Raúl Fernández: "Very happy to be in a club like Leganés"

C.D. Leganés presented this Wednesday Raúl Fernández as the new pepinero player. The goalkeeper from Bilbao, a free agent after finishing his contract with Deportivo Alavés, showed himself excited before his new stage as a blue-and-white player.

The football director of the club, Andrés Pardo, opened the act giving the welcome to the footballer: “Welcome Raúl, I am not going to review the trajectory because we could spend a lot of time. In summary, with the contacts I have had with him, apart from a top goalkeeper we sign an excellent person. The first time we spoke on the phone he wouldn't even let me speak because of the illusion and energy he transmitted. A goalkeeper with a very good trajectory, with Zamora trophies. He is a goalkeeper with very good characteristics. We are very happy to have you.”

On his part, Raúl Fernández showed himself “happy to be at a club like Leganés. Everything has been good sensations since I arrived, what I have been finding, workers, people from the club, teammates.”

“We have all the ingredients to make a great year, but with the lesson learned that the Second division is a complicated category. From the beginning we have to grit our teeth, from the first day let that change we want to make be noticed, from ambition and desire. Here I am to add, to help, and I can contribute a lot with my experience and the journey I have.”

RAÚL FERNÁNDEZ: "Happy to be in a club like leganés"

Subsequently, the new blue-and-white player responded to the questions of the communications media:

What makes you most excited about signing for Leganés: "We contacted each other some time ago, we know each other, it comes from a bit long back, we always held each other in good esteem. It couldn't be done at other times, but now I think it's the ideal moment. I have friends, teammates who have been inside Leganés and it is just as I expected. It is a close, family club, with an enormous growth in a short time. At a structural and fanbase level, it generates illusion for the player who comes. For me it is a very exciting project, with sporting ambition, that we have the illusion and those desires to continue growing. I don't settle and I always want to keep improving, and that is what needs to be spread."

What do you see in Leganés to think it can be at the top: "It would surprise you, but I have arrived to start the pre-season with Mirandés with 9 players and we made the playoff. In the end, you never know. I think it is more about people, moments, ambition, wanting to grow and improve. To rebel against comfort—here the player has to be uncomfortable, to feel that he has to play in Primera división. The player by nature has to be ambitious and fighting to give his best version. It is the day-to-day that will mark our destiny."

Motivation: "I value the day-to-day a lot. I feel privileged sitting here doing the press conference, for example, accompanied by my wife and my representative. These are wonderful moments, being able to train, having the food prepared, the kit men having your clothes... these are details that perhaps some players overlook, but everything must be valued day by day and you have to give thanks, and the way to give thanks is with commitment and performance."

Leganés fanbase: "A very complicated pitch, that always presses, where you feel uncomfortable. It was a very difficult pitch every time I came to play. It is very important that we all go together, that we create a tight group, a winning aura, create that illusion and that confidence generated inside the stadium."

First contact with Rubén Albés: "It is early because we just had our first training today, but you can see he is a man with very clear ideas, with personality and with a style of play to which we have to mold ourselves. He is very clear that he gives priority to the collective rather than the individual. He prefers to have people who are, perhaps, not so talented, but he wants people who are very committed to the team."

Reunion with Juanjo Valencia: "It has been very beautiful. I am from Bilbao and when I started playing at 4-5 years old, my reference goalkeeper was him; my first goalkeeper shirt was his. It is an honor to be working with him. He is a goalkeeper coach who continues to be demanding, who enjoys what he does, and I am along those lines, taking advantage of and enjoying him as a coach so he can get the maximum performance out of me that can later be demonstrated on the pitch."

Clashes against Leganés: "A bittersweet memory because later that same year I was bi-Zamora and went up to Primera división. It is a stadium that presses; if that fanbase-player communion is felt, we are going to make it very difficult for whichever team comes."

Asier Riesgo and Dani Rodríguez, two examples of seniority: "What gives you importance is performance and not age. I talk about it as an extra, because in the end, it being a player who has lived through many things is always good, someone who can help the young ones, and of course they are very good references. If I can assume that role, I will assume it naturally; it is a role that I like and I think I can help."

ANDRÉS PARDO: "THE PLAYER CAN SEE THAT WE'RE A CLUB THAT'S BEEN DOING THINGS RIGHT”

Position of Leganés in the market: "Taking into account that it is always complicated and difficult, we are a profile of a club that has been doing things well for many years and players are interested in coming here. There is always competition. All teams start from zero, but we are in a good position."

Movements in goal: "With the market open, more can always be expected. It is true that the goal is a very specific position, but I wouldn't consider it closed either, or maybe yes—everything will depend on what happens in this month and a half."

Squad renewal process: "I think there is going to be quite a bit of movement. It is true that as of today, with the players who finished their contracts, there are already 8 departures. There will be some more exits and entries."