First team

TECATITO CORONA: "I FEEL HONOURED TO JOIN A CLUB LIKE SEVILLA"

14/01/2022

My football has been more about assisting and making plays. I would like to score more goals and continue assisting"

Sevilla FC's brand new signing, Jesús Manuel Corona, Tecatito, gave his first interview as a Sevilla FC player after his arrival in the Andalusian capital last night and after working under Julen Lopetegui this morning. "The first few hours have been very exciting, from the moment they welcomed me and my family, my teammates... They've given me a very positive welcome and it's going to help me fit in more quickly," he said.

"These last few days I've been anxious because I wanted to be part of this team. I've been talking to some colleagues, family, etc. and seeing what was the best option, whether to stay a little longer, to come... but I was very excited and that's why I'm here. It's a dream you have since you were a kid to play in Europe. Then you get to experience more leagues and today I can say that I am fulfilling a dream of being able to play in this league. Now it's time to keep working to keep achieving my goals," he continued.

"The interest has been there for some time. It's strange to suddenly find yourself in a different shirt, but I'm happy and have a smile on my face"

The Mexican explained the story behind his nickname: "In Monterrey they had Tecate as a sponsor. With my surname, Corona, they started joking that they couldn't call me that and that they had to find a solution. Between one joke and another, Tecate and Tecatito ended up sticking."

Moving on, Corona spoke about Sevilla FC's interest in signing him and how he has been feeling over the last few days: "The interest has been there for some time. I feel very flattered and it gave me a lot of encouragement to decide to come to a club like this, that's why I'm here. I already trained today. The three or four days have gone by very quickly. I've already had time to train, meet the teammates and work up a sweat... I already knew Óliver as a teammate in Porto. We became good mates there. It's a bit strange to spend so long in one shirt and suddenly find yourself in another, but I always have a smile on and off my face, because I'm delighted to have made this dream come true. The lads introduced me well... You can see a good human quality in the group."

"I feel very fortunate that a coach with the quality of Lopetegui has been interested in me for so long"

The new Nervionense player also made reference to Lopetegui, a coach with whom he coincided for a few months during his time in Portugal: "I've spoken to Lopetegui in recent days. He told me that he really wanted me to come here and I told him that it was mutual, but that we had to wait and see how it could be done to end up here. I feel lucky that a coach with such quality has been interested in me for a long time, at Porto and here. Apart from pressure, it gives me all the energy and motivation to show him that he made the right choice."

When asked about tomorrow's derby, Tecatito replied: "I'm ready to play. The rest is up to the coach to decide. I'm anxious and excited to be here and I know what's at stake tomorrow. We're going to be there in full force. Óliver told me that the derby is crazy. The atmosphere, everything... I'm going to like it because we experienced something similar with the derbies in Portugal. You were motivated and it made you eager and excited."

"Layún sent me a message and told me that I would love the club and that my family and I would love the city"

The Mexican also spoke about his arrival at Sevilla and revealed a conversation with a compatriot and ex-Nervión player: "A team like Sevilla are always looking to be in the top places, to have their name heard all over the world. I'm seeing that the demand is maximum, to win, to never surrender.. Layún spoke to me about Sevilla when he was talking about signing. He sent me a message and told me that I would love the club and that my family would like it and the city. He spoke to me very well about the club and congratulated me."

Lastly, Tecatito Corona set himself some challenges as a Sevilla player: "I set myself the challenge of showing what I've learnt all these years before and with the national team. I always want to score more goals, make more plays, defend more if that's my job... Everything I can improve on to be among the top players. My football has been more about assisting and making plays. I would like to score more goals and continue assisting. We are going to work on that and I hope I can achieve it. That's why I've chosen the 9."