De la Hoz: ‘The first part of the league has been good as we knew how to end a losing streak’
The UD Almeria captain has sat down with the media after the first training session upon returning from a 10-day holiday
‘It's a bit strange to have a pre-season in winter, although spending the holidays in a comfortable place in the table has let us rest much better,’ explained UD Almerioa captain and midfielder César de la Hoz, who has sat down with the media during a press conference as soon as the first training session after their 10-day holiday has finished. The first part of the LaLiga Santander has been really important to us ‘because we’ve managed to put an end to a four-week losing streak.’
The Rojiblanco midfielder highlighted ‘I'm happy to return to training because our team is like a family. We’re now thinking about Cádiz CF, although there’s still a long way to go [30 December].’ Regarding this winter break, the footballer has recognised that it is going to be useful for UD Almeria since ‘now we can work more on the tactical aspect, since there isn't an official competition going on.’
When asked about his future as a Rojiblanco, De la Hoz stressed ‘I'm actually not thinking about renewing, I'm focused on the day-to-day life of my team and on staying up in the first division.’ In addition, he has spoken about wearing the captain's armband: ‘I assume the captaincy naturally, I always try to score ... whether I’m captain or not.’ On this subject, César de la Hoz has commented that he is tremendously excited to become an outstanding player in the history books of UD Almería: ‘I didn’t expect I’d be so close to other UD Almería legends. This highly motivates me to continue working hard.’
UD Almeria started their World Cup break as one of the teams with the best home form in the LaLiga Santander. Now it's time to improve at home, it's something we have to deal with. The 30-year-old player explained in this regard ‘we’re focusing on that aspect because it’s costing us a bit so far, but away friendly matches are going to get underway soon. We’ll try to regain confidence to get the best out of them and broaden experience away from our fans. They’ll help us upon our return to the competition.’
Commenting on the World Cup and the presence of his team-mate Babić in Qatar, the Cantabria native said ‘Serbia will be our second team to support after Spain. I see France as the favourite, although the Spanish team is doing really well. They couldn't have started better [Spain 7-0 Costa Rica].’
