Mikel Merinothe hero of the Spanish National Team against Germany, has passed through ‘Good Night and Good Goals’ to review all relevant topics with Felipe del Campo.
Question: Maldives with Lola, Munich with Mbappe or Pamplona with friends?
AnswerThere are three irrefutable plans, but we have come here to compete and fulfill a dream. Play the Euro and continue making history. Without thinking much I would stay with Munich and play in the semis. Other plans can be postponed and celebrated at other times but you never know when you will have the opportunity to return to the Euro Cup semi-finals.
I got married on the 1st and on the 2nd I was already in concentration
Q.Your wedding before the concentration
Q.I got married on June 1 and on the 2nd I was at the camp with my teammates, recovering but at the camp. I’m only here on a honeymoon but oh well. She has come here to support me and I thank her and my parents for all the support they are giving me.
Q.The photo of the headbutt
Q.It is an iconic photo of a spectacular moment, when you are on the verge of penalties… it is a decisive action and thank God we have some very good photographers and they have immortalized a moment that I will be able to show everyone.
Q. Are you aware of what you have achieved?
Q. He was aware that scoring a goal at the last minute was cool, but as we have experienced many of these and it becomes familiar to you, it is not routine, but it is day to day. It’s football, but you are aware that it is something very important and historic. But with everything that Morata has experienced, he wants me to sign the ball for him to immortalize the moment, you say oysters. Because you don’t know when you’re going to experience this again. How many times has Spain won in the last minute? There you realize that it is something that marks your life and will remain forever.
P.Stuttgart and his father’s goal
Q. I was aware because we had talked about it before. Not only in the preview but on many occasions we have discussed it at home. Because they thank my father for two things on the street. That goal in Stuttgart and a header that scored against Valencia, which was also a great goal somewhat similar to the one I scored. When I scored, I went to celebrate my father, which I also do in honor of him for everything he has meant to me, and I was aware that we were closing a circle that I thought was closed when I debuted there, but we have put a bow on it.
P. Olmo’s pass
Q.The thought comes before it centers. As ‘Cucu’ opens the ball I see where the centre-backs are, I unmark behind Rüdigery and the centre-backs and I know from the beginning that the ball is going to go there because you know the teammate and because you know it has to go there. With the quality of Olmo and that center I was thinking that it was going to come to me, I was prepared and now only instinct came. You try to control your body and mark the times well and let the body do the rest.
Q.How did you sleep?
Q. I slept pretty well. We arrived late, we watched the game repeated on the screens, had dinner and then responded to messages and went to sleep. I was so emotionally tired and left dry.
Whenever you hang out with players of this level it means you are doing things right
Q.Facing Mbappé
Q. Crossing paths with him again is good news. Whenever you get together with players of this level it means that you are doing things well because these players always advance to the best rounds and we want to play against the best. I expect a hard-fought match, like all those in the Euro. Fair results where the details make the difference and it is going to be a good match. Both teams have world stars and the details will make the difference.
P.La mask
Q. You cannot think of these types of players as weakened because they are always there due to quality. They are definitive and can show it at any moment of the game as they did against us in the Champions League. He appeared twice, twice and decided the game. So those of us who are inside know that these players are very dangerous at any time.
P. Headbutts in Stuttgart
Q. Is incredible. A story from a book and we have been lucky enough to live it ourselves and the fact that it is the same narrator gives it its point and also talks about what journalists live. Years and years dedicated to this and it also deserves its merit.
Q.Talk to your father
Q.It was the milk. Coming together at the end of the game was brutal. I love my family and being surrounded by them is incredible. After the game, being able to see their happiness and seeing that they shed tears filled me with joy and being able to talk to my father was also incredible. For me it is a reference in my life and above all sharing passion with someone and being able to talk about the small details at home is precious. We have both made history
Q.Meeting with his father
Q.How are you son? Well dad, we have finished training and are already thinking about France. All good? No problem, the people are fine and everything is plugged in and assimilating what happened the other day. Although everything happens very quickly and in two days another adventure comes. In football you have to be prepared, it is a new adventure every day so champion to rest and recover and all together for the French. We will speak later. You have to tell me first and I’ll act crazy.
P. Feeling of listening to Miguel Merino
Q. Listening to my father is home and being at home. He is someone who raised me, I have tremendous admiration for him as a footballer and how he takes care of us, loves us and fills us with joy. But even if it is on the radio hearing his voice is always nice.
Q. Miguel about Mikel
Q.That’s what it’s like, we all see what it’s like as a footballer. But as a person and as a son, it is something to be more proud of because he has always been on top of us, even if he was far away, he has always cared about us, he is an ideal son and he has everything, as a person and as a footballer.
Q. The Mortadelo comic that Miguel has on his phone
Q. They liked that I read books to them, I gave them voices and they asked me for bedtime stories. It was one of the best moments, hanging out with my father and seeing how he acts silly and puts on voices. We have yet to remember a photo from 20 years later or something like that. Even though it’s going to be difficult to get the four of us into bed.
Q. Facing France
QLet’s see, I have always said that when I was little I was unconscious and I have always had the dream of playing against the best and being a First Division footballer. Always objectives and high views. Win titles and be in the national team. Just like five years ago this might have seemed crazy or when I was little too, but you have to set those goals. Now it doesn’t sound so crazy to win something with the national team, we have already won the Nations, we are among the best and very happy about all this.
P.France is winnable
Q. In this type of championship there are such good teams that everything is going to be very difficult. We have confidence in who we are and we have peace of mind because this confidence has worked for us against Germany, Croatia, Italy… we are capable of beating anyone and we have incredible potential. We have humility and it is going to make it difficult for us.
He is a coach who trusts us 100%
P. The freedom of Luis de la Fuente
Q. He is a coach who trusts us and gives us peace of mind and trusts us 100%, he tells us that we are the best and that he is calm because whoever plays will give a very high level. That leaves you in a good place and when you go out to the field you go with that peace of mind.
Q. Are penalties trainable?
Q.Everything in this life is trainable but the situations in the round are very variable and that is difficult to train. But it can still be done.
P.Ayoze, Joselu…Nwecastle
Q. The three of us have not spoken together but with Joselu I have discussed things about Newcastle. It’s crazy that we were there five years ago and now we can enjoy some semis here together. Each one has its own dimension but it is nice to see friends in other environments and be able to enjoy.
