- How has Sevilla felt about not having a game this week?
- I see the dressing room motivated. After reaching the Copa final we have more confidence, and even more so after a tough match like the one against Girona. The week off has been very good for us to prepare for what's coming.
- Has being in the Copa final taken a weight off the group?
- It's up to the coach. I prepare myself to go out on the field at any moment and that's the only thing I work for every day.
- What diagnosis do you make of Sevilla's inconsistency?
- It's easier to play from memory with teammates you know than when eight or nine signings arrive. It's not an excuse, as this is normal at Sevilla. But it's complicated because football sometimes doesn't wait for you. The club signed many players but the demands are still high. And now we have to recover in the league.
- What does Montella ask of you that differentiates him from what Berizzo asked?
- Every coach has his method. I didn't play as a center-back with Berizzo and in his last matches I had physical problems and injuries. I didn't feel the same way I'm feeling now. Montella only used me as a full-back in Vitoria and I feel that things are going better for me now. But I never hold back, neither with Berizzo nor now with Montella.
- You came as a full-back but the general consensus is that your level here has been much higher as a center-back.
- In Argentina, I rarely played as a center-back, only to cover for absences on some occasions. I would have liked to have performed better in the matches I played as a full-back, because that's the position I play for the national team and that will always be there. But there's no doubt that at Sevilla, my best level has been as a center-back. Although I believe that the team's performance also influences, it goes hand in hand. When the team improves, the players who have been criticized have a positive impact.
- Did you expect such a difficult year to start as the team's captain?
- What I least expected was for both captains to have physical problems for so long. I like to not talk much but I do when I have to. Encourage, push, and be positive constantly. And insist. When things go wrong, you have to keep working and when things go well, the same. My message has always been to push forward.
- Did you have to act as captain when the criticisms were directed at Sergio Rico?
- Doubts about the goalkeeper should never happen. But not in his position or any other. This is a group and if one makes a mistake, we're not going to point fingers. There are positions where you're more exposed and you have to live with that. I didn't speak with him after his mistakes, I spoke before and told him that he's young, that he will make a thousand mistakes but that football always gives you a quick chance for redemption. Three days later, he had the opportunity to prove himself and gave us the three points. We have always trusted him and now it's time for him to rise up and continue improving.
- The Champions, the Copa final, the World Cup... how is Mercado approaching the end of the season?
- I am demanding, sometimes even too much. And I see things that I can improve and correct.
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