Q&A With The Boys

Found this at ontd_football 

What is your best virtue?
Busquets: My character.

Pedro: People say it’s my humility. I would say it’s my friendliness.

Llorente: My tranquility, I’m a very normal guy.

Villa: My parents say that I’m a good boy [and a handsome one too!]

Capdevila: You should ask other people, but I think it’s my humility.

Arbeloa: That I say what I think.

Navas: My humility.

Reina: If it’s a virtue, that I’m a normal guy, I would say.

Mata: My sincerity.

Torres: I don’t know what to say about myself, I don’t know myself (laughs). People say my humility but I believe we’re all humble in our own way. I try to stay close to my family and friends. [Interviewer: success hasn’t changed you, that’s a virtue.] For a footballer, it’s important to differentiate between your professional and personal lives, they’re independent things and you shouldn’t let good or bad things affect you because the person should always stay the same no matter how much or how little success you have.

Albiol: Humility and simplicity, which my parents instilled in me.

Sergio: You should ask other people, but I think it’s my consistency and my heart.

1. Did you pack a computer in your suitcase?

Torres: Yes, I use it to watch movies, series and keep up to date with my emails. The web site I visit the most is Wikipedia and I always use Skype to talk with my loved ones.

2. Movies or TV series?

Torres: I’ve stolen all the series I have from Xabi Alonso, who has an assortment. I’ve had time to watch so many that I’ve finished with Lost and Prison Break, and I’ve started Californication, Boston Legal, and The O.C. My favorite ones are those two that I finished, but I didn’t like their endings

3. Your favorite movie and actors.

Torres: I’ve been watching more series as of late but one of the movies that has marked me is Life is Beautiful.

4. What kind of music do you listen to?

Torres: Right now I’m listening to Oasis a lot, which I haven’t done in a while, and also above all else Elvis. Doctor Cota is a huge fan of Elvis and he made me interested in his music. I’ve looked for information on him, I read information about his career and it’s very interesting. It’s impressive.

5. A song that has marked you.

Torres: A lot, but if I have to say one, I’d say “Wonderwall” by Oasis.

6. Do you play videogames?

Torres: Yes, I play football games. I didn’t enter the competition that we have in the camp because it was closed already. The slots were taken rapidly (laughs).

7. What book are you reading in South Africa?

Torres: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari.

8. What is your best virtue?
Busquets: My character.

Pedro: People say it’s my humility. I would say it’s my friendliness.

Llorente: My tranquility, I’m a very normal guy.

Villa: My parents say that I’m a good boy [and a handsome one too!]

Capdevila: You should ask other people, but I think it’s my humility.

Arbeloa: That I say what I think.

Navas: My humility.

Reina: If it’s a virtue, that I’m a normal guy, I would say.

Mata: My sincerity.

Torres: I don’t know what to say about myself, I don’t know myself (laughs). People say my humility but I believe we’re all humble in our own way. I try to stay close to my family and friends. [Interviewer: success hasn’t changed you, that’s a virtue.] For a footballer, it’s important to differentiate between your professional and personal lives, they’re independent things and you shouldn’t let good or bad things affect you because the person should always stay the same no matter how much or how little success you have.

Albiol: Humility and simplicity, which my parents instilled in me.

Sergio: You should ask other people, but I think it’s my consistency and my heart.

9. And your worst characteristic that you would like to change?

Busquets: My impatience.

Pedro: My shyness.

Llorente: Everyone says it’s my absent-mindedness, but I assure you it’s been corrected.

Villa: My wife tells me that I have to be more organized at home.

Capdevila: I hold grudges.

Arbeloa: I have a lot, one of them is that I’m very stubborn and proud.

Reina: I’m a bit impulsive at times.

Mata: I’m messy.

Torres: I have to learn to listen and I’m very absentminded. I forget a lot of things, and I’m horrible at remembering faces and names. When I meet people, I don’t even remember later on that I met them. And then I don’t greet them later on simply because I forgot, not for anything else. [Interviewer: and your shyness?] That’s not a bad characteristic, it’s good in some ways, but in other ways I see it more as a good part of my personality.

