The Uruguayan forward Jonatan Álvez explains why he left Liga de Quito for Barcelona SC
The Uruguayan forward Jonatan Álvez, current player of Barcelona SC, explained the reasons why he had to leave Liga de Quito, his first club in Ecuador, and later sign with the toreros in 2016. He also revealed that before receiving the call from José Francisco Cevallos and Guillermo Almada, president and coach of Barcelona at that time, the 'Loco' received a call from Emelec.
"I knew Liga through what I saw on TV, it is a big team. I had one more year on my contract in Europe but I wasn't playing. That's when opportunities opened up, there was interest from Mexico, Uruguay, but they mentioned Ecuador and I tried to see first if it was the opportunity they were going to give me, if I was going to play. Luckily, things turned out as they did," Álvez explained to the program Un Rato Ameno about his arrival in the country.
The forward believes that the only reason why Liga fans could hold any grudge against him is for the missed penalty against River Plate in the Round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana. "The only thing I think people resent me for is the penalty I missed against River. I apologized to the fans but these are the decisions one makes. The coach (Luis Zubeldía) wanted 'Cachete' (Morales) to take it, but I did and I failed. One is human and makes mistakes," he commented.
About his departure from the albo team, which resulted in his almost immediate signing with Barcelona, Álvez asserts that "many things were invented that were not true." "I had braces for over a year (Nolberto Araujo said the player refused to head the ball to avoid hurting his teeth), it was said that I didn't want to go to dinner with the president (in Carondelet), but what happened in a training session," he said.
"I spoke with the board member from my point of view, that (Claudio) Borghi (who replaced Zubeldía as coach in 2016) didn't want me, so I told him I was going to gather my things and go to another team because I didn't want problems with anyone, I just wanted my opportunity," Álvez explained about his departure from Liga.
The future of the Uruguayan after leaving the capital team was yellow, however, it could have been blue. "Before joining Barcelona, I was called by Emelec, they offered me a good contract but for a short time, then the president (José Cevallos) and (Guillermo) Almada called me. And I made a deal with Barcelona," confessed the 'Loco'. (D)