Dani Parejo
(Coslada, 1989) was the protagonist of one of the most surreal operations in recent years in Spanish football.
After nine seasons in a Valencia in which he was captain, he won a Copa del Rey and reached the national team, the club gave him the letter of freedom to alleviate his suffocated economy.
The midfielder signed for Villarreal, where he is an irreplaceable piece.
Today he faces Real Madrid, a club in which he shone as a youth player.
What balance do you make of the year and a half you've been at Villarreal? Very positive.
I am very happy, I feel comfortable and respected.
It is a very quiet club and they let you work.
I was right to come here. A very different environment to that found in Valencia. It is true that Valencia has more social mass.
There a world is made of everything, it seems that there always has to be trouble. His contract will end in 2024, at the age of 35.
Do you think about your future? I haven't considered anything.
I have this and two more years left, which seems like a long time but then it flies by and you don't even notice.
My contract would end at 35, but if you take care of yourself, take a break, eat a good diet and dedicate time to football, today at 35 you are not young but I think I could still extend my career.
It will depend on what the head says, it is the engine of everything.
When you are older you value everything more.
You enjoy football more because you provoke things consciously, you want to make certain things happen and they happen, you read football better, the plays, you anticipate many situations.
That's when you start to really enjoy football.
Two and a half years in football is a lot, I don't think about anything but I would like to play until I'm 37 or 38. I love football, I live by and for football and I dedicate many hours to it.
Every weekend, apart from my game, which I usually see repeated, I can see six or seven games.
It is true that it involves some discussion with my wife because maybe we don't go out with the children for a walk on a Sunday. Is it just LaLiga or do you follow other competitions? I mainly watch LaLiga.
It's not that I'm obsessed, but apart from watching the game I like to analyze various situations, how teams behave when attacking,
when defending, getting the ball... He looks like Unai Emery. The coach says many times that football has become very professional, people take care of themselves, with food, rest, they live by and for football.
In our case, 70% or 80% of our life has to be for football and the rest leisure. He had already coincided with Emery in the coach's last season at Valencia.
Has he changed much since then? Yes, of course, just as he must have noticed a change in me.
After 10 years, people evolve and adapt, football does and you have to adapt.
He was at Sevilla, at Spartak Moscow, PSG, Arsenal, very important teams, training top players and he has evolved.
He is now another coach,
Marcelino, Valverde and Emery are different from the rest, they have a plus.
He has had 19 coaches.
Who has marked you the most? The coaches who have marked me the most and who have something different are Marcelino, Valverde and, right now, Unai.
They are different from the rest, they have a plus. How was the experience of England [he was on loan to Queens Park Rangers] when he was 19 years old? It is a football very different from ours, very physical, especially with a lot of long ball and second moves.
It is a type of game that it is true that it did not suit me very well, but you have to take the positive side of everything and it helped me to assess many situations, learn and watch another type of football and how you acclimatize.
The ability to adapt in certain situations is paramount in football.
Playing on our pitch is not the same as playing at the Bernabéu or at Rayo or Sevilla.
The great footballers are the ones who adapt to all these types of situations and in that sense I think it came in handy. Real Madrid arrives at Villarreal's best moment. It's true that we're doing well.
This is a nice stretch of the season, but also very demanding, because you already have a lot of games to play.
You have to enjoy yourself. How do you see this Real Madrid team? They have a great squad, they are competing very well.
No one has given him anything.
The League consists of many games and it is a team that is doing things very well.
They are first for something, it is not by chance.
How do you see this Real Madrid? They have a great squad, they are competing very well.
No one has given him anything.
The League consists of many games and it is a team that is doing things very well.
They are first for something, it is not by chance.
How do you see this Real Madrid? They have a great squad, they are competing very well.
No one has given him anything.
The League consists of many games and it is a team that is doing things very well.
They are first for something, it is not by chance.
After winning the Europa League and standing up to Chelsea in the Super Cup, can Villarreal do great things in this Champions League? Setting a ceiling today would be a mistake.
We know the difficulty of the competition because of the level of the teams, because of the budgets they have.
It's very complicated.
There are teams that spend millions every year to try to win the Champions League and they still haven't succeeded.
That shows how difficult this competition is.
We are in the round of 16, we face it with the greatest enthusiasm. How do you see the Champions League duel with Juventus? We play against a great and it will be a very complicated tie.
Now the goals in the opposite field are not worth double in case of a tie and you have to play with that a bit.
It is clear that it is difficult, but we have confidence.
Do you see yourself returning to the national team? As long as you play for your team and you're there every Sunday, there are options.
It is true that it is difficult because there are very good people who are doing things very well.
If I go, happy.
It would be a dream to return to the national team and represent my country.
If you come welcome, but it's not something that obsesses me.
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