Albiol: I’m quite stubborn.

Sergio: Pride.

10. A vice that you confess to.

Busquets: I bite my nails.

Villa: Chocolate.

Capdevila: I bite my nails.

Arbeloa: Coca Cola.

Navas: I don’t have any.

Reina: There are vices that you can confess to?

Mata: I’m addicted to Entourage.

Torres: I love all types of candy.

Albiol: I love candy and Coca Cola.

Sergio: Chocolate.

11. Do you have any superstitions?

Busquets: I don’t have any, but sometimes if I do something and the game goes well, I’ll repeat it for one more day, but not longer than that.

Pedro: I make the sign of the cross when I enter the field.

Llorente: Sometimes, I make the sign of the cross, but I don’t do it for superstition. I don’t really have any manias.

Villa: I’m not very superstitious. The only thing I do during games is enter the field with my right foot.

Capdevila: A lot! When I get dressed, I start with my left foot. I first wrap my left foot, I step on the field with my left foot, I jump three times before the game, I try not to step on the lines. Each day I acquire more.

Arbeloa: I think superstitions lead to bad luck but I do have some rituals.

Reina: A lot. I prefer not to say because some of them would seem surrealist.

Mata: I have manias, I put on the left shinguard and boot first, and I step on the field with my right foot.

Torres: No, practically none.

Albiol: No, because in the long run I forget them.

Sergio: Yes, a lot. I’ll tell you two. I tie my right boot first and I enter the field on my left foot.

12. What do you hate most in this world?

Busquets: People who don’t know what they’re talking about.

Pedro: Lies.

Llorente: The injustices that exist.

Capdevila: Watching a game from the bench or from the stands. I suffer a lot more there. I get very tense.

Arbeloa: Traffic jams, when people smoke while I eat, when I get woken up from siestas, speed bumps, vuvuzelas (laughs). The last one is a joke! But as you can see, a lot of things.

Reina: Unjustifiable lies.

Mata: Injustices and lies.

Torres: Envy and people who think they know everything. I don’t like it when people talk about what something they don’t know. You have to talk about what you know, and nothing else.

Albiol: People smoking while I’m eating. I also hate not being able to find parking.

Sergio: Lying.

13. When was the last time you cried?

Busquets: It takes a lot to make me cry. In football, the last time was from happiness, the day we won the triplete by beating Manchester United in the Champions League final.

Pedro: When we were eliminated from the Champions League by Inter de Milan. It was very difficult. Some tears fell.

Llorente: When Athletic lost the final of the Copa del Rey to Barcelona.

Villa: In the Confederations Cup when we were eliminated in the semifinals by the U.S.

Capdevila: When I had to report for training camp with the national team. I had to leave my newborn son, my family. I was a bit sad.

Arbeloa: I don’t remember.

Reina: Not long ago. To tell you the truth, movies make me cry.

Mata: Out of happiness, when I was called up for the World Cup in South Africa.

Albiol: I cried a lot when I was staying in the hospital after the accident.

Sergio: I don’t cry a lot. The last time was when my mother had an operation several months ago.

14. What makes you lose your patience?

Villa: When my daughters scream while I’m driving.

15. What would you be the best in the world at?

Busquets: Nothing. I’m good at a lot of things, but not the best.

Llorente: Nothing (laughs).

Villa: Configuring the Blackberrys of my teammates.

Capdevila: In losing at pocha (laughs).

Arbeloa: Unfortunately, in nothing.

Reina: In beating my teammates at pocha (laughs) [well then, Pepe and Joan make quite the pair!]

Mata: In ping-pong.

Torres: In forgetting things.

Albiol: I don’t think in anything, you’ll always find someone better than you in everything.

Sergio: In nothing, but I assure you that I’ll try to be the best in anything that is proposed to me.

