Pablo Sarabia: "Football players do not have paternity leave, and that influences; my ability to concentrate was zero"

Eduardo J. Castelao Madrid

Madrid

Updated Sunday, March 24, 2024-23:42

The last thing he did with the national team, December 2022, was hit two balls into the posts. The first was about to give Spain a place in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and the second was the first missed penalty in the shootout against Morocco, an abrupt end to that Qatari adventure.

Pablo Sarabia (Madrid, 31 years old) remembers that with bitterness, although

Luis Enrique

's words

- "The only thing I regret is how little Sarabia has played," he said - were a small balm. But the conversation, which begins in football, turns to life and, suddenly, to how a happy event, the birth of his twins, influenced his professional career. And, contrary to what it may seem, it was not easy for him to put everything together.

Have you seen that last-gasp shot against the post in the game against Morocco many times? I've seen it thousands of times on television, yes. By a millimeter everything didn't change. In plays like that, do you think you could have done something better or was it just a matter of luck? You make decisions, you do that and that's it. What could have put the body in this way or that way...? I don't think so. What Luis Enrique said about you in public, did he tell you in private? Yes, he told me and it was very honest on his part. He told me before we said goodbye, the day we were leaving Qatar. Then we continued to have some contact and nothing, but nothing, to reproach him for. He made the decisions that he believed were appropriate and it happened like that, without further ado. I can only thank him. After the World Cup, he leaves Paris for Wolwerhampton with Lopetegui. How was that arrival? The first months were really very good. I started playing and doing well. But I felt that the pace was very high, that many things were happening that I had no control over, and that overwhelmed me. Also, my twins were born, and all that made my life change a lot... Is that what you mean when you ever talk about "personal circumstances"? Yes. When I signed up, I traveled with my eight-month pregnant wife. She was brave, we knew that twins were coming, but she told me to go where I could be happy, and in Paris she was no longer happy. In short, as I said, she started playing and in a month and a half, the children came. Of course, that changed everything. Soccer players don't have paternity leave, and the children were born on a Tuesday, I had Wednesday off and on Saturday I was already playing a game. That influences, a lot. My ability to concentrate was zero, and I had to change many things: I had to sleep separately from my wife so that if the children woke up, it wouldn't affect my rest. I also made changes in food. In food, why? Because when you have children, you live for them. And first you feed them and you eat later, then the snack is already added to the dinner, and it is very important for an elite athlete to both rest and make all the meals. I adapted to the children so much that I lost habits that are part of my job, and I had to be more strict with that.

Pablo SarabiaÁNGEL NAVARRETE

The thing is that their work tool is the body. Of course, that is why it is so important. Look, an example: I was trying to eat in the sports city, after training, around 1:30 p.m. But when the children were born, I really wanted to see them and, of course, help my wife, so I would go, and we would feed them and we would end up eating at 3:00 p.m. I had to change that. Have dinner? I couldn't have dinner after putting the kids to sleep, I had to do it again before, because I need to digest before going to bed. And in the summer Julen leaves. And someone very close to you says that they came to tell him: 'Look for a team, you're not going to play here.' Well, they made me understand that if he wanted to leave, the exit door was open. I said no, that I was staying and that I wanted to show that, through work, I was going to turn it around. And I have done it. Talking to the coach, understanding the game... It's one of the parts of my career that I'm most proud of. Why didn't he look for an easy way out, which I'm sure he had? Yes, I had options to go places where I knew I was going to play. But it was a personal challenge. If you analyze my career, on many occasions I went from not starting to play and ending up convincing the coaches. It was like I couldn't leave without thinking: 'I'm going to try, you can't leave now'. But it was the least easy option. Obviously. And having two babies at home, with my wife alone, far from the climate that I like. But I must have tried. Leaving without trying doesn't enter my head. If I see that it is not my time, my place, my coach, ok, but there they had not seen the Pablo Sarabia that they had signed, and that bothered me. And I wanted to stay to prove it. And I achieved it, fortunately. That mental strength, can you work on it? I've been working on it since my time at Getafe. I work with a psychologist to accept things that are not as you expect. But the soccer player is the prototype of a person who does not seem to tolerate frustration well. I totally agree. But I think it is a mistake, because the footballer who does not accept frustration does poorly. You can't go to bed thinking you could have done more.

«My body is my work tool; Rest and nutrition are key things

Pablo Sarabia

Are you aware of how privileged you are? Of course, I am aware of the virtue that the Lord has given me since I was born, and the education that my parents gave me. Do you consider yourself stubborn? I am very constant, if I set my mind to something, I get it. Did the coach, Gary O'Neil, say to you: 'I made a mistake'? He made me see it, he didn't tell me, but he made me see it. He has set me as an example a few times in front of the locker room, highlighting my perseverance when I wasn't playing. So, doesn't he control many things in the Premier? On Saturday we lose a match against a Second Division, in the 96th minute we are winning 2-1, and we lose 3-2, and that cannot be. You have to control things more. But for the viewer it is much more fun. Yes, of course, I understand it, but for those of us who are inside... How do you see Luis De la Fuente's project? We won the Nations League, and that is important . It is a more direct project, with some changes compared to the previous one, but with a great group. Can you see yourself in the Euro Cup? As I told you, I am a very constant person, who does everything to get what he wants. I'm going to give it my all, and the day the list comes out, if I'm there, then I'm happy.