Jairo Noriega, a player for Deportivo Fabril, talks about his beginnings in soccer, how he came to represent his hometown club, and his future goals with it.
Tell us, Jairo, why did you start playing soccer and what motivates you to continue doing so today?
The truth is, I start playing soccer like any other child, you join your school soccer team, in this case Calasanz, I start playing futsal, the mythical, soccer for young children….
What motivates me is to continue to be successful in football and have positive results, that is what motivates me to continue playing and it motivated me at the beginning to continue to this day.
What memories do you have of that time?
Well, the truth is that from that time I remember that I played because I went with my friends at school. We signed up for a soccer team and I have very good memories, but simply of my friends and creating a soccer team at school my age.
How was your transfer to Deportivo? How did you feel?
Well, it was after two years at Calasanz, that I went on to play 7-a-side soccer, field soccer, and the sports club called a series of players, I think there were 40, they did some tests on all of us, they brought us together and they went. Less left, until they decided to keep 12 players, in Benjamin’s first year.
I was very happy to represent Deportivo, to represent the team from my city, hopefully I can continue doing so for many years.
When you were little, was it difficult for you to combine training with studies?
No, it was never difficult for me to arrange anything, I was always very lazy, but not a bad student, but it was never difficult for me. Whenever I came home from training, I think I would arrive at nine o’clock, that’s when I would start studying, or before going to training. It always combined well, it never cost me.
Are you currently studying?
I currently do not study anything this year.
Do you want to dedicate yourself solely to football?
Yes, in part I’m already doing it, I’m only dedicating myself to that, I train in the morning and now I’m getting my driver’s license, but this year I stopped studying.
Do you practice any other sport besides soccer?
No, but recently I like boxing or kickboxing, doing something related to those sports.
We know that you played in the Youth League last season and that you were one of the most outstanding players, could you tell us about the experience?
Well, if I tell you the truth, at the beginning, the first games I was injured, then, going to the Riazor and seeing my teammates play there and everything that entails, with the fans and everything, well at first I didn’t know what At the moment, if I could play those games at the Riazor, then at first it was like, “what a shame I can’t be there due to injury.” But then in the end the circumstances arose and we passed the round and in the end I had an experience that, to tell the truth, I think is either the best or one of the best in my career, now in sports.
Unfortunately, you were eliminated on penalties by Dynamo kyiv, how did you deal with the defeat?
Well, the truth is that I was happy with the team, happy with what we had done, happy to be playing in that stadium and everything that entails with the fans and with all the people who supported us.
The defeat is a shame, but in the end it’s something very good, something that many players in that match will never feel or go through like that again. So, it’s a bittersweet taste, I say, a little sorry for the defeat but also joy for everything we did in the competition, everything we moved to be a youth team, which in the end is not the first team and very happy, in the end the sensations were very good.
Last season, you suffered an injury in the semifinal of the Champions Cup. What was that injury like and what did you feel at that moment?
The truth is, I felt very angry for not being able to help the team on the field, but at the same time, trusting a lot in my teammates, because they can also face that game just like me, in fact, you just have to look at the result.
After that, you went through a rough patch, the problem with the boots, the fiber breakage, the Covid… What helped you overcome those difficulties?
Well, the truth is, be calm, have a cool head and surround yourself with people, close friends and especially family members, who help you deal with this situation in the best possible way.
You are described as a person with great mental strength. Do you think that sport has helped you grow as a person?
Yes, it may or may not be, just the same if I did something else I would be stronger, or less strong, to this day, I don’t know that. In part because of what has happened, it may be so.
El Fabril has managed to ascend to the Second Federation, how do you see yourself at the team level and why do you think this has been possible?
At the team level this year we were a terrific group, one of the best I’ve been in in my time here at Dépor. I think it was that, that both on and off the field, we were an incredible group, I think that was the fundamental pillar for us to achieve our goal.
Do you have a specific goal that you would like to achieve?
My objective since I joined Dépor, which to this day I still have not achieved, is to be able to make my debut with the first team, in addition to others that I have later, to do things with the first team. But my main goal that I haven’t been able to achieve yet is to debut.
Do you have any reference in the world of football? And outside of this sport?
In the world of football, well, I would tell you the mythical ones, Iniesta, Messi… players who play in the same position as me. Outside of the world of football, my parents, I would not say other than my parents. I have no other reference other than them.
What does soccer mean to you?
For me football is fun and joy.
And finally, after twelve seasons at Dépor, do you still have the same illusion that that eight-year-old boy had at the beginning?
I think so, I believe that I maintain the illusion, because also, I am a person who, when I don’t like to do something, it is very difficult for me to do it, so if I did not have that illusion, I believe that I would not be at Deportivo. Just because I was too lazy to do it, my level would drop, my performance would drop, so I do believe that I do maintain that illusion.