16. The best advice you’ve received.

Busquets: To always stay calm and confident, so that in the end you can do things your way. My father told me that.

Villa: A lot from Quini and from my father. The one that was the most repeated was to always be me and to not let anything change me.

Capdevila: To always stay humble, no matter how things go, to always remember where I came from and who I am.

Arbeloa: Listen to your father.

Navas: I’ve gotten a lot of good advice. In the world of football, mostly from Pablo Alfaro, who was my roommate my first pre-season in Sevilla, and from Joaquín Caparrós. Pablo told me to continue doing what I had been doing and to enjoy it, and Caparrós is a coach that demands the maximum from you and brings out the best in a player. He asks for everything and you have to respond with work and humility.

Reina: My father told me to stay humble and to always be a good teammate.

Mata: My father told me this when I started: enjoy everything that you go through in football and take advantage of every opportunity that you have.

Torres: That I should know that without my teammates, I’d be no one. Rafa Benítez told me that.

Albiol: To stay how I am and not change, regardless of what other people say.

Sergio: My father told me when I started playing football to always be myself, to respect everyone, to stay humble and to never forget where I come from.

17. iPhone or Blackberry?

Pedro: Blackberry, although I don’t know how much it will cost to use it in South Africa.

18. Your favorite food.

Busquets: Anything that my mother makes, she cooks super well. There’s nothing like her spaghetti in carbonara sauce or fideguá.

Pedro: Pasta and rice. People think it’s strange but I usually eat the same thing in the camps. I also like my mother’s special vegetable stew, salted fish, potatoes…

Llorente: Arroz a la cubana.

Villa: Fabada. My mother, my mother-in-law, or my wife’s.

Capdevila: Lobster paella, my mother’s meatballs and the partridge that my father makes.

Arbeloa: I’ve always liked a good steak with potatoes, a pizza or a McDonald’s hamburger. But lately I’ve been craving Japanese food. I’ve become addicted to it.

Navas: Steak with potatoes, but I also like cuchareo.

Reina: Huevos rellenos.

Mata: Fabada.

Torres: Any type of seafood and the quail that my wife’s grandmother makes.

Albiol: The food in my parents’ house, especially paella and rice baked in the oven. Outside, I love McDonald’s.

Sergio: My mother’s chicken in sauce.

19. A symbol of Spain.

Villa: Iker Casillas.

Capdevila: Indurain. That’s the first thing that comes to mind.

Arbeloa: Miguel Indurain.

Navas: Nadal.

Reina: I’ll say two because they’re both Spanish sports symbols, our best representatives in the world: Rafa Nadal and Pau Gasol.

Mata: La furia.

Torres: Our flag. People identify us with sevillanas and bullfighting but for me Spain has much more important things.

Albiol: Miguel Indurain.

Sergio: Rafa Nadal.

20. Your idol.

Busquets: Xavi Hernández.

Pedro: I liked Rivaldo a lot when he was at Barcelona. Luis Enrique and Guardiola too. Now I play with Leo Messi, Andrés Iniesta and Xavi. It’s a privilege and a pleasure.

Villa: Quini and Luis Enrique.

Capdevila: When I was a kid, Van Basten. Later on, in Espanyol, Lardín.

Arbeloa: Zidane.

Navas: Figo, and also Ronaldo when he played at Barcelona.

Reina: Zubizarreta and Molina.

Mata: My parents.

Torres: Kiko.

Albiol: Michael Jordan.

Sergio: Camarón.

21. When you were small, what posters did you have in your room?

Busquets: Barcelona.

Villa: A lot of football players. Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Juanele.

Capdevila: I had a bedroom full of football posters. I didn’t care which team or country. I continuously cut them out from the newspapers. I had an extreme passion for football.

Arbeloa: Posters of movies, such as Bad Boys or Braveheart.

Navas: I didn’t have any, I never had any, and it wasn’t because I wasn’t allowed to.

Mata: I didn’t have posters, I wasn’t a fan of any player in particular.

