Mateo Garralda: a legend happy in Leon

Mateo Garralda is a living legend of the Champions League with more than twenty years played as professional handballer. The Spanish won six CL titles and with three different teams: Teka Cantabria, Barcelona and Portland San Antonio. Mateo will end his career in Leon. His task is to help Ademar in their fight against the biggest European clubs. Garralda talks to Eurohandball.com about the difficult start of the season and also about the 2008 Olympic Games, which is an important objective for the player.

Eurohandball.com: Ademar did not start well. What do you think about it?

Mateo Garralda: We knew that these first months could be difficult for us. The roster has changed, there are many new players and a new coach. We must be patient and we need time to prepare. It is true that the situation is not ideal, but we must work to improve our performance.

Eurohandball.com: Ademar are in a good position in the Champions League, but not so good in the Asobal. Only after seven games the title seems to be far away...

Mateo Garralda: The Spanish League is a very hard competition. Last champions (Ciudad Real and Barcelona) only lost four or five points in the season, so the others can’t make mistakes. We lost some points in this season and we must be perfect from now on to win the title, but we also must wait for the other teams to lose.

Eurohandball.com: Jordi Ribera arrived to Leon after so many seasons with Manuel Cadenas. What do you think about him?

Mateo Garralda: Jordi Ribera is a great coach. He has a big reputation in Spain and we know that he is a very good coach. We are very satisfied with him, but the team needs more time. There were so many changes last summer and it is not easy to form a new team quickly.

Eurohandball.com: How do you feel in Leon?

Mateo Garralda: I’m very happy in Leon. Ademar is very interesting for me and the city is perfect. I need a quiet city to live. I’m not looking for special things, only a quiet place for trainings and for a quiet life. I’m a professional and I just need to get fit and prepared for the matches.