Cristian Romero interview: Tottenham defender nearly quits football after being world champions ahead of North London derby | Football News

For Tottenham and Cristian Romero, the way home is everything.

Stay alive by attending this Sunday’s North London derby against Arsenal sky sports premier league, this is not a situation the Spurs envisioned at the start of the season. Last season, both teams were two points behind. Now they’re somewhat chalk and cheese.

Arsenal lead the Premier League with near-perfect consistency throughout the campaign. On the other side of the split, we’re not quite sure which version of Antonio Conte’s Spurs squad we’ll get each week.

Sunday, January 15, 4:00 p.m.

4:30pm kickoff

Spurs have to deal with being 14 points behind their rivals heading into a Super Sunday showdown, but that means little for Romero.

“I think we can come back from this far away”, said the centre-back. sky sports in an exclusive interview. “But there’s a lot of work to be done with everything we have.

“If you’re at the top of the league, they deserve to be there and that’s where they belong. But we want to be there ourselves and we know we need to improve a lot. But we are working hard and thinking of ourselves…them.”

Romero knows you’ll come back from despair despite the signs against you. After freezing out, I almost completely left the game.

“I didn’t play well for a few games and then the organization said terrible things about me,” Romero recalls.

“It was a very difficult time. I was very young and it was my first year playing professionally. After that I spent about 18 months on the bench, always alone, always playing in the reserves.

Romero attempted a transfer and European clubs were interested in the young defender, but Belgrano refused to let him go. It was near the final straw of his blossoming career.

“I said [to the hierarchy]: “I don’t want to train anymore. I’m going to give up football. Either I’m going to have another job with my father, or another job,” he recalls.

“I didn’t feel like it, so I didn’t train for a couple of days. Then the sporting director came to me and said, ‘OK, you can go.'”

Look at Romero now. In addition to being Tottenham’s established Premier League player, he is also a back-to-back Argentine winner. Copa America, Finalisima, World Cup: it’s all in the bag. I wonder what the Belgrano hierarchy thinks of Romero’s success now.

“At the end of the day, these things are worth it to strengthen everything in your head,” he said when asked if he was thinking about lifting the World Cup this winter. increase.

“If I hadn’t gone through that, it would have been worse. This period was a very positive moment for me growing up. I have fond memories of it now.”

“Playing here in the Premier League, playing with the Argentinian team, winning with the Argentinian team, all those things are in the past.”

Still, some criticize his temperament more than his ability. For example, Argentina’s antics towards winning the World Cup were called into question. Of particular note is their enthusiastic celebration of Holland and France.

Two iconic photos stand out: Romero joined his international teammates and edged out their Dutch counterparts in the seconds following their quarter-final penalty shootout victory. Romero yelled at his hero Kylian in his Mbappe face for a hat-trick after Lionel his Messi beat Argentina 3-2. going to the finals.

Asked if people made up too much about the Argentinian antics, Romero quickly replied, “Yes, because people just look at the pictures.

“People don’t think about what was said before we got to this point. Against the Netherlands, they said too much before they actually got on the pitch and we were offended by it. was standing.

“They said we were not respectful, but it’s not true. I can understand what happens.”

“It was the same against France, Messi scored,” said Romero when asked about the incident with Mbappe. [Argentina’s third goal] And it all came out. It’s not the prettiest thing in the world, but it all came out. “

Romero now faces the possibility of another big game on Sunday, possibly the biggest on Tottenham’s calendar.

When asked where his aggressive style of play came from, Romero replied, “It’s always been there. It stays that way.” “The most important thing is that it is in me.

“I think some people think I’m doing something wrong. Aggression is a bit exaggerated in my opinion. The way I play is what got me where I am now.” He did, and that’s one of them.”

Romero, who speaks Italian in this interview, never mentioned the Arsenal name. He frequently mentions club names of Tottenham, Belgrano, former club Atalanta and Genoa.

But while describing aspects of Mikel Arteta, it “Lolo” (they).

“If I have to say something about them, they have a strong team,” Romero says. “Players and coaches have been together for a long time.

“They are in a critical period that they have been building over the years and we see them doing well at the moment. For us, we are in a position where we still need to grow.”

“This game is important. We have to win. We need results. It will be a difficult game but I believe in the team. Between us there is always motivation. Only the derby. No. A very important game.

“The Premier League is difficult. There are a lot of strong teams who have to give 100 per cent, otherwise we cannot play in this climate.”

“I know we’ve had a bit of ups and downs this season. I have to say that, but I want to win. We’ll do everything we can to win this game at home.”

Tottenham vs Arsenal will be live on Sky Sports Premier League this weekend on Super Sunday. Kickoff is at 4:30pm.