Robertone: "The team feels indebted to the fans"
The UD Almería co-captain describes as 'very strange' the fact that top-tier league survival was secured at home was achieved last season and that it has not yet been possible to be assured of safety in the current campaign
'The team feels indebted to the fans since we haven't yet won at home,' stated UD Almería co-captain Lucas Robertone during an interview with UDA Radio, the Club's official radio station. 'It's very strange because last season we were strong and we achieved victory in most of the home games, and now, however, we haven't managed to beat anyone. The team dynamic has led us to this situation, but we continue working and believing because we owe it to the fans,' he explained.
The Rojiblancos have their first opportunity to make amends on Sunday against Villarreal CF, opponents who 'try to play the ball out from the back and team up. In the first half of the season, we lost as visitors due to a detail because we played a great game in which we created many chances. I hope there's a similar league meeting and we materialise the ones we have. They're nice adversaries to play and we're going to try to live up to it to achieve victory,' he said.
The Argentinian praised Villarreal CF's set-pieces: 'They have a great central midfielder, Parejo, and good aerial players. We've already seen analysis and we'll deal with our weapons to counter-attack them. It's a very important factor because sometimes they open the scoring and we have to pay attentions to their moves.'
UD Almería have boosted their self-esteem after the draw at the Reale Arena Stadium as the 27-year-old recognised: 'In addition to finishing tying, we brought good vibes after the goal, with the opportunity, even, to win that we didn't convert. We competed in San Sebastián as we did in Madrid or Barcelona, where we were very close, although unfortunately the positive result does not come. There's no choice but to continue working because there are still seven matches ahead.'
Robertone, who this season is playing in further back positions, has given several goal passes, but has not yet scored. When asked about it, he responded: 'I hope to score soon. Assists are vital, but the feeling of scoring is really nice because it gives you a lot of confidence. I hope it arrives before the end of the season.'
The talented midfielder is one of the team's captains; the second after goalkeeper Fernando, so he almost always wears the team armband on the pitch. For him, it represents 'an honour and a privilege that my team-mates and coaching staff placed trust in me and I'm grateful because I've been through so much. I'm very happy in this Club, I'm very fond of it for everything I've experienced, they're being very intense years, and as captain and player for 4 seasons, this situation hurts a lot and it affects me. When you're a captain, you have to bring out something that I don't know where it comes from to try to move forward and have your team-mates follow you every time an adverse situation arises, even if it's not seen. I'm happy helping my team-mates on the pitch.'