Yeray: “The competition for places makes us all better”

Athletic Club centre-back Yeray Álvarez said he is not concerned about the competition for places at the heart of the Lions’ defence, insisting it was good for the squad and made them better players.

The defender made his first appearance of the season on Tuesday against Espanyol, but he is fully aware he will have to keep fighting for a place in the starting XI with Athletic have three other top-class centre-backs in Iñigo Martinez, Unai Nuñez and Dani Vivian.

“Iñigo, Vivian, Unai Nuñez and I have to be at our best every day to convince the coach we should play,” Yeray said at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Basque Derby against Real Sociedad (21:00 CET).  “This type of healthy competition makes us all better, and ultimately, that benefits the team.”

The Barakaldo has now fully recovered from the knee injury that plagued him last season and had prevented him making playing a role this term.

“My only concern was to make sure the tendon recovered properly,” he said. “It was a complicated injury that kept me out longer than expected. I played my first game [of the season] on Tuesday and I felt very good.”

Yeray went on to praise the quality of the youngsters who have progressed to the first team, saying: “Players like Vivian, [Oier] Zarraga and Nico [Williams], etc are showing they have the ability and composure to play any game in the top division. That’s excellent news for us, and it shows that Lezama continues to produce good footballers.”

The Lions travel across the Basque Country to San Sebastian this Sunday, where they will face rivals Real Sociedad in the first Basque Derby of 2021-22.

Yeray added: “It will be a great match between two teams who are in good form. They’re doing really well, but we’re very confident in what we’re doing. We’re going to go all out to get the three points.”