Sergi Escobar crossed the Atlantic in August last year with the dream of being champion with América de Cali. He was not properly Juan Cruz Real’s technical assistant, but he came to contribute to the defensive work of the professional team, a task that was completed at the end of the 2020 season, including the 15th star for the scarlet team.
He assures that he became so involved with his colleagues that he ended up involved in other tasks. Sergi’s family is made up of his wife Maica, his first-born Sergi, 7 years old, and Alex, who will be four months old. However, being away from them was paying a very high price, so this Monday he said goodbye to the institution.
From the tranquility of his home in Valencia, the Spanish coach spoke with FUTBOLRED about his current situation in Iberian territory: “here with a cold wave that had not happened for many years, with communications cut off, with a situation between covid-19 and the polar wave, something special, but at home with the family, something that hasn’t happened for a long time, but it’s also important. On September 5, my second son was born, he took me in Cali, me with the covid, like many situations that occur and are not known, but we carry it with the support of the people of America, we have it as an anecdote ”.
With the pause that he always showed, Escobar begins to remember every moment: “The covid hit me just when I found out that my wife was going to have a premature birth, the child was born a month before it was due, they are to know that I was with him. virus in isolation period. It was a very special situation, a few days later when I saw my wife a little recovered, I told her that I was also with the bug inside, thank God I had it without symptoms, in that aspect, seeing what is happening throughout the world I can take for good served ”.
Similarly, he referred to the short but successful process experienced in the capital of Valle del Cauca: “The truth is that after a few hard months for the final, things went well and we got the 15th star, very happy to be part of this great history of the club and the wonderful fans that America has, we overcame all those personal and even football adversities that at one point were to the joy of both America, Cali and Colombia, because we are very happy ”.
Regarding what they did from the beginning, he pointed out: “We worked, in the end we isolated ourselves, we worked hard and things went well, we overcame critical moments, we had the rejection of a large part of the fans, the press, we continued working and luckily We finished successfully, playing with a lot of young people, which was one of the goals we had set ourselves and there was a happy ending. I was in a wonderful club and I was very happy ”.
About the most difficult thing at the time when the fans asked for #FueraJuanCruz Real, he said that “with that trending hashtag what we tried as coaching staff was to abstract Juan from all this, he was very strong, he tried to avoid all that and at the In the end the team, strong players like Adrián (Ramos), Luis Paz, gave a great hand ”.
Regarding the reasons for his resignation, he stated: “I feel very proud to have been part of America, the gratitude to Don Tulio, Álvaro Rius, Juan Cruzl, Christian Juliao, Leo (Felicia), the times with my family They were very short, I had little time on vacation, my 7-year-old son was very much missing and logically with the title I have obtained possibilities, not anything concrete, but there may be options to train in Spain at A levels and of course the distance long ago, I have put in the balance the things that I could win and lose, and we decided to stay here, be close to the family, not be six months away, a tough decision because I am leaving a great team, what is coming, The Copa Libertadores is not easy, but they are decisions that are made, just like when I picked up the suitcase in August and left my wife pregnant, the future will tell whether we were successful or not ”.
Sergi recognizes that faith in the coaching staff was fundamental in the midst of so much criticism: “Weekly he had his spiritual moment, that belief in God, he clung to Him in those bad moments and the Lord was very important to overcome those bad moments, Juan promised and that is why he went to Buga to fulfill what he promised. Every day we met the squad before training and in the hotel, that was part of the day of the coaching staff and the players, of the history of America ”.
“I went with the task of working on the defensive part, but in the end we worked on all plots, on defense, offense, on set pieces, and we contributed a grain of sand like Leo, like Christian, like the psychologist and the body. club doctor, the sum of everything made it possible for us to get the 15th star with a team with a great future and quarry players that the club has to take advantage of ”, added the professional.
Regarding the key to turn around three consecutive defeats at home, including the first match of the quarterfinals, he pointed out that “the key was touched, the team had qualified virtually several days before, it had been a long time since it had been so far in advance Although it was not mathematically, we played against teams that also had interests, in the Cup against Santa Fe we made decisions to put a lot of young people, we knew that they put out good or bad, if they had gone bad the season would have ended, but they went well and the Synergies and the support of the players, which was good at all times, made us eliminate three excellent rivals such as Nacional, Junior and Santa Fe in the end, it was not easy because of all that we suffered in the last game, but this gives more value to the title achieved ”.
With nothing yet signed, he hopes to find a new job, but one where he can be next to his family: “I left in August and arrived in Spain on December 30. There are high options of working in various categories, if they leave, well, or if we will not wait for the moment being close to the family, recovering these months that I have lost ”.
Marco Antonio Garcés
Correspondent Futbolred Cali
And twitter: @marquitosgarces
– .
