Oyarzabal: Many Underestimate Yamal; I Have a Good Relationship with Unai Simón

During Spain's national team training camp, Oyarzabal gave an exclusive interview to Radio Marca. In the fourth part of the interview (divided into four parts due to its length), he discusses his relationships with Yamal and Unai Simón.

Your opponents in the UEFA Nations League are England, Croatia, and Turkey. The first match will be played at Wembley, which is a big stage. They're strong opponents, and England were World Cup semifinalists. You're starting as defending champions, and every team will target you, looking to win the trophy.

Spain is always a team that everyone wants to beat, and that will be even more true now. We'll focus on ourselves, play well from the start, and try to get a win to make the rest of the schedule smoother.

Off the pitch, how is your relationship with Yamal? You play close to each other on the field, and your lockers are only two numbers apart. To outsiders, your personalities seem very different. Do you usually communicate? Do you have chemistry? Do you give him advice?

Yes, our personalities are very different, you could say quite opposite, but we get along well. Often, complementary personalities attract each other more. My relationship with him is very good and positive. I'll do my best to help him and offer some advice on the pitch about football.

He's as good as everyone sees. Even when he's not at his best — which rarely happens — he remains a threat. He can press opponents and also inspire his teammates. His teammates know he's always there on the pitch, which is very valuable in football, and many underestimate this.

Just like my role at Real Sociedad, Mourinho also mentioned during that season that in one match when the team was behind, he brought me on at the 50th minute. Everyone tries their best, and I also try to help, always ready to meet whatever the team needs, contributing in every way possible.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Athletic Bilbao are all looking for a number 9 striker, but none of them made an offer for you. I want to know what the technical directors of these clubs are observing. Have you decided to finish your career at Real Sociedad?

At least for this stage of my life, that's the plan. Although the future is unpredictable, I've said many times that in life and football, nothing is certain, and you shouldn't say never.

Have you seriously discussed this with your agent and family?

There are many rumors. Fortunately, my parents handle these things for me. I trust them enough that everything can be communicated, so my mindset is very calm, and so is theirs.

There are also two questions related to internet memes. Many people online have edited clips of you and Unai Simón from childhood to adulthood: youth teams, senior national team, derby matches. What's your relationship like?

I don't watch many of those edits; occasionally, I see clips that others send me. We have a deep friendship. We've known each other since around 2014 or 2015, playing together in various youth national teams, and have continued working together since joining the senior national team. We've also faced each other several times in derby matches. After years of friendship, there's a lot of mutual trust. Like other teammates, we get along well.

Many people say your personalities are very similar.

Yes, we have many similarities in our personalities.

Another topic: during the European Championship, there was a video where Zubimendi scored a brilliant goal but didn't celebrate it. At the time, some people commented that he lacked presence and fighting spirit, which sparked much discussion. During the World Cup, your famous phrase "negative wave" also went viral online.

When asked about this topic by journalists, I said that phrase, and then it spread everywhere and became popular. Of course, when we win, everyone thinks the statement is fine; if we lose, the evaluation would be different. But my intention at the time was to defend the whole team. The team is always what matters most, no doubt about that. Our performance in that first match wasn't bad, but the result wasn't ideal, and various voices mixed together, making public opinion very confused.

At the contract extension ceremony, De la Fuente said the best moment hasn't come yet, and now the team is starting a new journey. What do you want to say to Spanish national team fans? What could be better than what we have?

Please believe in him.

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