Torres: Of the doblete of Atleti, of Super Depor, of a lot of players, including Kiko, Pantic and Caminero.

Albiol: I had posters of footballers, including some of Michael Laudrup.

Sergio: Footballers, I loved Pablito Aimar.

22. An unforgettable memory of your life.

Villa: The births of my daughters.

Capdevila: Watching the birth of my son.

Arbeloa: April 26, when my daughter Alba was born.

Reina: The day I got married and when my daughters were born.

Mata: Leaving my parents and my sister when I was 15.

Torres: The birth of my daughter.

Albiol: If it’s a good moment, the birth of my two daughters, if it’s bad, my parents’ suffering when I had the car accident.

Sergio: The smile of my family.

23. A sport and an athlete.

Busquets: Basketball and Juan Carlos Navarro.

Pedro: Tennis and Rafa Nadal.

Llorente: Tennis and Rafa Nadal.

Villa: Tennis and Rafa Nadal.

Capdevila: Tennis and Rafa Nadal. He’s a crack.

Arbeloa: Besides football, I love basketball and tennis. So, Pau Gasol and Rafa Nadal.

Navas: Rafa Nadal, for his work ethic, his desire to win and keep winning. I’ve always had that impression of him.

Mata: I’ll say two, tennis and basketball. Roger Federer and Michael Jordan.

Torres: Tennis and Rafa Nadal.

Albiol: Better two of each: Formula 1 with Fernando Alonso and tennis with Rafa Nadal.

Sergio: Tennis and Rafa Nadal.

24. What was the first football jersey you received as a gift?

Busquets: They put me in a Barça kit when I was just a baby.

Pedro: Barcelona’s. I was always a fan of Barcelona for my brother, who was an even bigger fan than me.

Villa: The national team’s.

Capdevila: Either Mattaeus’ Germany one or Papin’s France one. One of those two. I can’t remember.

Arbeloa: The national team’s.

Navas: I don’t remember.

Reina: Zubizarreta’s Barcelona shirt.

Mata: One of Burgos, where my dad played. I remember the photos of me as a baby on the field with the uniform of the team.

Torres: It was from Atlético de Madrid, with the name Pantic on the back.

Albiol: Van Basten’s Milan jersey.

Sergio: Sevilla’s.

25. An unforgettable moment in your career.

Busquets: The day I went to train with the first team and Guardiola told me I was going to play.

Pedro: The debut with Barcelona. It was very important, beautiful and special. I will never forget it. I always remember when Frank (Rijkaard)
called me so that I could debut.

Llorente: My debut with Athletic in San Mamés (against Espanyol, on Jan. 16, 2005).

Villa: The goal against Sweden in the Eurocopa.

Capdevila: My debut with Espanyol in San Mamés.

Arbeloa: I think that’s still to come. [Smart boy!]

Navas: There are a lot, I can’t just say one. The debuts with Sevilla and the national team, and also the titles I’ve won with Sevilla.

Reina: I’ll give you two if you let me: when we won the Eurocopa and the Champions League that I won with Liverpool in penalties.

Mata: My debut with the national team and the Copa del Rey that I won with Valencia.

Torres: The final of the Eurocopa in Vienna.

Albiol: I think it’s still to come and it’s not far away. What we’re going to go through on July 11 is going to something unforgettable in all our careers.

Sergio: The day we won the Eurocopa in Vienna.

26. Your last/biggest splurge as a footballer.

Busquets: My house.

Llorente: A Porsche Panamera.

Villa: An iPad to bring to South Africa.

Capdevila: I bought myself a car, a BMW X5.

Arbeloa: I splurge a lot, but if I could spend a lot on anything, it would be on vacations.

Navas: I bought a Mercedes four years ago.

Reina: A house.

Mata: My apartment.

Torres: Helping my siblings with whatever they need.

Albiol: I don’t splurge a lot, but if I had to say something, it would be my car, a BMW X6.

