaking of his role models, he said: "I have always admired local legendary central defenders like Pique and Puyol. Iñigo performed extremely well when he played for the team before, and I will observe him carefully, learn his game ideas with and without the ball, continuously refine my techniques, and strive to catch up to the competitive level he displayed."

Regarding defensive training, he explained: "In training, we continuously focus on defensive content, constantly reviewing last season's tactical concepts, repeatedly practicing and refining them, to ensure that we can perfectly execute the tactical requirements set by the coach when the league officially starts."

Towards the end of the interview, he chuckled about the penalty kick he scored in the penalty shootout against Birmingham: "The effect of that shot exceeded my expectations, the ball went straight into the top corner of the goal, such precise placement, even I was surprised and delighted."

Speaking of Gerard Martín, he said: "Gerard Martín and I have a good relationship, but we haven't interacted much recently because I beat him at pool, and he hasn't paid his bet yet (laughter). He has been stable and impressive in recent seasons, consistently performing at a high level, and is now firmly among the world's top central defenders."

Regarding this friendly match, he personally commented: "I feel good, this is the first practical test after the start of the new season. In fact, I quickly adapted to the rhythm of the game. Although we ultimately lost in a penalty shootout, this match accumulated valuable experience and provided a good start for the preparations for the new season."

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