"All this we will forget. And we will return to being the stupid and imbeciles of always". Always raw in his speech, Paco Jémez (Las Palmas, 1970) talks about misinterpreted privileges, and the most diabolical side of the industry. Of his love for soccer, of the fear of the empty stands, but also of the frivolity with which he tries to advance in the midst of a pandemic. The Rayo Vallecano coach, in his talk with EL MUNDO, raises uncomfortable debates. Always did.

Where is the confinement happening? I am in Madrid. Alone. What is your life like now? [Snorts]. Well you can imagine it. You get up in the morning and you are alone. You lie down, and you're alone. This has caught us each in one place. My oldest daughter is in her apartment in Madrid. And my wife and my other daughter are in La Coruña. Since I became a coach I have not gone with my family from one place to another. I am the one who moves. Thank God we are all well. There are times when I miss someone to talk to. Being able to share things. But it is true that there are moments so hard that I almost prefer to be alone. What do you miss? The small details of our life. Going out, walking, running ... Of course, working. If I were asked now what I would like to do, of course I would see my family. Give them a kiss. But I miss the little everyday things very much. Being able to go out and hug a friend. The power to go down the street and not be aware of anyone approaching you. Those little things that we had before and that we did not value are now the ones that I miss the most. What about fear? We are all worried. Not only for the people who are dying, not only for the health crisis, but for what then awaits us. With this confinement and having stopped the country for so long, we will all have to row, and faster, in order to reduce this distance that we are losing. The consequences are still unpredictable because we still don't know how long we will be in the house. Then it will take a huge effort to put things back where they were. It is not fear, but that concern to know what will happen. We will suffer until we return to normal. I have had a friend who has overcome the disease. But it has cost others their lives. Like Goyo Benito, former Real Madrid footballer, who was my delegate at Rayo Vallecano. Or like the father of Raúl Martín Presa [president of Rayo], Santiago. It is very rare that with all the people who have fallen you do not know someone close. Do you think the plans to return to football are frivolous with a death toll every day on the table? Everyone looks to return to normality as soon as possible and in the best way. That said, it is clear that while we continue to have 400, 500, 600, 700 deaths in Spain, thinking about something else other than maintaining health and seeing those levels drop further seems frivolous to me. That does not mean that you do not start to foresee possible scenarios for the return, not only to football, but to any job. Within this tragedy, everyone has to think that life goes on. And that sooner or later we will all have to continue working, and start producing so that the economic disaster is as minor as possible. But you have to be very cautious. And very sensitive. Right now we are not in control of the situation. Although someone believes that we can have it, it is not. And that is reflected in the number of deaths we have daily. Until we regain control we cannot seriously consider having something that resembles what was once our life. Is it all worth saving the football industry? If it affects health, no. Of course we want to play. Of course we want to end the season. We are willing to go to great lengths, but not at any price. If I know that I am going to risk my health, my life, I will certainly not compete. In soccer we cannot keep the safety distance, we are going to have to crash, we have to sweat ... Is the return to practice protocol feasible? Some things are fine, but others are very difficult to put into practice. I understand that they are sketches. The League and the Federation believe that they are developed to foresee different scenarios. But for many protocols that these entities want to create and send us, in the end, no company, because they are companies, has the power to choose when we are going to start. It is the health authorities who are going to tell us when we will be able to start and when we will not. What do you think that football clubs can have access to the coronavirus test when other sectors of the population may need it? want to do, and another what is done. But we don't have to be different from anyone. If there are people who need them because their health, their lives are at stake, because their work requires it, it would seem to me much more fair that the tests were held by them and not football. There were teams that were assigned at the beginning of the pandemic the possibility of doing tests to see if there were infections. And they rejected them. They said there were people who needed them more. The same thing can happen again. It is sensible and normal. That we can have tests, all that we need, and that there are people who are risking their lives to take care of others, to make our lives better, seems incongruous to me. Foolishness. You have to be very sensitive. If we are criticized for that aspect, they will be right. The plan seems to be moving forward. We, due to the risk we have of contact, must know the day we start training that none of them is infected. That's clear. We are not office workers who are going to be separated, three meters away and with masks. Our profession is completely different. We understand that when we start we must be sure that we are all healthy. Now, it would seem to me a great inequality, a great lack of sensitivity, that we could do tests at our discretion. In an indiscriminate way and whenever we think it convenient. And that many others who have as much right as we have to have them, could not be provided. What would happen with a single positive? It is what you try to avoid. We must pray everything we know so that no one tests positive. With just one, the mountain would fall on top of us again. And we would run out of margin to continue. What I am very clear about is that now it does not matter to wait two more weeks. You have to start on the right foot. Because the moment there is a contagion, you can't take it home and start testing everyone again. Can playing back every 72 hours be counterproductive? I think we can handle it. If they