In a club still desperately searching for a home-town hero after
the departure of star striker Fernando
Torres, David de
Gea may be the answer to Atletico
Madrid’s heartache.
The only difference is, he plays on the opposite side of the
field, in goal.
Both players share a similarly quick rise through the youth
ranks at the “other” team in Madrid. And blessed with youthful good
looks, it’s no wonder the Madrid-born and -bred de Gea
is being compared to Torres, now with Liverpool.
And like Torres, it seems the sandy-haired 20-year
old is destined for bigger things. Earlier this month,
his club was forced to deny reports the highly rated
youngster was on the brink of a S$30 million move to The Red Devils
to replace the ageing Edwin van der Sar.
But in an exclusive phone interview with Yahoo!
SEA earlier this month, de Gea – who recently turned 20
and turned down a move to Wigan – said he’s keeping
his feet firmly on the ground, despite being constantly
linked to the Red Devils.
“My goal is to do well for Atletico now and return the affection
to the fans and to the club for putting all their faith in me. As
for (the) future, I can’t say yet but anything is possible,”
said the 1.92-metre-tall shot-stopper.
And while refusing to rule out the possibility of
joining Manchester
United, the humble Spain-under 21
international says he’s still got a lot to learn.
“To repeat what Fernando (Torres) did here as an Atletico player
is difficult because he was an idol and everybody in the club
highly respects him. It’s a great honour to be compared to him, but
in all honesty, I still think I have a long way to go,”
said Atletico’s first-choice goalkeeper.
De Gea shot to fame on the back of a series of stellar
performances last season, culminating in a UEFA Cup
triumph over Fulham in the final. This season, he picked
up from where he left off with a scintillating display in the
season-opening Uefa Super Cup, where Atletico upset Champions
League winners Inter Milan 2-0.
De Gea played a crucial role in the win, keeping
out Diego Milito’s penalty kick late in the game (watch).
Despite crashing to a 2-0 defeat to city arch-rivals Real Madrid
earlier this month, Atletico are doing well this season. The
star-studded team currently lies in sixth place after
responding to the derby defeat with impressive 3-0 and 4-2 wins
against Osasuna and Real Sociedad respectively.
The team boasts a wealth of attacking talent with Uruguayan
World Cup joint-top scorer Diego
Forlan and Argentine hot-shot Sergio
Aguero leading the line, ably supported by wide men
Jose Antonio
Reyes (ex-Arsenal) and Portuguese star
Simao.
But that may not last long with persistent transfer rumours
that Forlan could be on his way out of the club.
De Gea, however, insists everything was going well.
“Diego is doing great and he is training as usual. It’s great to
have him in the locker room because he is one of our elite players
and someone I highly respect.”
De Gea also insists that despite the arrival of Jose
Mourinho at Real Madrid and the Messi-inspired Barcelona,
La Liga is not a two-horse race.
“When Spain won World Cup, everybody realised that the best
players are playing in our country. But Spain has many good players
– not just the ones who went to South Africa,” said de Gea, a
product of Atletico Madrid’s youth system.
“Fans outside the country, for example there (in Asia) need to
know that Spanish football is changing and it can only grow bigger
and better, I’m sure.”
“Clearly there are two teams (which are) one step ahead of
others, but there are also clubs below who are standing strong,” he
said.
”Atletico have to be with the big clubs, winning titles
and competing in the Champions League, which we are slowly
achieving. But we need to set a strong base and new players are
always good,” he added.
LA FURIA
FUTURE
As for his own future, de Gea, who is a UEFA U-17 European
Championship winner with Spain, hopes to break into the senior team
soon.
Although he was named in Vicente del Bosque’s provisional World Cup
squad in May earlier this year, he did not
make the final cut and missed out on Spain’s World Cup
trimph.
Refusing to be downcast or heart-broken, he preferred to see the
bright side of things.
“It was a joy to be chosen to be among those 30 players, but I
know I must continue to work and grow to play in the senior team
someday. It is very rewarding to be on a list in which there
are great goalkeepers like Casillas, Reina, Víctor Valdés and
Diego Lopez,” he said.
On a personal note, de Gea is pleased with the support he
has been receiving from his club, Atletico Madrid and the city
itself.
Having recently picked up one of the “‘7 Stars Sports Award”
given out annually by the community if Madrid to outstanding
athletes, De Gea was also quick to credit his team-mates for
his success.
“The people of the club have been very kind to me. I think the
confidence they have given me has made me grow as an individual. I
thank all the fans and my team-mates for the accolades, but as I’ve
said before, there’s still much to learn,” he said.
Humble he may be, but you be sure this goalkeeper’s stock
and star can only be on the way up.