Valladolid had an important commitment this weekend at the José Zorrilla against Espanyol, a direct rival in the fight for permanence in the First Division. At the last minute, the Pucelano team could not count on Javi Sánchez, the undisputed central player in the schemes of coach José Rojo Martín ‘Pacheta’.
The reason for his absence was more than justifiable: the Madrid defender had just become a father. The 25-year-old footballer’s doubts about whether to play or not, taking into account his weight in the team, were quickly dispelled when he spoke with his coach. Pacheta convinced him to be with his family, as he revealed in the post-game press conference. A game that Valladolid won 2-1 and allows them to place fourteenth in the League, two points above relegation.
“Javi’s issue is a human issue. The boy had to leave. It was normal. Most of us are going to have a situation like this once or twice in our lives, four or five if you want to have many children, but I It is more normal for them to be once or twice, the boy had to go with his wife”, said the Soriano coach in his appearance to justify the absence of Javi Sánchez.
The speech about valuing fatherhood above all else quickly went viral on Twitter and was widely applauded by users.
“I was hesitant and I told him ‘go with your wife because you never know what can happen, you have to be there’. And then the emotion of the birth of a child… there is nothing better in life. Here (in football) we win and we lose, but the birth of life has no discussion, it doesn’t, and the boy had to go.”
Finally, he added that it was “a very important football match, but another teammate played and we won.” “He has been with his wife… everyone is happy. This is a matter of life,” he said excitedly.
