Tuesday 03 August 2021, 00:30

Vallejo: Winning a medal would be the ultimate

  • Spain captain Jesus Vallejo speaks exclusively to FIFA.com

  • Praises his team for their work rate, commitment and dedication en route to the semis

  • Japan their next opponents: “We’ll have to run and run against them”


Out of the Olympic medals since Sydney 2000, Spain are firmly in contention for a place on the podium, having made their way to the semi-finals of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020.

Gold medallists at Barcelona 1992 and silver medallists in Australia eight years later, the Spanish missed out altogether on qualification for Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 and Rio 2016 and were knocked out in the group phase at London 2012.

As their current captain Jesus Vallejo explained in an exclusive interview with FIFA.com, they are only too happy to be back in the fight for gold, silver and bronze: “Being in medal contention shows that we got our pre-tournament preparations and our training right. We’re in the semis because of the work rate, commitment and dedication we’ve shown.”

Luis de la Fuente’s side have not had it easy on their run to the last four in Japan. They kicked off with a draw against Egypt, followed up with a narrow win over Australia, and then scraped a point against Argentina, which was enough to give them top spot in Group C.

“It was a team performance, and the team’s managed to get results even when the going has been tough,” said Vallejo. “You can see just how hard the competition is, though we’re getting better with every game, which is the most important thing.”

Vallejo and his team-mates were given another searching examination in the quarter-finals, by Côte d’Ivoire, who took a 2-1 lead in the 90th minute through Max Gradel, only for Rafa Mir to pop up with a stoppage-time equaliser. Mir struck twice more in extra time as Spain ran out 5-2 winners.

Reflecting on the game, Vallejo said: “We were really up against it at 2-1 down. We’d worked hard the whole game and yet there we were, trailing. We kept on believing, though, kept putting balls into the box, and Rafa Mir got on the end of one. It kept us alive and got us into extra time.”

Up next for Spain are in-form hosts Japan, who are also unbeaten and have conceded just one goal to date, despite facing the likes of France and fellow semi-finalists Mexico. The two sides know each other fairly well, having met in a warm-up match just two weeks ago.

“We could see from that game that they’re a well-drilled side, very well organised, and they’re good at what they do,” said Vallejo, who added that Spain will need to watch out for the pace Japan play at: “It’s going to be very tough and we’ll need to get some energy back into our legs because they’re going to make us run.”

Old acquaintances

Unlike Spain, Japan have an excellent recent record at Men’s Olympic Football Tournaments, having reached the semis for the second time in the last three competitions and gone six matches unbeaten on the Olympic stage. Yet though they will pose a stiff test, Vallejo is only concerned about Spain’s performance: “We can stop Japan by doing what we’ve been doing throughout the tournament so far: playing good possession football, using the well-grooved attacking moves we’ve been working on, and really sticking together when we’ve not got the ball, pressing hard when we lose it so we can win it back.”

Vallejo will be coming up against his Real Madrid team-mate Takefusa Kubo, though both have been loaned out in the last couple of seasons and have spent little time together.

“I don’t know him that well because I haven’t spent any time with him in the dressing room at Madrid,” said Vallejo. “I wish him well in his career. On Tuesday, we’ll be going out to compete and to win, and I just hope it’s us that make it through to the final.”

The four teams left in the race are all gunning for that shot at gold. Picking a favourite from them is no easy task. “I’ve already said that winning a medal would be the ultimate,” said Vallejo, discussing Spain’s podium chances. “There might be bigger competitions in football, such as the FIFA World Cup at national team level or the Champions League at club level, but in terms of sport as a whole it doesn’t get any bigger than this. Winning a medal – and I hope it’s a gold – would just set the seal on this whole experience. There’s no bigger prize for an athlete.”

Like any good captain, Vallejo has not forgotten the long and hard road his side have taken to this point: “It would be an amazing achievement after all the sacrifices we’ve made and all the preparation, not just this year but since 2018 when we qualified, since the European Under-21 Championships in 2019, and since the Games were cancelled in 2020. But we’re here now and we’re fighting for the gold. We need to make sure we deserve it.”

Vallejo and Spain’s dream is just a step away, albeit a tough one.

Dani Olmo of Spain celebrates after scoring their side's first goal