Bilbao, Leitza, Pamplona, Eibar… How about the farewell tour?
We have not organised the company as much as I have, it has been something that has come out of the way: several federations wanted parties of goodbye on one front and on the other, and it is true that I am experiencing exciting moments. There are many feelings at stake.

In all these years you have gained the respect and admiration of the hobby, you are a very beloved and appreciated pelotari. Do you feel it?
Love is always noticeable. In the ball it is very nice to win txapelas, for that we fight, but if you have to choose something from my career, what most fulfills is that respect from the hobby, that love. I thank you very much for the support you have given me.

You had the possibility of extending the contract, but you decided to leave the contract. Not everything is money…
No, not everything is money. Of course money is important, I also like it, but on top of that there are other things. It all starts and ends, and by me first and by the second ball enthusiast, by leaving the ball at the right moment that I deserved my life, putting it at the highest level. These are very difficult decisions, but we have to take them naturally; we have to know how to complete a journey and leave room for another person.

Some have been misguided by the abandonment of elite sport and a radical change in life. Former footballer Andoni Imaz told us: “We’ve been used to fame and money for many years, and all of a sudden the source of income is interrupted and the outbreaks are shut down, you don’t feel loved.” That other side, life after the ball, I still don't know, but the ball has taught
me a lot of things to deal with life, and I think I'm willing to make the transition. I know I am going to miss the fronts, but at the same time I look very happy about the future. While I'm professionally worried about starting from scratch in another job, I have a tremendous illusion to start doing something else. That people's attention will end and that I won't go on TV? All right, but that's done after all, and sport has also taught me to distinguish people and characters.

Will we see you in the courts like Xala vs Aspe?
No, I want to give a good end to the ball in all areas, also in relation to the company. What pity me is that Xala was a spectacular pelotari and I do not think that end is good or good for the ball. I do not know what exactly they have between them, sometimes they are things that happen in the workplace and I hope to achieve a satisfactory solution for both sides.

We have also heard a complaint from you about the functioning of the League. In 2011, for example, you couldn't play the final for couples, because they didn't give you the deferral for an injury. How many times have you stirred up with the decisions of the League of Companies?
Not only in ball but in all trades there are things to improve. It has happened that companies take decisions that sportsmen and/or amateurs did not feel right and therefore complain, that all this will serve to further improve the ball and to make sports criteria a priority when making decisions.

Have things changed a lot in 19 years? For example, and compared to other sports professionals, has it been able to modernize and adapt to the ball in the material, in the physical and psychological preparation… or does it see it too closely linked to tradition?
I do not believe that progress and tradition should follow different paths, very good progress can be made by maintaining some traditions and others not. In these years, the pelotari itself, the way of training, the physical preparation, the feeding… have remained the same, but they have changed the material (the balls are much faster now), the protection of the hands (today you have a type of tacos machine) or the physiotherapy, the interventions related to health…

Although protection and physiotherapy are better, injuries have not desaparecido.En professional sport will always be
lesions, because it brings your body to the limit and you have more chances of breaking it in one way or another. It cannot be said that professional sport is 100% healthy. It's part of the elite sport, and I think the athlete is mentalized for it. Improvements have been made mainly in recovery and rehabilitation.

We were talking about maintaining traditions. The ball follows the betting tradition, isn't it a dangerous world? Like
all the pleasures of life, measurement is the key and everyone will see where the limit is. Once I heard that the stupid thing is not to wager and do too many things, the craziest thing.

Another thing that has not changed in these years: The League is in the hands of Asegarce and Aspe. Would it have to hand in hand with the participation of more companies?
The more companies there are and the more open it is, the more positive it is for the ball. Companies are not to lose money and I see it logical that companies want to make money, but yes, it would be nice and beneficial if the market were more open.

You mentioned that balls are faster. Does the ball have more than the show now? The
fastest balls emerged for that purpose, so that the foremen could make more mating and hooks more effective. It has advantages and not so good, for example, playing by individual hand today is impossible; you have to play by the air. There will be fans who prefer the way they act 20 years ago and others than the present, but the ball before and the ball of now are not so different and both are precisely the shows they practice.

This year the Women’s Master Cup has been held for the first time. A step forward in the female hand ball?
No doubt. The other day I was in a ball-school and there were a lot of girls there. It gave me joy; seeing more girls and women in this sport is very positive for both the ball and society.

Your words from 10 years ago that you were interviewed: “When competitiveness is at stake, it’s hard to have friends.” Are you going to bring intimate costumes friends?
Yes, a lot. It's normal that when you're going to win, there's competition between me and the opponent, but then the contestants become friends, and the most beautiful thing I'm wearing about the ball is that: colleagues who have played with me and against me, friends that I'm going to keep in the future.

Since we talk about changing rooms, is the ball as Basque as it sounds? Do they speak Basque among you? In
general, yes, because most of the pelotaris are Euskaldunes and among those of us who know Euskera we work in Basque. After all, it is a Basque sport, a sport that unites us with the Basques.