Shortly after arriving in Georgia in September last year, Kike Lopez ‘Cadet’ (Madrid, 1994) a funeral was found in the locker room of the Dynamo Tbilisi. The local team had lost 1-7 against Spain. A victory that Luis de la Fuente’s rival learned from. “They will never play with four at the back again”says the full-back of the most successful team in the country about the approach of Willy Sagnol which caused the disaster. The despondency of that September afternoon is the opposite feeling to the euphoria that was unleashed after the victory against Portugal that allowed the Georgian team to reach the last 16 of the European Championship in which they made their debut.
“If they win, they’re going to bully me. What awaits me,” jokes a nomadic footballer who has played in Mexico, Kazakhstan or Australia before moving to the former Soviet country, where he has been steeped in a deeply Catholic and nationalist culture. Its borders are under constant tension due to pressure from Russia, which is why they have developed a patriotism that overflows into the football team.
A feeling that has led to the Boris Paichadze Stadium being packed to the rafters, where Dynamo and the rugby team also play at home, something that the clubs cannot even come close to achieving. The victory over Portugal brought out the streets of the whole country with shirts of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the rest of the national heroes. Now it’s Spain’s turn, who they beat in a friendly in 2016 that they wanted to remember this week as the first step towards a miracle. Believers cannot be beaten.
Ask. How is a football nomad like Kike Cadete experiencing the experience of playing for Dinamo Tbilisi?
Answer. Here in Georgia we are going the other way around than in the West. We do the preseason in January, when, due to the cold, we go to countries like Türkiye. As there are few teams in the league (10 in the Erovnuli Liga) there are four rounds. In between we play tournaments like the Super Cup or the previous rounds of European competitions like the Conference. Both my wife, my daughter and I are happy. Of course we have mental differences, but it is a safe country, where people live without problems. For children there are American or British schools. Obviously, it cannot be compared with Spain, but it is peaceful.
Q. To what extent is the Russian influence noticeable in a country that repels this state, but with which they share history?
A. It is important to remember that being part of the USSR was important. They have a common past that influences them. Georgia is similar in some ways to Kazakhstan, where I also lived. Georgians are very religious, Orthodox Catholics. Therefore, religion is very important in everyday life. Tbilisi is the city with the most churches per inhabitant. You walk and every hundred meters you find one. I am not one, so it strikes me that they are always crossing themselves. The invasion of South Ossetia in 2008 made their nationalism extreme. Thus, near the capital, an hour by car, you reach an area where you enter Russia, although without a border as such. You cannot make incursions, because there are soldiers watching. The situation in Abkhazia, on the Black Sea coast – a de facto independent republic since 1992 – has also caused patriotism to increase. They consider Russia an invader. To understand the generational differences, most older people speak Russian, but those under 30 do not know the language. They even get annoyed if you speak to them in this language.
Supporters with Georgian flags before the win against Spain (1-7) in the qualification match for Euro 2024 played at the Borís Paichadze Stadium. / EFE
Q. With so much emotion, do you feel a lot of pressure playing for Dinamo Tbilisi, the most successful team in the country?
A. It is true that Dinamo Tbilisi is the most important team in Georgia, having won the USSR league, but it is going through a period of transition. I arrived last year in September and we had a good team, but the financial situation is compromised. This forces them to bring out players who are 16 or 17 years old, so in that sense we are suffering. As for the pressure, because they have such a patriotic mentality, the stadiums are only filled with the Georgian national team. Except for European competition matches, not many people come to see us. A few weeks ago, Andrés Carrasco left, who had been with the club for a long time (he resigned due to the results and Cadete was left as the only Spaniard in the team). It is true that it has affected me somewhat, because in the end he already knew me, but you end up getting used to it (the current coach is the Austrian Ferdinand Feldhofer).
