First team

JESÚS NAVAS ON ABP: 'IT MEANS SO MUCH TO BE THE CAPTAIN AND AN EXAMPLE TO THE SQUAD'

23/10/2018

'It was a great joy and honour to find out they have given my name to the stadium in the Ciudad Deportiva,' commented Navas

Jesús Navas was the star on last night's 'A Balón Parado' with Roberto Arrocha. The Sevilla captain spoke about both the team's and his own current mood, especially after the main stadium of the Ciudad Deportiva José Ramón Cisneros Palacios being named the Estadio Jesús Navas: 'It was a great joy and honour when the president told me.'

The wing-back started speaking about last Saturday's game against FC Barcelona: 'The team's attitude was really good. The first few minutes were what made us lose the game in the end, but on some occasions we were quite evenly matched. Ter Stegen put in a wonderful performance and stopped us from getting back into the game, but even still, I think that we're on the right path to achieve great things.'

'I've had some really great times here at Sevilla. Now, I'm having them again and I'm enjoying my time with the team. I really wanted to come back and play for my Sevilla, have fun with the fans and give it all out on the pitch. I'm in a great shape physically, I'm also at ease in this new position, the team is responding well to the manager; all of this is helping us pick up points,' said Navas about Sevilla's current situation.

'I'm in a great shape physically and I'm also at ease in my new position'

Sevilla's captain spoke about the day he was given the captaincy: 'Escudero told me that I had to be Sevilla's captain because this is my home. Carriço also rang me to say the same and obviously I accepted. Above all, it means that I have to be an example for the squad and teach them about the city, how much the fans mean and to step out onto the pitch aware of that responsibility.

Navas reminisced back to when Joaquín Caparrós gave him his debut at the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán: 'There's a lot of things that are still left over from that Jesús Navas back in November 2003. I'm still just as easy going and I try to be humble. I try to enjoy every day to the fullest and work as hard as I can. I'm turning 33 and I always remind Caparrós about the chance he gave me to make my debut.'

You can watch the full programme on Sevilla FC's official YouTube channel.