Fresneda vents on the departure of Rui Borges from Sporting: “I was sad”

Iván Fresneda, currently serving the sub-21 selection of Spain, granted, at the beginning of the morning of Friday, an extensive interview to the Spanish sports newspaper AS, in which, among other topics, he spoke about Rui Borges' departure from the technical command of Sporting, as well as Paulo Fonseca's arrival to his place.

“ The truth is it was a situation that made me a little sad, because Rui Birges always trusted me from the very first moment and gave me the opportunity to feel like a player again. Of course, that didn’t take me credit, but it did have a huge importance: it talked to me, gave me these opportunities in important games and I returned by doing my best, but in football these situations happen and are the results that count”, he started by saying.

Still, and despite the most negative set of results in recent games, the right side of Sporting assumes that green and white have to “turn over”, now under the technical command of Paulo Fonseca.

“ Now we're in the mood and the strength to get around the situation. We already did it well last week and, with Paulo Fonseca, we won our last game with very little preparation, after training only two and a half days with him. In this sense, everything is fine, with a great desire to follow the ideas of our new coach, which I believe will bring us much in the future ", continued.

Ivan Fresneda opened the book to talk about the difficulties experienced when he arrived in Alvalade four times ago, coming from the Spaniards of Real Valladolid, describing what changed in this period.”

“If I had to highlight something, it would be the mental part. Now I'm much stronger in that regard. When I got to the club, I had an injury that forced me to stop for a few months and the return was complicated, because the team at that time was on a very high level. Mentally it was complicated, because I came back and couldn't get into the games or have the minutes I wanted. This mental work was what helped me to improve and turn around the situation I lived in the first year and a half, in which I had a few minutes to play. To turn this around was very important to me: to feel that you are more out than inside and reverse this situation”, said the side, which left aside comparisons with Porro.

“ I don't give much importance to comparisons, but I like it even when we talk about it in this context, because, after all, I played Valladolid and Sporting shortly after he was there. I'm proud to be compared to him because Porro has an amazing career. He is demonstrating it both in his clubs and in the national team, and I am also proud to be able to represent the clubs he represented,” he noted.

To close, Fresneda said to stay focused on fulfilling the contract with Sporting, although it is already being targeted at large European clubs such as Barcelona.

“It’s a great pride. The fact that your name is associated with these types of clubs gives me more strength and more will to continue to do my best in my club, with which I have a contract by 2028 and where I feel very happy ", ended.