AS | Fernando Hierro: “I signed for Real Madrid thanks to the fact that Jesús Gil was understanding”

Fernando Hierro (03-23-1968, Vélez-Málaga) has given us an interview since his confinement to remember some of the most interesting episodes of his 18-year career as a professional soccer player. He has also spoken about the World Cup in Russia, where he had to replace Julen Lopetegui and, of course, how he sees football as a result of the coronavirus crisis.

Do you think that the football competitions of national teams, Eurocup, World Cup, America’s Cup … have a future that can resist this pandemic, with all the people they move?

I believe that they do have a future and will resist, but it is no less true that this will mark a before and after in the daily life of all of us and also in football. Now is when you have to see that football is supportive and great, and all levels of national and international football must demonstrate it. The only thing there must be is patience if we want this industry to move forward. National and international calendars are going to be disrupted and not everyone is going to be happy. But since this is something extraordinary, there must be flexibility.

Do you regret having taken the National Team in the World Cup in Russia?

When you make a decision, you must be convinced of it, and I was. I do not regret. I had to do it out of responsibility, because of what the National Team and the Federation meant to me. It was a very complex moment, but I would do it again if those circumstances were the same.

Why was Iniesta a substitute in the World Cup round of 16 match against Russia ?; Was it one of the most difficult decisions you have had to make as a coach ?; And what would change of that party if it could be repeated?

I have seen the game many times and at that moment I decided that it was the best decision to face it. I expected the game to be very physical and I thought Andrés’s freshness could be important when he came out in the second half. There are many people who at the time said that we should have risked the changes, I respect it, but we ended up playing that game the last 20 minutes with Rodrigo, Iniesta, Isco, Aspas …

How long will it take for Spain to repeat the success of South Africa, which will be 10 years old?

It is difficult to know. We have lived through times with a wonderful National Team, with players who had an impressive quality and that each one in his position could be in the top three in the world. We have won two Euro Cups and a World Cup in a row, which nobody has done, and it will be difficult to repeat. But the illusion is given by the generations that come from behind, the Sub 17, Sub-19 or Sub-21; The Federation has historically worked very well in that, and we have to be optimistic.

With the elimination of Spain in the 2002 World Cup in Korea, with those two goals annulled by Al Ghandour, do you feel that a dream that came eight years later was taken from your generation?

Our generation ran into that wall of the rooms that we went to tear down and that starting from Euro 2008 was achieved. That was my last World Cup and I believed that this was our moment, after years of trying. If we had won, Germany would have touched us and I think we would have flown, but unfortunately we found what we found.

How was Antic’s process of placing you as a midfielder? Would you have liked to continue in that position as you performed in the Clemente National Team in the United States World Cup?

I had never been a defender, but in my last year at Valladolid Cantatore wanted to try me as a central defender, also when I came to Madrid with Toshack, but Radomir told me that I was young and wanted me to work for the team later. It was not easy for me to play in that position, although it may seem that they are similar positions on a tactical level. A physical conflict and understanding of the game arose for me, because in the National Team he played as a midfielder and then returned to Madrid and did so in the center of defense. It was Jorge Valdano who spoke to me and told me that the team needed me to defend myself, and I ended up there, also in the national team with Camacho. The versatility helped me and the team, but I knew that over time, as had happened to others, I would end up central and ended up adapting well.

Which current player could be like you, if any?

It is difficult, but it would be one that mixed Sergio Ramos, due to his characteristics, and Piqué, due to his physique. We are talking about two players who have marked an era in their teams and in the National Team and who for years have been among the best in the world.

Which striker kept you awake the night before you played?

Ronaldo, when he was at Barcelona. I have seen him do things that I had never seen before and that I enjoyed when I had him as a partner in Madrid. You could have done a great defensive job and in a minute fell apart because he had solved the game. I also really liked Weah. Then there were other small, skilled strikers who were looking for your laps and made it difficult for you, such as Manjarín, Munitis …

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Is it true that in 1989 you had an agreement with Atlético, you ended up signing for Madrid and Mendoza had to pay an indemnity to Jesús Gil with which he gave 70,000 watches to his partners with the inscription ‘Gift of Don Ramón ’?

It is and years later I told him the story as it happened to the children of Jesús Gil, with which I have a wonderful relationship. I was at Valladolid, I was 21 years old and I was very inexperienced. They told me that my transfer by Atlético de Madrid had been closed by my president Miguel Ángel Pérez Herranz and Jesús Gil, but Madrid crossed and it was the illusion of my life. I bet hard, I was brave and I said that if I didn’t play for Madrid, I would stay at Valladolid, where I had two more years of contract. Jesús Gil was very understanding, I always thanked him and fulfilled my dream for 14 years.

How was the story of your brother ending up in Barcelona? And what truth is there that later, when you were at Madrid, you were also close to going to Barça?

Look, about my brother Manolo there has been a lot of opportunist who has talked a lot. Many said then that if Barcelona had been wrong, no, my brother was signed by Barça because he was a great player, who also wanted Madrid and Atleti; and that door was closed to me when I was in Valladolid and the following year I went to Madrid. It is true that when I had been in Madrid for four years, the issue of my renewal was complicated and the possibility that I could barça was rumored, but that did not bear fruit because I wanted to continue to Madrid.

Would you go back to work for the Federation for the third time?

The truth is that the experience of working in the lower categories of the National Team is very beautiful, how you see the boys grow, progress, how their eyes shine the first time they train with the National Team, when they put on their shirts to debut… They are wonderful memories for them and their families.

Choose the three unforgettable moments in your career.

As a player, when I debuted as a professional, with Valladolid, and when I made my debut with the National Team. As a sports director, when we got the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, after having achieved the Euro Cup in 2008. And as a coach, I will always be grateful for the opportunity that Oviedo gave me.

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Would you like to ever sit on the Madrid bench as head coach?

Anyone who asks if he would like to be on the Madrid bench what he is going to say … and more to people who have been and have carried Madrid in their hearts. But now there is a friend of mine and I am delighted that he is doing well, because if he does well, it is that he does well for Madrid, which is what all Madrid fans want.

Do you think Qatar will be up to the task of organizing the next World Cup; Can it negatively impact that it is held in winter?

I have no doubt that it will live up to it. When I was playing there in the 2003-04 season, they already told me that they wanted to bet on the organization of a World Cup. I think it will be a World Cup at all levels: infrastructure, organization, the weather will accompany it because it is in winter, the players will arrive in a great state …

Are you in favor of the League being terminated and the classification remaining as it is, or do you think that the competition should be resumed even if it is without an audience?

I would like the League and the Champions League to resume, although it has to be adapted to be in hot months and without an audience. But all the actors, CSD, LaLiga, RFEF and AFE, have to go hand in hand for the good of soccer. Now, we must also minimize risks and take into account the health of footballers and their families.

Since the de-escalation has begun, what future plans do you have when a normality returns that we do not know what it will be like?

I needed a time when I left the Federation after the World Cup, I got offers to train, but I decided to rest easy. When normality returns, let’s see how it is, and we’ll see if I get a nice project …

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