Sergio: The house that I live in with my entire family.

27. If you weren’t a footballer, what would you be?

Llorente: Something related with another sport or training.

Navas: The truth is, I never thought about it, but I’m sure something related with sports.

Mata: Something related to advertising or marketing.

Albiol: A personal trainer.

Sergio: Tennis player. I love playing tennis. [Not a bullfighter? Or flamenco singer?]

28. Mourinho or Guardiola?

Busquets: Guardiola, because he’s my coach, I know how he works, his methods and I debuted in the first division at his hands.

Arbeloa: They’re both excellent coaches but I haven’t worked with either of them. Obviously, right now I would choose Mourinho.

Albiol: They’re both coaches that have demonstrated that they are the best in the world and I don’t know either personally, but I’ll say
Mourinho.

29. Your first memory of a World Cup.

Busquets: The 1998 World Cup when France won the title with Zidane, Thuram and Djorkaeff. Spain did poorly.

Pedro: I watched France ’98 on TV, Zidane scored two goals in the final. I have a desire to live it from the inside.

Llorente: Luis Enrique’s broken nose in the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

Villa: Unfortunately, it’s Tasotti’s elbow to Luis Enrique in the 1994 edition.

Capdevila: Italy ’90. The small, bald Italian forward that scored a lot, Toto Schilacci.

Arbeloa: U.S. ’94. Unfortunately we didn’t do too well.

Navas: The Spain-Nigeria game in the 1998 World Cup, which we lost 2-3. Those were difficult moments.

Reina: The 1994 World Cup when Luis Enrique’s nose was broken and Italy eliminated us.

Mata: The 1994 World Cup in the U.S., the elbow to Luis Enrique and Roberto Baggio’s missed penalty.

Torres: I remember getting up with my brother at dawn to watch the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. for Spain’s first game, which they tied 2-2 with Korea. That’s my first memory because in Italy ’90 I was only six, I’m sure I watched it but I don’t remember it.

Albiol: The one in the U.S. in 1994, especially Sweden’s two forwards, Kenneth Andersson and Dalhin.

Sergio: The elbow Luis Enrique received at the 1994 U.S. World Cup.

30. What will you do if you win the World Cup?

Busquets: Anything that’s not too strange. Shave my head, walk the Camino de Santiago. Anything to be champions of the world.

Pedro: Enjoy it with my friends, with my family and treat myself to a good trip. If people go crazy, I’ll join in.

Llorente: I would enjoy it a lot. If I have to make a promise, it would be to do some extreme sport. I would never do the typical things like shave
my head. I don’t like that.

Capdevila: I’ll get a tattoo of the Cup.

Arbeloa: During the Eurocopa, I said I would dye my hair red and yellow but I didn’t do it. So now I’ll say I will spend an entire year without
drinking Coke.

Navas: I will be the happiest person in the world. I don’t know what I’ll do. Maybe cut my hair, do whatever, since it’ll be the best thing ever.

Villa: I’ll first celebrate it at Colón with all my teammates and the Spanish fans. I don’t promise to do anything crazy physically, such as shave my head or anything like that, I’m already grown up. And I’ll also go all out celebrating it with my friends when I return to Asturias.

Reina: First we have to win it because I don’t even want to start thinking about that now.

Mata: Return to Spain with that guy that traveled by Vespa to South Africa.

Torres: If we win, whatever you ask me to do. [Interviewer: give me something that you promise to do, and don’t give me anything related to
your look, since you’re used to changing it once in a while.] You’re right (laughs). Making promises related to hair is easy. That wouldn’t be any problem and the occasion requires something bigger. (Thinks) I know, if we win the World Cup, I’ll do the Camino de Santiago. I’ll do it one day, just don’t ask me to do it as soon as we return to Spain because I want to rest and enjoy my vacation.

Albiol: Learn English, something I need to do.

Sergio: Get a tattoo of the World Cup.

31. A dream.

Llorente: To win the World Cup.

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