Skip to main content

Hinchas y Jugadores - An exclusive interview with Roger Riera (19th May, 2017)

When did you make the decision to pursue football and what motivated you to do so?

I started to play football when I was 4. I always liked football and I really enjoy playing football. That's the best motivation I have to play football.

How did it feel like progressing through the ranks of La Masia?

I started playing football at Gimnàstic Manresa, a football club from my hometown (Manresa). When I was 9 years old I moved to Barça and I spend there 9 seasons. It was like living a dream and every time I progressed a step up I felt amazing and proud.

What do you think La Masia does differently, apart from football philosophy, that sets it apart from other youth academies?

I think that in La Masia you can progress as a footballer, but what's most important, you progress as a person. Thanks to them I keep studying my Business Degree at the university and I think that everyone that has the luck to spend some time in La Masia becomes a better footballer but what's more important, a better person and ready to take new challenges.

You played for Barcelona's Juvenil A side and helped them win the UEFA Youth League - how would you describe that experience and did you feel a future first team opportunity was coming your way?

I think that winning the UYL was one of the best experiences I had at Barça. It's an amazing tournament with great teams, great players and that it's very difficult to win.

After winning it, I never thought of progressing to the first team. Obviously every player at Barça has the dream to play for Barça first team, but at that moment, after Juvenil A (under 19) we all had the dream to progress and play for Barça B. I couldn't reach that step but as I said before I'm very proud of what I did at Barça because I gave my 100%.

What motivated you to move to Nottingham and what were your initial thoughts on the idea of leaving Spain? Was it a difficult decision?

I always liked English football and I'm a big fan of the Premier League. I wanted to live a new experience and I couldn't have had a better chance. Nottingham Forest it's a big club that helped me a lot to keep progressing as a footballer.

Did you feel welcome in Nottingham and how easy or difficult was it for you to adapt? 

Every one tried to helped me. It's not easy when you have to move from your country into another culture and language. It was also another football philosophy and tactics but I think I learned English quite quickly and that I adapt myself quite good at Nottingham Forest. As I said that's thanks to Gary Brazil, Jimmy Gilligan and the rest of the people working at the club.

How different are the playing and coaching styles in Spain compared to Nottingham, and how would you describe your stint there?

It's another style of football. More physical and less tactic in my opinion, but at the end of the day it's very competitive like in Spain.

The first season I spend at Forest it was really good. We won our U-21 league and I played a lot of games that helped me to progress.

The second season I started the preseason and the first bit of the season with the first team and I was involved with them but I never had the chance to play with the first team. Then it was when I decided to move on January.

What attracted you to the project in Celta and were you more confident of breaking through into the first team when you joined?

Celta made me an offer and I think it was the right time to join the club. The club is progressing a lot and they are getting better and better every season. I'm playing with Celta B and we are now in the playoff positions to get promoted to the Second division of Spain. It'd be a great achievement for the club.

What are your plans for the future?

I finish my contract at Celta at the end of this season and I haven't decided what will I do next season. In football it's difficult to make plans for the future.

What do you do in your free time?

I'm studying a Business degree at the Spanish University and when I don't have to study I like to spend time with my friends and teammates.



Edit: (22nd May, 2017) 
This interview was also published on BarcaBlaugranes.com. You can read it here.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Non-league Incider: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers

Last game: 8th August: Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 East Thurrock United The previous day, I was blown away by my first ever football match experience. Dulwich Hamlet impressed me, but what impressed me more was the journey. The travel to the stadium was just as enjoyable as the football itself. I had caught the groundhopping bug. There were no games scheduled for the 9th of August. There was one, near Wigan, and all I had booked earlier was a refundable bus ticket from Manchester Airport leaving at quarter past midnight. I should have refunded it. This was a mistake. This whole day was a mistake. I was only slightly hungover from the previous night, but that was nothing compared to this feeling of loss - I couldn't handle the fact that there was a game happening. And I wasn't too far away. Just three hours and a bit. They'll fly by , I thought. I was in autopilot. Something within me made me get up, grab a bag, and get out the door. This wasn't me. I wasn't trave

Non-league Incider: Cray Valley Paper Mills 4-4 Punjab United Gravesend

Last game: 9th August: St Helens Town 3-0 Atherton Laburnum Rovers After ripping up my groundhopping calendar, mostly because I was determined to avoid overnight travel, and partly due to other commitments, there was a period of time where non-league football took a backseat. But that period did not last long. Because of course it didn't. Secretly, I'd loved travelling over ten hours back-and-forth to watch some 10th division football. And this was 9th division football in London. When I had gone to East Dulwich exactly a week back , I had commented on how the amount of graffiti struck me as I watched from on board a southeastern train. I was going the exact same way, but much further this time - then I had stopped at Denmark Hill, now I would have to go six stations further. The graffiti I had thought was so emblematic of south London quickly disappeared, as did the tall buildings desperately cluttered together. We, and by we I mean me, were going to the suburb

Who is Raúl Martín Presa, the Mickey Mouse? Part 1. (20th August, 2017)

José María Ruiz-Mateos was the head and main shareholder of Nueva Rumasa - the company that owned Rayo and other companies - mainly specializing in dairy products. (He wasn't the president of Rayo though - his wife, Teresa Rivero, was Rayo's president). In early 2011, the directors announced a debt of over 700 million euros, that it was on the verge of bankruptcy and that staff wouldn't be paid. And the players were visibly angry about it - captain Míchel assured the press that the club would continue fighting on the pitch, but the day after the announcement was made, six key players didn’t attend training. Veteran midfielder José María Movilla spoke on radio station SER about the situation, about the fact that he had only received seven of the last eighteen months of pay, about the fact that there were a few players who couldn't even afford car repairs. When Rayo Vallecano were about to earn promotion to La Liga despite all the odds - the players not being paid,