It is the voice of the ‘shield man’. Maikel Mesa Piñero (La Laguna, Tenerife, 31 years old) finished with the bracelet in the eternal crying playoff against CD Tenerife -June 4-. After four campaigns in yellow, he analyzes without rancor his departure from Gran Canaria and his role in Albacete Balompié -he has four goals in the League-. “I am one of the worst rivals to be measured against in Las Palmas”, he determines. Bet on the yellow promotion: “They are a clear candidate.”
He returns to Gran Canaria as the offensive benchmark for Albacete. He left it on June 4 in yellow and against Tenerife. Sensations.
It is a special match, when you go to the Canary Islands, whether in Gran Canaria or Tenerife, you feel at home. A return to a very special stage, tremendously emotional. I was four seasons and I was happy.
Could the responsibility in your journey of yellow? What grade would you get from your four years at UD?
I never rate myself. If it is true that you leave with that penalty of not having achieved the goal of promotion [se quedaron en el playoff de semis ante el Tete y tras un final de liga espectacular con once duelos invictos]. I went for that [para subir a Primera tras llegar como alta de renombre en el verano de 2018 con Toni Otero]. I couldn’t have continuity, at first everything was going very well with Manolo Jiménez and it began to go wrong. I tried to turn everything around, the year without an audience [durante la pandemia] with Mel I played everything. The season started and I didn’t play. More shadows than light, but with the tranquility and happiness of returning to a place where you spent four years and gave it your all. I have that satisfaction; No one from UD Las Palmas can say that one day I trained less than the best on the squad. I’ll stick with that.
They will not whistle, he won the pulse of the stands forcefully. On the Island they continue to hold him in great esteem. Is it worth anything?
I feel very loved by them, by all the fans. Going back where you were loved is tremendously special. Difficult to value. I felt that people appreciated how professional I was. Some will like me as a player, others less. Everyone has their opinion and is respectable. But I have the fullness and happiness of giving myself from the first to the last day.
What was the hardest? Being away in Marbella with that famous photo of ‘Mondays in the sun’ -all the discarded and injured watching a game in the preseason-.
The hardest thing, always in quotes, was feeling that you couldn’t carry out your profession. You have to leave and you never want from a site that you have seen as yours. It was a psychologically screwed summer; But you have to take positive things out of everything. I went to another place and I also feel loved. I don’t take anything bad from UD Las Palmas. It is my home. But this is football and it is a business. I had to live the ugliest part of this sport.
Who put the cross on him? Who expelled you from the UD? Or was it simply a product of the vicissitudes of the salary reserve?
I don’t think it was one [un empleado, un ejecutivo] that he wanted me to leave. The UD is a company and many people rule and give their opinions. Many must make decisions. In the end the club takes over, a person cannot have so much weight to dictate that they did not want him to be there.
Did you think in July in pre-season that your situation could be redirected -every summer the name of the man from Tenerife appeared in the exit operation-?
No, from the beginning, it was best that I leave. Being in a room with three players of that ratio that they would come out of, the rest of the team were in normal rooms. Not training with the group…From the first day I put on the UD elastic I was the most professional in the world and seeing you away was very sad. It was hard. But I understand that this is football.
Does Albacete aspire to promotion?
No, of course not. We have to be realistic, we are the second squad with the lowest salary limit. I am the footballer with the most Second Division matches on the squad. Not to go up, but we fight with the illusion of saving ourselves and having a beautiful year. Albés will train in First Division soon and has made us compete in all fields. And that is very important. They will lack tables, experience, seniority… But we have managed to compete in all fields. And that is very difficult in such a long league. You have better days, worse days. But here we go, to face UD, the leader. It has one of the largest budgets, we are going to compete and the UD knows that we are going to compete.
What does the current UD have that the UD of the 21-22 academic year lacked?
Defensively, they have improved a lot. Before there was a psychosis in set pieces. They have given continuity to the mister [García Pimienta]. Last season, we started with one [José Mel Pérez] then it was changed. The results did not arrive and a more cloudy season originated. We fought for promotion but he didn’t give us the chance. Now they maintain the same line and have signed good footballers. Things are coming out, it’s a very tough category. I consider them: clear candidates for promotion.
The most original question in the history of contemporary journalism. If he scores, will he celebrate?
I don’t feel like it, I felt very loved and I still feel very loved. I want to win and I defend the colors of Albacete. I am one of the worst rivals you can face. Basically, because I am an upright professional. If I score, no fuss, celebration… All that is superfluous. I have felt loved, I feel the UD as mine.
He signed for a year at Albacete Balompié. Does it look yellow in another stage?
I limit myself to enjoying day to day, that’s why I came here. To be happy in that day to day, in the purest routine. I don’t look further. At the end of the season we will see, my girlfriend is here with me and I feel at home but far away. We are going to enjoy this course, then we will see.
