Bojan Krkić (29 years old) attends to Ace in the only way that can be done today: by video call. The ilerdense player has been caught by the pandemic in Montreal, his home since last summer when he signed for the Montreal Impact. It is a talk to remember that Copa del Rey final that he won in 2009 thanks, in large part, to his goal of tranquility against Athletic, but he also does not avoid other issues from his past and reveals the players and technicians who have marked him.
How are you doing in Canada?
I am with my girl and the truth is very good because in Montreal we have not been locked up and given freedom. It has been important for me to be able to maintain myself physically. It gives us this possibility, which is appreciated.
Are the measures softer there than in Spain?
Here it was closed all the same week as in Spain. The same league. The difference is the number of infected. We have hardly had any cases.
Have you been entertaining at home?
Yes. The good thing is that I have planned my days very well. In the morning I talk to my people in Spain because it is the good time because of the time difference. I cook, I do sports and now I have started an online course in sports management (at the Johan Cruyff Institute)
Has it been hard to get your elbows back down?
I do very well because I am going to do something that I have been trying to do for years. I want to train in something that fills me, strengthens me and adds me. And more in this situation that you are unable to play soccer.
Is Henry getting too heavy?
"I still haven't had time to know what the Henry coach is like"
No the truth is no. We have made a couple of flames at a group level to see how we are doing. But we are professional enough to face this situation.
Have you noticed any change from the footballer Henry to the Henry coach?
They are two different stages. It is one thing as a teammate Henry and that stage was unforgettable because he was one of the people who influenced me the most and helped me the most in the beginning. And now I live the stage of Henry coach. We still haven't had much time to experience it because we started on January 10 and the league stopped in March.
He has played in the Spanish, Italian, Dutch, English league ... In first level teams and in more modest teams. What have you learned from clubs as big as Barça, Milan or Ajax and what have you learned in other more modest ones like Stoke or Alavés?
The responsibility that a great brings you. The need to win every game, the requirement to win titles ... That is the part that we would all sign. You have the best players and you fight for bigger goals. And in the modest you train and learn to compete. You have your goals and you must fight them. At Stoke, for example, we competed against all the teams and we finished ninth, and you savor these things the most.
Do you relish victories with the modest?
At Mainz we were fighting to save the category until the penultimate round and when we did it (thanks to his goal and which made him the first Spaniard to score in four of the big leagues) it was a great celebration. Being in a team that aspires to the league is not the same as saving the category. Living these experiences and achieving important results with Mainz gave me a lot.
Let's go back to the past. Today is eleven years since that Cup final against Athletic. What memories do you keep of that night when you mark the 1-3 of tranquility?
Unforgettable memories. They are one of the most important days of my career. Because of how the year and the Cup were coming. He was playing almost all the matches of the tournament, scoring goals and with great enthusiasm. It was my first final with the first team. From the hotel I remember it as a party that also went well for me personally. It was a party and with the contribution of my goal it turned out to be special.
They start losing and in the second half they come back. Remember what Guardiola said at the break?
"Personally I was not prepared for many situations"
Not exactly. I do remember the feeling of the team. We had tied before the break and breathed the strength of when you feel like you can win the game.
Is it your happiest night or is it incomparable to a Champions League?
It is incomparable. The game with Mainz against Bayern that I have mentioned is another moment, but obviously the Cup final is very special and unforgettable.
That day Messi scores 1-2 and you kill the game three minutes later. Following again in the footsteps of Messi ... Have you been marked or tired of being compared to Messi?
Yes. They are the labels that today unfortunately put you for wanting to be the first to say it. At the time it was done with me and today it is still done. You have to learn to live with it. Rather to isolate you. This does not depend on you and if you cannot sustain this it can influence you in relation to the outside.
Enlarge
FOOTBALL 08/09 DAVID GONZALEZ (DAILY AS)
He went through all the categories of Barcelona with great success (423 goals) and broke several records of earliness. Do you think everything would have been easier if you had stayed at Barça?
These days you have more time to analyze your experiences and I have realized that I am proud of all the adventures that I have lived. Both positive and negative. If I imagine playing on one team? Yes, it has its nice part. But if you now give me a choice to play all my life in a team it would not change my decisions.
You debut very soon in the first team. Do you think it is dangerous to go so fast in football on a personal level?
"Rikjaard gave me continuity; others only give the opportunity ”
Just as dangerous is powerful. But yes. When I entered the first team locker room at the age of 16, it's not something I decided. It is decided by a coach because he believes I have the potential to compete. The personal part is very different. I was professionally prepared, but personally I was not for many situations. This forces you to grow by burning many stages and coordinating situations with 16 years. You do it at a very fast pace and sometimes you are not prepared, but that shapes you to enter life.
Which player has surprised you for good in a club other than Barcelona?
I have played with very good teammates, but I think Totti. It was his last years when I arrived and he was still playing at a very high level. Robinho had a spectacular quality and with Marko Arnautovic it has been with those that I have understood the best ...
And what coach are you staying with?
With Rijkaard. He gives what we don't see today. We see coaches who give opportunities, but we do not see coaches who give continuity. Not only did it give me the opportunity to debut in the first team, it gave me continuity throughout the year. So I have learned so much from him and not only in sports.
A mystery that Rijkaard has strayed from the front line ...
There are so many things we do not know ... The same did not need more. Maybe he gave importance to other things and bet on them.
