Real Madrid's Esteban Granero: In The Madrid Youth System, One Does Not Acquire The Necessary Maturity

Posted Thursday, February 04, 2010 by Goal.com

Real Madrid midfielder and former youth product Esteban Granero held a press conference today in which he weighed in on the state of the Madrid youth sytem, as reported by Marca.

"It is not easy," said Granero of breaking into the first team. "Sometimes, it is too much to do it in only one step. For me it took two seasons, but it was not difficult for me because now I have returned better prepared. At times there are players of extraordinary quality that can make the jump directly from the reserves to play for Real Madrid, but one has to be very good and at the Castilla, one does not acquire the necessary maturity."

Speaking about his team's chances of catching Barcelona in the table, Granero expressed his confidence in the calendar. "We have to improve what we are doing. Although I believe it has been a very good first half to the season, to win La Liga we must improve. Now the stronger teams in La Liga must visit the Bernabeu and this gives us an advantage. But it will be difficult since these teams play very well. We are going to have to maintain a high level of play to win the Liga."

Speaking of coach Manuel Pellegrini's decision to field a highly offensive midfield that liked to maintain possession of the ball against Deportivo La Coruna (Granero, Guti and Xabi Alonso), El Pirata said that "it was important to have a lot of alternatives so that the coach can have options. I feel prepared to play and I have always believed that one earns his opportunities on the pitch."