Q. I have a feeling that qualifying for the last 16 was crazy…
A. They don’t really like football, they are fans of their team, because it represents their country. Against Portugal they went crazy. On top of that, the game was at 11 here, so it ended very late. With fireworks and everyone in the street. It was insane. In fact, there were colleagues who arrived dead the next day, because they had been celebrating the day before.
Q. What do you think are the keys to the explosion of the selection of Georgia?
A. In teams like Dinamo Tbilisi the youth team has worked very well and they have obtained a good batch of players of an even age. To all this we must add the Kvaratskhelia factor, the most outstanding footballer who also came out of the Dinamo Academy which, curiously, was inaugurated in 2013 by Cristiano Ronaldo, as shown in the image that went viral these days. They are well aware of his limitations. Against Turkey they played a good game, but their idea of the game is based on getting ahead thanks to men like the one from Naples or Georges Mikautadze (top scorer in the Euro Cup with three goals and a player from Metz). Footballers capable of having an individual situation with which to make a difference and then fall back. They all have the same mentality: they are going to death.
Kike López ‘Cadete’, Spanish player for Dinamo Tbilisi of Georgia, Spain’s rival in the Eurocup. / EPE
Q. What is clear is that against Spain they will not come out with a defense of four like in the 1-7 against Spain in the qualifying phase for the Euro Cup.
A. Surely not, because the four-member defense was what killed them. They do not have the technical level of Spain, but their involvement is much higher, as they demonstrated against Portugal. Although I had just arrived, I was able to witness the 1-7 score at the Boris Paichadze Stadium. The next day the Dinamo Tbilisi dressing room was a funeral. They were dejected. It had rained a lot. They were embarrassed to greet me because I was Spanish. I had to tell them that nothing was happening, that I wasn’t going to laugh at them because we had beaten them 1-7. But what I am clear about is that, in case Georgia wins, it is best that I not show up on Monday. They’re going to bully me. They are very serious. Since they found out that they were going to play against Spain they tell me to go with fear. My response is: ‘I don’t need to remind you how we finished in the last game.’ They tell me that it was a friendly…
Q. So it’s better to leave all confidence aside in Cologne from 9pm onwards…
A. You never know how these matches will go. So if the Spanish players don’t go into the match with the right mentality, they will suffer. Going out relaxed can hurt you, as happened against Portugal. If Georgia gets ahead, we will suffer. Spain will have a hard time for sure. The important thing is that they know that even though they beat Georgia 1-7, they are the same team that beat a favourite like Portugal 2-0. The less we respect our opponents, the more likely we are to lose a match in which Spain is technically and tactically superior. But we have to be careful with that favouritism.
The only match won by Georgia against Spain: June 7, 2016, in Getafe, with a goal by Okriashvili, Kike Cadete’s teammate at Dinami Tblisi. / EFE
Q. Do you remember the 2016 friendly in which you beat Spain? It was before the Euro Cup from France, which marked the end of the golden generation and the departure of Vicente del Bosque.
R. Wow, they remember! They beat us at Getafe with a goal from a player who is with us at Dinamo Tbilisi: Tornike Okriashvili. When we were talking about the game the other day, they told me how they were going to be afraid. That ‘Okri’ had scored a goal against Spain. It’s been a long time, but of course they don’t forget that they achieved that victory. Everyone remembers.
P. Against Georgia’s intimidation, Kike Cadete has certainly defended himself with the good play displayed by Spain in the group stage.
A. I have been surprised by the level of performance of the national team. They are all united. We have something that sets us apart that we have not had for a long time: the wingers, Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, capable of carrying out very dangerous counterattacks. To this we must add the control that we have with men like Rodri, Fabián or Pedri. The eleven players know what they are playing, they suffer and defend like a team. This is what brings us closer to winning, together with the humility of each one knowing what their role is.
Q. If the end is not as expected, to avoid the mockery of the Georgians you can always return to Spain, which you will surely miss…
R. In the end you get used to it, but we go there whenever we can. Having a family makes it more difficult. But watch out, if we lose I’ll have to say that I’m not Spanish…
2024-06-30 08:08:57
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