Juan Esnáider: “Not even on my birthday had they written so much to me”

Measure 1.83 meters, his dominant foot is the right and he wears the number 9, as his father did during his best days at Real Zaragoza. Juan Esnáider (Madrid, 01/31/1992), scorer for Navalcarnero in Segunda B, has the surname and blood of a historian from the Spanish League. His father is remembered by the Blanquilla fans for his great goal in the 1995 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Arsenal. He, The first-born of the Argentine forward, he has written his name in the history of the artistic club by scoring the two goals that earned Navalcarnero to culminate his comeback against a First like Eibar (3-1), sealing their classification for the round of 16 of the Cup.

What is it like to make history with Navalcarnero thanks to your double?

Neither on my birthday nor on Christmas had they written so much to me. We are not very media, but it is nice when it is your turn because it is nice that they recognize your work. We are happy. I had a day full of calls, but it’s not something to complain about either.

Between the snow and the pandemic … have they been able to celebrate it?

Little bit. Before we went home, but I celebrated with the family. Yesterday, at 8:30 am, we had to train.

Speaking of family, what has your father told you after the feat of eliminating a First team?

He is in Argentina now, enjoying a few days of vacation at the beach. He always takes time to talk to us and he complimented us both. Unfortunately, Facu (his brother, who also plays for Navalcarnero) could not participate in the match, but we made a call from home and he was very happy for us and what was happening.

Has your double, against Izarra, also in the Cup reminded you?

No, he doesn’t like it, especially when things go well for us. He doesn’t want to detract from us. We know that he scored a lot of goals. Luckily we can see them with the networks that exist today. We enjoyed them and I already showed them to my children, who have also seen their grandfather’s goals and I hope they can see more from their father and uncles.

Which of your father’s goals do you like the most?

I did not see all of them, because at that time there was not so much camera or video, but we have seen a lot and the Recopa, because of its importance, is one of the most beautiful.

And now it’s your turn to share a dressing room with one of your brothers, Facundo, is it the first time?

It is Facu’s first senior year and the first time I meet him, he has a great future, but little by little he will build it. Years ago I was with another of my brothers (Walter Iván) in Las Rozas. We are lucky to be able to play football, which we like a lot, and if you also enjoy it with your family, then even more.

How did you prepare for the game against Eibar with the snowfall that Madrid and its stadiums collapsed?

We thought we would get to the game with one or two training sessions, but in the end we were able to do four. Many people came to remove the snow from the field, fans, boys from the quarry …

And later, some of those people wrapped them up in the Mariano González Stadium against Eibar. How did you experience it?

It was very nice to live this moment with the people who came to give us their support. It is true that it is not so nice because with COVID-19 not all the people who should come could come. They told me that other years they experienced promotions here was incredible. Only 400 could enter, but it shows, they wrapped us up. Many of them had helped remove the snow. We like to be able to give this joy to the club and the people of Navalcarnero.

Now they are in the upper zone in the League, what objective do they have set?

When we started we did not set a clear objective, only to compete every week and get the maximum possible points because we know that Second B is a complicated League. Little by little we were adding and getting victories. Now, looking at the classification, we are ambitious and we want to be at the top. This year, in addition, with the new configuration of the League, to be among the top three is very important. So we will try to get as many points as possible in the next three or four games to be on top.

Going back to the Cup, which team would you like to face in the round of 16?

I do not care. Few people can live the experience of playing a round of 16 of the Cup. We go without pressure and who knows, maybe, doing things well as before, we can give another surprise.