Las Palmas: Saúl Coco, the defender who seems to have no roof

THe is 24 years old, but given his weight in the team, it seems that he has been a professional for ten years. Saul Coco He has not had a rest during the national team break, since he finds himself in Equatorial Guinea dreaming of one goal: qualifying for the World Cup. A path that began well last Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Namibia. Monday has the second stage in Liberia.

Also in Las Palmas he is dreaming big. He started the season as a substitute, but has recovered the position where he left such good feelings last year. With the team in eighth position, it is inevitable to look up. However, Coco prefers to keep his feet on the ground: “We would be wrong if we started daydreaming. I understand, as a fan, that you see yourself in eighth place and it makes you want to think big. But as players we have to be humble and know If we are not at 200%, it doesn’t matter. The first objective is permanence. Then, compete in each game and see how far we can go,” he explains in an interview with Televisión Canaria.

Coco’s part, though has scored a goal, is defensive solidity. He believes that he is part of the whole team. First of all, it is key to have the ball: “Everything about having the ball is to reduce the possibility that the opponent can attack you. Many times we have the ball and it seems that nothing happens, that it is an inert possession. But in reality we are defending ourselves and getting oxygen.” Another important one is solidarity of all colleagues: “Defensively we have emphasized defending, on equalizing the duel. Before we sinned in defensive work. We trained many situations in which we simulated losses to recover it as quickly as possible.”

The architect of success

What Coco is clear about is that UD Las Palmas is a block. A factor that, in his opinion, It is possible thanks to García Pimienta: “Since the coach has arrived, he has given us extra competitiveness. Our strength is the group, so García Pimienta is very much to blame for things going this well. We believe in him and we are all united” , sentence.