Renato Tapia arrived at Leganés this summer as one of those signings destined to ensure that salvation is not a problem for the Madrid team despite being recently promoted. And, now adapted, he considers that the team “is going to give a lot to talk about.”
Competitive as visitors against Atlético de Madrid or the Gironaagainst whom he scored his first goal in the Spanish league last weekend, believes they are going to get “very good results.” He says it, in an interview with the EFE Agency, from the experience of someone who has been able to attract Liverpool’s attention as a center back, to shine in the Eredivisie as a midfielder and awaken the interest of important clubs ‘getting tired’ of recovering balls in the Celta de Vigo.
Question: How are these first months in Leganés going?
A: Good. The truth is that I am very happy, very happy. I think it has been months of adaptation; but very fast. Everything has happened, they have helped me a lot so that this adaptation is much faster and I can do what I like, which is play football.
Q: Why Leganés? What led you to sign for a newly promoted team when there were so many expectations surrounding your figure after being released?
A: There was actually a lot of talk. I never came out to talk, to say what offers you had, where I wanted to go or if I wanted to earn more money. I never came out to speak because it has never been something that I have wanted or liked. As I said at the press conference when I came, I chose Leganés above all because of the personal project they had with me.
My decisions have always led me to personal matters, to how I was going to be treated within the club, to the figure and role I was going to have. He convinced me from the first conversation and I did not hesitate to make the decision. The personal part moves me a lot. The conversation I had with the sports director Txema Indias and what they proposed, together with the coaching staff, led me to make the decision very quickly.
Q: Does that star status with which you have arrived weigh on you when it comes to going out on the field?
A: No, the stars are in the sky (laughs). No, Estrella, surely an experienced guy, with many games in First Division. It doesn’t bother me, it’s something I like. The less weight others have, the better they can perform. And the truth is that I handle it very well, I am very calm because the group also sees it reflected in me.
Q: There was talk of interest from Atlético de Madrid, from Valencia. How much truth was there in all that?
A: There were interests, but in the end those small conversations I had with Txema made the decision very quick. While it is true that there were interests from other clubs, it was not as strong as Leganés had. And I leaned towards this decision.
Q: Did you ever see yourself at Atlético de Madrid?
A: I don’t know, I would have to ask my representative. But the truth is that it doesn’t bother me if they say what there was or what there wasn’t, or if I had to go to a better club in quotes; because nobody knows what Leganés is until you are here, inside the facilities, in the stadium, with the people who work here. Surely there will have been many conversations and many trials for me to be able to be in any other club, but I think the best decision was made.
Q: Before all that, you tried out for Liverpool as a central defender and you didn’t stay because of your height. Have you thought about how much your life would have changed if you had been two inches taller?
A: Well, I don’t know if for better or worse. Suddenly, if everything went well for me and at 16 or 17 I achieved success very quickly, maybe I would lose my step and now I wouldn’t be doing this interview. Everything happens for a reason, I’ve always said it. I believe that nothing is a coincidence. Work and perseverance have led me to be here for many years, especially as a Peruvian, which is not a minor detail. As a South American player it is difficult to stay in Europe, especially keeping your passport. I feel proud of that.
Q: In the Eredivisie in the Netherlands you also performed as a midfielder, also scoring quite a few goals. Do you feel like you can play anything?
A: Yes, I always say it, I have a ‘bingo’ on my back. Sometimes I can play behind, in the last game against Girona I think it was quite noticeable because after scoring the goal I went to the line of five and then went up a little more. I have always tried to help the team. That’s my best characteristic and I’m doing it right now, so I feel good.
Q: Talk about that goal against Girona, your first in the Spanish league. Did you miss the feeling of scoring with your club? Did you feel relief?
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A: No. Everyone knows that my greatest virtue, especially in these years, has been the defensive role. For me saving a goal, going for a closeout or going for a cut counts as that. Especially in extreme situations in which one does not see that dirty work.
Q: It gives a bit of a feeling that people from outside don’t value that as much. Does it make you angry?
A: It costs more to value that than to score a goal, it will always be like that. It doesn’t bother, it doesn’t annoy; But sometimes the midfielder is asked to do a little more when suddenly he is doing defensive actions that make you win a game or make you take points.
In the end it is part of our job, and whether it is taken into account or not is part of the people. Within the team you know what you have done and I think that, especially in the players, defensive actions are celebrated more than offensive ones.
Q: Asking only for the salvation of this Leganés, with players from the cartel like the one you have and seeing how you are competing against big teams, is it falling short?
Q: Yes of course. I think there are players with a lot of talent, who are capable of having a Leganés not only in First Division but a little more. I believe that this team, due to talent, has to take a step forward. I feel that we have been very close to that best version, which is what we want.
I am sure that this team is going to give a lot of talk because how we work here, we work in very few clubs. I am sure that the boys will take a step forward and we will get very good results.
Q: What is missing to take that step? When are we going to see the best Leganés?
A: I think we’ve also had very bad luck with injuries. There are many players, myself included, without a preseason. Without meeting each other in friendly matches, which is where you meet best and get to know each other best. That also affects day to day life.
It’s starting to get to know each other completely. We are in November, we are entering a stage where there can no longer be errors. We are proving it day by day and we will surely continue to prove it.