told me to play a whole season every 72 hours, well, we would be stunned. It is true that we will have to do it in the section of competition that demands the most, because it is where everything is decided. And that the heat will be much more pressing. In addition, we come from a stage of being unemployed. We will need some time to condition the players. The requirement that we will have will be maximum. But we accept it and believe that we can carry it forward. It does not seem so far-fetched. What footballers do you transmit to him? When we all connect electronically, I try to explain the situation to them and pass on the information we have. At a medical, sports and club level, because there are also the famous ERTEs and the attempts to get employees to reduce their salaries. There are many topics. Each one has his vision. But the feeling I have is that they are wanting to start. They want to train, play and end the season. Of course, as long as it is done in a controlled situation. And that control does not exist. We are still far away. And the concentrations? We are on our way to being confined for two months at home. If now they take us out of here and put us in a hotel ... But if we have to, it will be done. Football will return in silence. With the stands empty, football without an audience loses its soul. It is good for people to see it from home, but it is made for those in the field. I had the opportunity to play a game behind closed doors in Veracruz, Mexico, with Cruz Azul. After a few incidents they closed the stadium. It is difficult to describe what I lived there. The tension and pressure collapse. The show, of course, is not the same. We looked at each other and asked ourselves: 'How do we compete here?' Playing behind closed doors is an exceptional measure and as such we will have to accept it. But it is clear that football is not going to be the same. And if this lasts over time, football will lose its greatest essence, which is the public, the atmosphere, the applause, the whistles. It is a sport of mere transmission of feeling and emotions. Not only do we enrich ourselves with the harrow, but the harrow is fed by what happens in the field. And that is going to be lost. Soccer is going to lose a good part of its soul and spirit. It will end up being like a workout. Soccer is for feeling. It will be a feeling of total abandonment. What impression is the political class making on you in Spain? I am very disappointed. I understand that it is a moment in which nobody is exempt from making mistakes, even more in such a complicated situation. But I still see a political class, and I speak in general, which maintains the same tone of arrogance. Of arrogance. It seems that they are above good and evil. They do not assume their mistakes, and absolutely nothing happens. It is very difficult to be able to do things well in the face of an avalanche like the one that has come upon us. We all understand that. But what we don't want is for politicians to treat us as incompetent intellectuals. Let them manipulate us. Fool us. Then they ask us for our trust. But how are we going to give it to him? The greatest atrocities in human history have been in favor of religious or political ideas. And they still ask us for confidence. Are you referring to the Government? The opposition? I am very sorry for the politicians who are worth it, which I am sure there are. But the vast majority ... In Spain we deserve something much better than what we have. I'm not just talking about those in power. I speak of everyone, those above and those below. Those on the left and those on the right. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to step forward, come together, work and fight together. Without political ideals. Without believing one better than the other. But those on the left are still thinking that they are better than those on the right, those on the right believe themselves better than those on the left. They try to keep getting political returns while people die and die. They are giving a disappointing image to all Spaniards. And before everyone. When all this happens, the politicians will regret it. It will take its toll on everyone. Not only to the Government, which is undoubtedly the one making the decisions. I mean everyone. Criticism that is not constructive does not get us anywhere either. It is time to look for solutions. Of being with people who have lost their jobs, their health, their lives. To help in any way possible. And the time will come to ask for responsibilities. Not only political, but even judicial and criminal. What do you mean? There are things that I am seeing very serious. A political decision may be based on error. Nothing happens. But the manipulation, the lie, not reporting what is happening, keeping information to yourself ... That is not only politically reprehensible, but judicially and criminally. The political class has manipulated us and will continue to manipulate us, of course. But it is that politics is that. What are we afraid of? Politics is the act of manipulation. Always has been. Manipulating are phenomena. So they are where they are. But to do it when there are thousands of dead and people are risking their lives ... You can manipulate people in an electoral period, who promise anything and then give nothing. We are already used to that. But while people die, lose their jobs, and the country gets into a crisis like this, you have to have them square to manipulate and cheat. I hope that one day this will change and criminal responsibilities will be assumed. And let this be the moment. Now we say a lot that we were happy and did not realize it. Without a doubt. You, me, the butcher ... We had the perfect life. As much as we complained, we were happy. We lived in a spectacular country. We were very lucky to have a job, to be able to go outside, to be able to run, to go to the movies ... We could do whatever we wanted with our lives. That is over. Temporarily at least. We were privileged and we did not realize it. It usually happens above all with health. When you're healthy, you don't value it. And while you're happy, you don't value happiness. We are and will be like this. In the short term, perhaps this will impact us and affect us. But in one, two, three years, we will forget again. We are going to be as stupid and stupid as ever. Immersed in that maelstrom that does not allow us to enjoy what we have. And it is a lot.

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