Sergi Canós (25 years old, Nules, Castellón) is already an institution at Brentford, one of the great entertainers of the last Premier. The Spanish winger, now also a winger, scored Arsenal’s first goal in the competition in a season in which he has played 35 games and in which he also scored the last for ‘The Bees’. He was trained in the Barça youth academy, signed for Liverpool at the age of 16, where he made his debut for a few minutes with Klopp and from there he settled in Brentford. after a brief stint at Norwich. No limits are set.
-It has been your first season in the Premier, how has it been?
-It has been a very good year on a personal and collective level. We came from Segunda thinking that perhaps we were not good enough for this category, and we have shown that we are at this level. Above we have enjoyed. Then personally, too. The only downside is that I’ve played more as a winger than a winger, which is my natural position.
-You couldn’t have started better scoring the first Premier League goal… What did it mean?
-It was a liberation. There was that fear of not knowing if you’re going to be good enough. All that vanishes when the ball hits the net. Then you add that the rival was Arsenal, that we played at home, that the club hadn’t played in the First Division for 74 years… There were many things that make me very proud.
-The Brentford has caused admiration, do you feel that way?
-The truth is that if. We play in a way that people like. We are aggressive, we want possession, we don’t hit many long balls… being so intense makes people have a lot of fun watching us and that’s wonderful.
-They have been the same team that they were in the Championship…
-We were clear that we wanted to continue playing in the same way. If we lose the essence of being aggressive, of being compact, we lose our essence. If we have been creating bases that are indestructible, what could not be was to reach the Premier and that we were afraid to show it. It didn’t make any sense. The best way to face the jump was attacking, attacking the Premier. It doesn’t matter if Liverpool or Burnley came. With obvious nuances, but the essence has always been the same.
“We play in a way that people like, and that’s wonderful”
-The jump has not been so great then?
-Many people said that when we went up to the Premier it would be easier to play. And it’s true, because in Championship football is much harder and more physical.
-He has been at Brentford for five years, the two have grown hand in hand…
-When I arrived for the first time I came from Liverpool on loan, the situation was completely different. I feel very important. I’ve been here five years and time gives you that. So much time means you’re worth it. I’m very lucky to have made it this way… there aren’t that many left of that team from five years ago.
-What was Griffin Park like? All football fans had that stadium in mind.
-It was a pass. I grew up there. It was an English field, with the four English pubs in each corner of the field, the bars that did not let you see the football well from the stands… The atmosphere has nothing to do with what we live in Premier. But the club needed the change because it was too small for what we wanted to do.
-Why does Brentford have that special mystique?
-Brentford is a new team. People are starting to get to know Brentford. He sees that we can compete, play well… and we feel that affection and also that little envy of others. Being the novelty, everyone wants to beat us.
-In addition to being news for the great season, Brentford gave Eriksen the opportunity to return. Was there some kind of fear in the locker room in case something happened?
-The thing was very clear. He arrived, we greeted each other and before starting the first training session he told us not to worry about anything, that he had everything under control with the doctor and that if anyone needed him to tell him more things he would be delighted. He wanted no one to have any doubts about his condition. He put us at ease. So it went ahead… and on top of that, it’s great! He has helped us a lot in the second round.
“I didn’t leave Barça for leaving, I was looking for a better future as a family”
-They will have asked you a thousand times about this, but Brentford has distinguished itself by the use of Big Data by Matthew Benham. What is your method exactly?
-Every time we see more numbers and we see more percentages. I don’t believe much in numbers, but being here I’m believing more… We’re getting more and more into it. It is managed internally: the owner, the sports director… They work with us at a collective level to attack and defend better. How many chances do we create, what balance of expected goals do we have…
-I was speaking before the change of position from winger to lane. How have you been?
I am a team player and I never think about myself. I think about what benefits the team. I have played as a winger all my life, I had to adapt to how to defend. Attacking one on one is not the same as defending one on one… And on top of that against the best in the world. I had to learn how to define myself in the center, how to position myself so that the striker didn’t shoot you… Before, I was the one who attacked. So I’ve seen myself in some situations in which I’ve had to face what the Sergi of before would do… That’s why he has had to grow a lot defensively to be able to measure up. I am very proud of how I did it, but that does not mean that there are games that I would have liked to play more on the wing. Neither is it the same to play as a winger for City or Liverpool as it is for Brentford.
-But do you feel a better footballer?
-I have become a player that I did not know I was. I have had to adapt and that has made me more complete. Now I face each situation in the game differently. I am not scared of anything. I know how to defend the far post, I know how to attack it, I know how not to lose position, I know how to get inside…
-What has changed from when you arrived at Liverpool so young?
-The mentality. The Sergi of that time was very conformist, perhaps because he was a child. He believed that talent was going to take me to everything and talent is not enough. He had a hard time realizing that part. When you grow as a footballer you grow as a person. I wish I could have a couple of talks with the 19 or 20-year-old Sergi. He would give him four cuffs that you don’t see… Now you see him with the youngsters who go up to the first team. I believe a lot in helping others. He was one of those who thought that the one who went to the psychologist was because he was crazy. And now the psychologist is a fundamental figure in my life. There are stages when I don’t need them and others I do. He would tell everyone. The psychologist gives you a perspective of life, he is a doctor. Mental illnesses are just as important as physical ones and need to be treated.
-How much did the figure of the psychologist help you when the crusader broke in 2019?
-At that time there was no north for me. I wanted but I didn’t want. There is a Sergi before the injury and another after. It helped me to reconsider and see how happy football makes me in those nine months that I was away. That made me give value to what I have and be better.
-It would have helped him in his beginnings in England. Why did he decide at that time to leave Barcelona for Liverpool?
We made that decision for our own good. It was collective. I didn’t leave Barça to leave Barça. We did it because we were looking for a better future as a family. My sister was very young and was going to learn English, my parents had another chance at life… At that time there was a lot of crisis in Spain. There was no other option, we had to go.
-How was the stage of Liverpool?
-It was very difficult to change. The first few months in Liverpool were some of the worst months of my life. I was very discouraged, the transfer didn’t arrive, I couldn’t play. He only trained, he didn’t know the language… But after the storm comes calm.
-Do you hold any kind of grudge against Barça?
-No way. Each one makes the decisions that have to be made and each one sees for their own interests. Never in my life will I hold a grudge against Barça. They did what they thought they had to do and I did what I thought I had to do.
-A long time ago he had already debuted in the Premier, in 2015-16. Klopp patted him before entering… How do you remember him?
-I remember it very well. My parents and my sister were there. I kept the shirt, my teammates signed my shirt. I remember that they went to the Europa League final later (they lost against Sevilla)… It was incredible.
-How is Klopp in the locker room?
-Klopp is as he is seen. He is close and is a great coach. But I had decided that he would leave Liverpool before making his debut… I spent two weeks training with them and it helped me learn.
-Can you imagine returning to Barcelona or Spanish football?
-I see myself where they want me, playing everywhere.
– Also in the Selection?
-The Selection is a dream. You see when Luis Enrique calls David (Raya) and you see him closer. But I think I have to do many more things to reach the National Team…
-How did you experience Raya’s first summons?
-Very happy. He deserves it. I am sure that he will end up being the head of the National Team, because he is very good and on top of that he is a good person. It is a joy that your brother goes to the National Team. In addition, that he goes means that they take into account the Premier and that Brentford does things very well as a team.
-A team that wants to keep growing…
-After the Arsenal game we had no doubts. We have done very well. As long as we don’t lose ground, which is when things can go wrong, we can aspire to more. But we cannot lose the essence of the small team that we still are.
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