Javi Guerra: "I drive the car that Valencia gives me, I don't want more. I haven't changed my life nor do I need to"

Nobody in Valencia forgets the goal he scored against Valladolid and that kept the team alive in the First Division and, although he knows what it is like to have 45,000 people in Mestalla chant your name, Javi Guerra (Gilet, 2003) still wants to be the same boy who grew up among orange trees in the Sierra Calderona behind a ball and flirting with a tennis racket, which he lost in the dispute to see which sport would catch him. Shy, with few words, which he can pronounce in English because he studied at a bilingual school, he touches the bangs that his hairdresser mother cuts and his smile lights up when he thinks that the doors of the U-21s have opened for him and perhaps the of the Olympic Games too. As a good marketing student, the claim is very clear: there are many battles ahead, the first against Atlético.

Do you pinch yourself to see if everything is reality? No, but I do think that none of this that is happening to me is easy.. Not everyone can become a professional and fulfill a dream. I am a normal boy who has been through good and bad times, but who always fights.
Your father was a soccer player and played for the Mestalla, is that where everything comes from? I was attracted to balls since I was little and my brother, who is 16 years old, also plays soccer. I only remember my father's last years, already in Third. In Valencia there is still a doctor and Carlos Arroyo, a former international in the 80s who is the delegate of the Mestalla, who played with him. They both try to compare me, even though we were different. And you win? They poke me by telling me what they were better at than me (laughs). They are two people who I appreciate very much. Their first goal was not for their parents…No. It was for my grandfather Antonio. He has been the one who has always accompanied me. My mother worked all day in her hairdresser and my father, when I started at Villarreal, trained at school, but he couldn't take me back and forth.. So it was my grandfather who was in charge even though he never had a license.. The first year we went and came back by train, then they did us the favor of taking other friends from nearby towns. Now you can't refuse to take them wherever they ask you…The truth is that you don't (laughs). But I take the Skoda that the club gave me, and before I took my father's. I don't want more, why if we have three cars at home? I haven't changed my life much nor do I need to. Villarreal left Villarreal at the age of 16 after a decade. I wouldn't change anything that has happened to me.. I wasn't that mature, but I didn't see that they had confidence in me and I decided to change. Valencia loved me, trusted me and it has been seen that I chose the best option. Of those generation colleagues in the 'grogueta' quarry, are there any in First Division? I think not, in Second Yes. Valencia's financial difficulties have opened many doors for you. I am very grateful to Baraja for giving me an opportunity that only comes once in a lifetime. He debuted with Bordalás in the Cup and a year later he scored a goal to keep salvation alive…I could dream of score a goal like that, but I wasn't going to be able to make it happen. He was the first in Primera and I will never forget it. Do flattery make you dizzy? I try not to listen to it and go day by day working. Does the responsibility weigh more this season? The responsibility is to defend a historic shield like Valencia's. No one is free from it, not even if we are the youngest. But you have had to mature faster. You have to adapt quickly, yes. And even more so last year, when a very difficult situation had to be resolved. Gavi, Nico Williams or Yamal say that talent does not look at age or age… Their work is valued, but the opportunities they give you, they take them away from you. You have to maintain yourself and they have done it. I learn from that and I continue to look at players in my position like Busquets, Kross, Parejo or De Jong to improve. Not one goal in the reserve team, the goal against Valladolid, another against Sevilla and the third midfielder with the most shots, are you surprised? score goals?Yes, I have always said that I liked to score them, but I have discovered that you can score from time to time (smiles).
Would you go to Arabia like Gabri Veiga? The question is complicated. I want to be in Valencia, I don't know what circumstances he had.
Would you stand behind a banner supporting Jenni Hermoso as against racism? These are very delicate issues that should have no place in football or in life. These behaviors must be condemned. Are young footballers advised to hold their tongues on political or controversial matters? They can always get a headline…. But about politics, since I don't know anything about it, I don't even talk at home.

Does Javi Guerra allow himself any whims after having renewed until 2027? Going on vacation with my girlfriend, little more. It's not the moment. Yes, I want my parents to travel, to have a reward for all the sacrifice they have made.
You can take them to Paris next summer…Well…hopefully (laughs).