Julen Agirrezabala: "I watch more football than the Kings League, I'm a classic"

The goal of Spain has a Basque accent. In the absolute, Unai Simón for penalties that give titles and in the sub'21, Julen Agirrezabala (Rentería, 2000) aims to start Santi Denia in the European Championship in Romania that begins this afternoon. Raised in Lezama, they are the present and the future of Athletic Club. The little one, Julen, sits down with EL MUNDO to remember that Mediterranean beach where he began to stop, the importance of studies and the trampoline, although he says no, of this tournament.

It will be his first experience with the national team in a major tournament. Yes, he had not been in the inferiors. It is the first time, a European that everyone wants to play. It will be a nice experience and hopefully we can win. What are your feelings for the European Championship? We have had a very good qualifying phase and I think we are a team that competes very well, with good players and if we correct some things, which is normal , there is a good block and we can do something nice in the European. You are in the sub'21 and Unai (Simón) in the absolute. What do the Lezama goalkeepers eat? Well, I don't know, but you can see that something is being done well in Lezama. There are many goalkeepers from our school at the highest level, Kepa, Remiro, Aitor Fernández are there…. There is a job behind it that is being done wonderfully. In that sense, being beautiful for the Athletic youth academy, do you feel that the door to ownership of the first team is a bit closed? My dream remains the same, which is to play for Athletic. I have a contract with Athletic until 2025 and the club has trusted me at all times. Yes, it is true that in the first part of the season I did not enjoy many minutes, but I feel the confidence of the coach and the club and I have ended up playing 15 games. The way I started the year is not bad. How did it take that everything happened so fast? With 18 a record for Athletic and with 22 he is in the First Division and in the national team. I think I have handled it very well, it is true that the jump has been great and fast. I was given the opportunity to debut in First Division and I am very happy and grateful. I am lucky that my family has always made me see that whatever happens you have to keep your feet on the ground, that you have to be humble and work. Being part of an important team like Athletic, do you feel a bit like a leader? of the team's locker room? What's up! (laughs). I don't feel like a leader anywhere. I try to do my bit like all of us here, and I'm sure that together, with effort and support, we'll be able to do something beautiful. When you were little, you didn't really like football, right? I remember that in the playground school, at recess or after class, I watched my friends play and although I tried it from time to time, it is true that I did not like it very much. Until one summer with the family, on a beach in Peñíscola with my cousin, he started kicking balls and I started stopping them.. That's how my story began. And what did he like to do? Buah…. (Think). As a child I was a lot to draw, especially animals. I was pretty good at it and I enjoyed it, huh. All the animals I saw in documentaries, tigers, lions, wolves… I tried to draw them. I've always liked seeing animals in the wild and I drew them on paper. Now when I'm older too? No, no. Not anymore (laughs). What about sports other than football? I used to play a lot of tennis, but nothing too formal. I would go with my friends or with my father. It is still a sport that I really like and when I have some free time I play. Also basketball. Was he one of the tallest? No, no. Give the stretch later. In cadets I signed for Antiguoko and when I arrived I was quite small. Then in my first year as a youth, at 17, I hit the growth spurt. Before signing for Athletic, was it clear that I wanted to be a professional? I never had the goal of being a professional. I got into football to enjoy myself, always learning from the coaches and once the years go by and you see that you are at the level, you see it closer, but the step is very difficult. When you get to the first team you do see yourself, it's a huge joy. Did you have any plan B in case you didn't make it? Any illusions beyond football? I return to my parents, they have always instilled in me the importance of studies. I have been a good student, both in school and in high school. Then I decided to enter a Mechanical Engineering, which I was able to combine well for two years, but once I started training with the first team, it was difficult for me to go to class and it was difficult for me. I have quit, but I am clear that I do not want to stop studying and I go year after year looking for things. This last year I have been doing an Administration and Finance course, I have taken it well but it has also cost me because of the football calendar. What do your friends from Donosti tell you when they see you play for Athletic? Well, there is everything (laughs).. There are some who are very Real and understand my situation wonderfully and I have their unconditional support. They are very happy that a friend has reached where he has come.. Was it difficult to make the decision to sign for Athletic? To tell you the truth, not much. They made it very clear to me what they wanted, the project they had for me and what they trusted. They set the guidelines for me and the path that I was going to take in my career. And I'm happy. Which goalkeeper do you pay attention to? I don't have a clear reference point, but I usually watch a lot of football and I try to pay attention to all the goalkeepers. In different aspects of each one. At 22, do you watch more football or the Kings League? Football, football (laughs). I'm more classic in that sense. The Kings is having a lot of repercussion, I usually see something, but quite little, but ever since I started on that beach I have been a great soccer fan and I try to watch as many games as possible. Are the soccer players very involved in the networks now? Are they changing rooms different from what Athletic veterans tell you? I think so, but for the simple fact of modernizing technology. Now we have things that were not there before and I believe that when used well they can be good for everyone.. I don't think we're too involved either, we know how good they can be but they also have their bad things. I have some but I don't use it much. Do you read the comments? No, not really. I have never been one to read because the first one who knows when you are doing things well or badly is yourself and in the end those who know about football and are involved in day-to-day activities are the ones who can best advise you. The outside does not depend on us. Do you feel this tournament as a springboard in your career? It is an international tournament and you compete with the best teams, but I do not give it excessive importance nor do I think it is good to put more pressure on ourselves. If everyone fulfills their role and does their bit, we have a great chance of doing something nice in the tournament. What do you do in your day to day? I really enjoy sitting down and talking with my friends on a terrace. Walking, visiting places…. Other sports, when we can… Are you already being recognized on the street? Well, I don't know (laughs), and that's a good thing. It's true that sometimes I notice stares, but people don't stop me much. And in the town? Less! (laughs). In the end my town, Errenteria, is next to Donosti and most of them are Real Madrid fans. They don't give me much of a ball… (Laughter). His father was a spokesman for Eusko Alkartasuna in the Basque Parliament. How was having politics at home? If I tell you the truth, when he was in Parliament I didn't even know about it. I did not become fond of politics. What is left to improve? Many things. I would say footwork, which is something that here in the national team is also required of us, to give continuity to the team's game. And it is a subject that in recent years has also been a step forward. Before the goalkeepers were not required so much and now there has been that change.