“We would all like to have Aduriz by our side”

Ibai Gómez has answered in the press room of Lezama to the questions that the media have sent him telematically and live via the web. Many of them referred to the recent decision of Aritz Aduriz of retiring definitively yesterday. “As his teammate and red-and-white supporter, this is difficult news to assimilate. We are talking about a player who is at the top of Athletic’s history. He is a world legend,” says Ibai.

The red-and-white player considers “unfair” the way in which Aduriz has had to retire, with hip injuries preventing him from continuing his career: “I wish it had been a title celebration, but circumstances have prevented it from happening. It was what he deserved, and we feel very sorry for him. We can only thank him, and I am convinced that we will take out the barge and he will be in it. With time we will realize even more about what Aduriz is for Athletic.”

Ibai Gómez remembered the first time he met Aduriz in Lezama: “I was surprised by his great competitive spirit. He always wanted to win, in training, in the matches, in everything. He is probably the most competitive teammate I have ever met, and what he has in terms of competitiveness, he also has in terms of being a good person. We would all like to have an Aduriz by our side.”

In response to questions about the return of La Liga behind closed doors, Ibai describes the feeling of playing without an audience as “strange”: “We have seen it in the Bundesliga, it is very strange. Of course, we have all played at some point before we became professionals, without an audience or with very few, and we enjoyed it to the full. This is our job, but it is also our hobby, so we will give our best.”