Few voices can be more authoritative to talk about the battle that will take place in the goals of the two representative Canarians in the silver category this Saturday (9:00 p.m.), than that of Manolo López, the mythical cat of Arucaswho defended the colors of both island teams.
The goalkeeper duel is served with Álex Domínguez defending the goal of UD Las Palmas, in what will be his first Canarian derby as the starting goalkeeper for the yellows and with the experienced Juan Soriano in front defending the colors of CD Tenerife.
For the current General Director of Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, the debut of the Granollers goalkeeper in the derby should not mean a competitive advantage for the Blue and Whites. “Footballers have to be prepared to play all kinds of matches,” says the former player. “I never believed that a footballer needs two or three games to demonstrate his qualities or to pick up the rhythm of the game, because in the end they all train the same and they do it with the same physical trainer, they all have the same diet, the same rest and they will surely be prepared to play this game, ”López reasons.
“I don’t think Álex Domínguez will take a toll on not having played a Canarian derby before, the boy had options to play at the time and played several games in which he showed that he has plenty of qualities to be able to be here”, adds Gato de Arucas, who believes that the Catalan goalkeeper “He will be enormously excited, like the rest of his teammates, and if he is at the club it is because he has plenty of conditions to be able to play games like this.”
Manolo López wanted to remember that in the specific position of goalkeepers they are always measured with a different standard than that of field players and on many occasions there are “tremendously unfair situations, because the goalkeeper is always going to be looked at for what he he fails and not because of what he does well.”
Despite everything, the general director of Sports does not believe that in this case the derby will be marked by “a battle in the goals”, but rather expects “an important game in which the dynamics with which both arrive, will not they have to have a lot to do with what will happen later during its development ». In his opinion: “This meeting comes at an important moment for both clubs. The UD that came from a negative dynamic after losing several games, to rescue that point at the last moment against Levante, will be good for them; and the latest results for Tenerife also give him a lot of confidence.
“It is difficult to give a forecast,” acknowledges the highest representative of Sports in the Canary Islands. “Today absolutely everything is known about the rival,” says López, recalling what happened to both UD and Tete during the promotion playoff last year, a circumstance that has served as a “spark” to recover from the blow suffered and reactivate the passion for its colors. “We have to take advantage of this circumstance to try that with this support from the fans the two teams can aspire to be in the promotion positions, to achieve the objective of seeing the two representative Canaries again playing a derby in the highest category”, concluded a hopeful Manolo López looking to the future.
