Luis Manuel Villa López, commonly known as Luisma is a famous Spanish footballer who is known for his unique and fabulous technique.
He started his footballing career in 2007 when he joined Racing de Santander and he also played in Segunda División B, and Conference Premier. He has recently joined Bengaluru FC in January as a forward.
In the recent interview at Betway Football, where he was asked some intriguing questions and personal questions about Indian Football. Let’s take a look at how he replied to those questions.
What was it like living in India?
“There are a lot of foreign players and coaching teams that are living in these apartments along with locals.’
“Having other people from your own country helping you also make the distance more bearable. I am lucky to be present here at the same as Javi Pinillos, who was the goalkeeper coach from my time at my previous club Racing. Javi has always been there to help me from the time I set my foot in Banglore.”
“We also like to roam in the city on a tuk-tuk, visit the shops, eat in restaurants.”
“Whenever we have free time, we rest and watch matches, go to the city center on a tuk-tuk, travel around the city, visit the shops, eat in restaurants, and go for coffee. It is more or less the same thing you would do at any place.”
What were the Indian players like?
“Indians are great players. They are very professional and hardworking in improving themselves as well as making themselves able to help their team.”
“Sunil is the icon of football in his country. He has scored the most number of goals for his national team. Although he is 35-years-old, he still trains like he is still 18. This is very important as it shows ambition, hard work, and sacrifice to achieve anything as well as inspiring especially to the younger generation.
Chhetri is a player who is always set to get more goals. He is very quick and clever and most of all he knows how to make chances to get behind the defence.”
“Gurpreet Singh Sandhu is a great goalkeeper who is always in good shape.”
“I have never seen a player as fast as Udanta, and maybe that's the reason they call his Flash, and the greatest advantage with him is that he is only 23 years old and have a lot of room to improve.”
“Overall, on the field, they are very hardworking and off the field, they are just like normal guys. They were at a good level and they keep improving.”
How did you communicate?
“We all speak in English. Some speak better than others, but in the end, we all are able to understand each other.”
“I have an average command on English, it isn’t great but it’s not bad, either. In times, I am getting better.”
“When I was in London, at first, due to fear of embarrassment in case I got something wrong, I didn’t speak much. With time I started loosening up and quickly improved.”
“I started learning English in Spain and took another course before I arrived in India.”
How did the ISL compare with playing in England?
“This league is a little different. The fifth division [in England] was much harder, with lots of force, physical contact, long balls, and 4-4-2 formation.”
“On the other hand, Indian Super League is a bit slower, with more control of the ball and players having more individual technique. If compared, they are very different leagues.”
Do you think more players should go abroad for opportunities?
“Unquestionably. A lot of Spaniards leaves of India and other countries.”
“Players in Spain are very good, and more and better players are leaving.”
“I have always enjoyed playing abroad and I think that it is something every footballer should try at least once in their life.”
What was the final like?
“It was just one more game for me.”
“In the finals, I started on the bench and came on the field in the second half, when the score was at 0-0. At that time I was only thinking about how I could do my best to help the team.”
“I have already spent a lot of years playing this game, so I am used to controlling my emotions. I always try to do the right things and enjoy the moments. I don’t get nervous as I rarely think about it.”
You can read more about Luisma on Betway’s Blog.
