League rookie Sūduva: apologizes to Ronaldo and Mourinho

The 33-year-old safe arrived in Lithuania this week. This is not the first time: at a press conference on Thursday, a Spaniard said that he visited Vilnius and Kaunas a few years ago, when he traveled through Europe with friends.

“It just came to our attention then. Who would have thought that one day I would be here again for work and to play football in Lithuania,” the newcomer from “Sūduva” was surprised.

It is true that his first contact with Lithuania was not diversified by the snowballs that N. Cases saw when he arrived this time in Marijampolė.

The footballer recalled a snowstorm that suddenly struck Spain last month, which was considered the largest in half a century, at least in the capital Madrid.

“The traffic stopped, everything stopped, although there was even a little less snow than I can now see through the window. And here, apparently, no one experiences any inconvenience. People walk the streets, cars drive; It seems like you are used to and prepared for that weather. And I’ve never seen so much snow in my life. It’s cold, but it’s cozy at home, I feel good, I like everything ”, N. Cases shared his first impressions.

Until now, he had not had any contact with Lithuanians, apart from the aforementioned tourist trip.

Cases has been a living symbol of the Chichon Sporting Club in the past.

He gave the team the historic Asturian port city, bathed by the Cantabrian, for 23 years. Including childhood, when he grew up at the Sporting Football Academy.

Since mid-2005, the midfielder has spent six years in the club’s reserve team, then played the same number in the main team.

“Lithuania is more famous for its basketball: in Spain everyone talks about their national team, which is one of the strongest in Europe. It is always very difficult for Spaniards to play. At that time, many in my country did not listen to the Lithuanian football. Well, it’s a little known now, because in Spain, people are also following the qualifiers of the European tournament, “said Cases.

It was in the latter that he saw Sūduva for the first time. Only at that time he no longer played in his homeland, but in Cyprus, in the ranks of Larnaca AEK.

In 2019, the Marijampoleans sensationally eliminated Mediterranean island full-time champion Nicosia APOEL from the UEFA Champions League rankings.

“Everybody in Cyprus was talking about it, it was a disaster for them. Therefore, when the representatives of “Sūduva” contacted me last month, I did not think about it for a long time and quickly accepted the offer, “noted N. Cases.

Interestingly, last year he wore a shirt from the Volos club, which competes in the Greek Premier League. The same, who was temporarily trained by the new helmsman of Sūduva of Spain Victor Basadre.

However, the roads of the two compatriots did not cross at that time because they were in Greece at different times of the season.

Until now, Mr. Cases was not familiar with Mr. Basadre, however, he tried to gather information about his new strategist.

“He puts a lot of emphasis on defense, clearly states his requirements, the most important of which are stroking the ball, and when he loses it, putting pressure on his opponents very aggressively in an attempt to get the ball back in the first three seconds.” . But I am only saying what I have heard about V. Basadre, because so far I have only been in some trainings ”, said N. Cases.

At the time, the left-handed footballer describes himself as a typical midfielder with the added function of taking penalties.

“I get the broadcasts right, constantly drawing in my mind the movement of the whole team, it allows me to run less unnecessarily and save more energy for the more important spells. Also, I can perform standard situations. I can also give experience to the team.

I know some of the Sūduva players, they are also experienced and have successful careers behind them. Still, I will try to help young people, I will use the experience: I have played at the highest level for 11 years. But the fact is, I don’t play alone. It will take all the effort and unity if we want to win the championship. And that is our goal, and I think we can achieve it, ”said the Spaniard, who decided to take to the field in Saturday’s control match with Kaunas” Hegelmann Litauen “.

Mr. Cases is not really inexperienced.

He considers 2015 to be one of the most impressive years, when Sporting ranked second in the Segunda division and returned to the Premier League after a three-year hiatus, when all of Chichón carried their loved ones in their hands.

In the La Liga championship, N. Casesas played a total of 84 games, and the most memorable are the confrontation with Barcelona and Real Madrid.

“We played a draw with Barcelona when they were the strongest in the world, not only with Messi, but also with Xavi, Andrés Iniesta at the helm. So we were a very young team and, I would say, we were more valuable in victory that time ”, The player recalled.

It was canceled by Sporting in 2011 on a trip against Real. Ikero Casillaso’s only goal was scored by Miguelis de las Cuevasas after an effective pass from N. Caseso.

That day, in the shaken Santiago Bernabéu stadium, the impressive run of national championships at the home of the then Real Real manager José Mourinho fell apart, which lasted nine years with different teams.

With Porto (Portugal), Chelsea in London (England), Inter Milan (Italy) and finally Real, Portugal has failed at home bitterly up to 150 games in a row.

But after that, J. Mourinho’s memory ray did not shine, this time the “special” himself did not burn with his favorite games in the media.

“Before, my coach (Manolo Preciado – Delphi) argued with Mourinho in the press. He was very angry at José’s words, supposedly playing for Barcelona, ​​we are not exhausted. It was not an adequate statement, but then Mourinho surprised me with a good act. After the Madrid game, he himself came to our dressing room and congratulated him on the victory, he also apologized to our coach ”, N. Cases did not expect such a Portuguese gesture.

In 2016, he played another brilliant match for the Santiago Bernabeu. This time, due to different circumstances, although also related to Portugal.

With Sporting desperately losing to the hosts in the second half, Cases welcomed the latter’s star, C. Ronaldo.

Also, after a moment, he jumped to his feet and still tried to prove to the referee that the opponent pushed him. The same reproach was received by N. Cases in the eyes of the Portuguese: the assembled soccer players of both teams extinguished more passions.

“A high level cannot have friends in the square. Playing against C. Ronaldo was exactly the same for me as playing against any other opponent. This was true even for my ideal Xavi. After all, they are the same people. You can’t be afraid of anything here, you can’t apologize, you have to let them feel that it won’t be easy. Otherwise those players will just kill you, in the football sense, ”explained the new Lithuanian runner-up.

Marijampolė football fans now have to wait for N. Cases to kill his competitors in League A, of course also in the strict sense of football.