Alba Prieto: “I will not continue in Ensino next year”

Alba Prieto (Seville, 1999) has numbered his days at Durán Maquinaria Ensino. His spell at Lugo, which began as a junior in 2017 and continued in 2020 after two seasons as an apprentice at Leganés, will end next Saturday after the final matchday. He decided to change the environment. He admits this in this interview with La Voz just one day after leading his team to victory in the visit of IDK Euskotren Pazo.

— MVP Ensino one more day. At the moment he is in, he will regret that the league is over.

– It is true that I am going through sweet moments, certainly the sweetest in my career, but my body also needs rest. It was a very intense campaign and fatigue is starting to show.

— In the last league, he had an average of only four points, and in the current league it is at 13.6. How did you get that?

– The arrival of Antonio helped me a lot. [Pernas] to the bench because it gave me the opportunity to play without so many ties and to have more freedom on the field. The key is to be confident in what you are doing and feel valid within the group. Apart from that, I felt very good physically throughout the championship.

—The current coach’s style matches his characteristics. Does not believe?

-I am sure. He likes his teams to run and play in transition in seconds, and that game plan clearly benefits me.

— You were previously under the orders of Carlos Canter, Miguel Ángel Ortega and Fernán Varela. What were they like?

“Completely different. Carlos was a very demanding coach, with very clear things and who always had 100% of the players. Ortega was unlucky in Lugo because due to various circumstances he had to live a very difficult year. And Fernán, despite his it was the first experience as a head coach in the category, he did a very good job.

— I conclude that of the four, he stays with Pernas.

— (laughter). Yes, I like him very much. He already coached me for the two years I was at Leganés and we have a very good relationship.

— At the beginning of the league, it was calculated that Ensino would be in the “play off” for the title. What do you attribute the absence to?

— Blanca Millán’s injury reduced us a lot. In addition, we were with only nine players for a long time and we blamed the quality of training for that. A run of five games without a win also took its toll on us. But even though we didn’t make the playoffs, I think the whole team did a good job.

— I’m interested in why you were so emotional with president Manuel Durán at the end of the match with IDK. It felt like goodbye.

Yes, it was a farewell. I won’t be here next year. It was my last game in Lugo and emotionally it was difficult. It was a stage of progress, from smaller to larger, and precious. I will carry Lugo and Ensin in my heart all my life. I am very grateful to the president for trusting me.

— I heard that Zaragoza, the current Cup champion, is one of the clubs that wants to sign him.

—There is interest from several teams, but nothing is being done at the moment.

— He arrived in Lugo as a junior. It is not common for someone so young to go so far from home to play in the youth wing of a modest club.

— I was in a club that competed in the First League and was dissolved because it was financially unsustainable. I wanted to continue playing for a club from the Women’s League-2, and of all the options I had, Ensin convinced me the most.

— His father, José Miguel Prieto, played soccer for Sevilla for 14 seasons. Sport carries it in the genes.

— In my house, sport is lived with passion. And we are big football fans. I changed basketball to football when my older brother did too.

– Why was he nicknamed the Shark?

— Because he bit, in football terms, ha ha ha. He was a very aggressive player and they said he passed the ball or the player.

“The last two. Who will win the Endesa league and who do you think is the best player in the category?

– It is difficult to predict the title. I would say Avenida or Valencia. As for the best player, I prefer Gardner from Girona.