Pardo: ‘I had very good recommendations for Mars – Delighted to be here’

Ruben Pardo spoke to “Mundo Maldini” about his stay in Greece and his move to Mars. The Spanish midfielder, with statements he made, referred to the way in which the interest of the “yellows” arose, in Loren Moron and Akis Manzio, while he spoke about Thessaloniki and his goals with his new team.

His statements in detail:

For his first impressions of Greek football: “Greek football surprises me every day for the better. There is passion from the people. There is a lot of football here. As far as racing goes, there’s plenty of room when you want to attack so it’s a bit different than what I’m used to. I think I will be able to do it quite well and I enjoy playing football in this league.”

For his first goal: “The goal against Olympiakos was a powerful shot with the right foot. I had come on as a substitute at half-time, it was my second contact with the ball and it went…in”.

For Manzio and his own adaptation: “The truth is that our coach is good. Things are clear. When I arrived at Aris, he also came almost the same day, because the previous technician moved away. Things are good now. We have a break and we went somewhere for a mini-preparation and we are working on both the physical and the tactical part. Our coach is trying to make everything clear and I think we are going well”.

For Loren Moron and Thessaloniki: “Moron is in great shape. He plays, goes well, scores goals, shows and is happy, and in the end that’s what we footballers are looking for. Let’s be happy and enjoy football, which is our job. For example, like Loren, I am now in a very happy moment here in Thessaloniki. And the city is very beautiful and similar to what we live in Spain. In the group we are many people who speak Spanish, there are Latin Americans. I feel very comfortable here in Thessaloniki and in Aris”.

For his first derby, this one with PAOK: “This was amazing madness. It was my debut assignment, only my second week. When the match was approaching everyone was talking to me during the week that we have to win, you have to play a great game. You know how they are in a city rivalry. On the street everyone shows me their love. They were telling me that we have to win. In the end we stayed at zero and had some chances to win”.

On his choice to sign with Mars: “My contract in Madrid ended in Leganes and it’s true that I had offers. You prioritize a team that shows they want you a lot. At the beginning of the summer I spoke to the people at Aris and they made me an offer and they all said the best about the club. I talked to my family and we decided to wait a bit. They kept insisting. Offers were coming in, I got a lot of looks. So we reached the end of August.

They called me again. I sat down with my family and we decided to take this step. As you know I had left Spain once more. Shortly before the pandemic I left Sociedad and went to Bordeaux. I didn’t find them there as I expected. Then came the pandemic, the French championship stopped. We had a good coach, Paulo Souza, but he was fired. A French coach came, who told me to look for a team and the matter of Leganes came up. That’s why at first I was worried about going out of Spain again, but it’s all good. Now it is true that I am very happy with the step that was taken and I came here to Thessaloniki”.

On whether he is thinking of staying in Greece for many years: “I have signed for two years and honestly until next summer I want to have a good season. For the team to reach the top and for me personally to have a good year and then we’ll see at the end of the contract what happens. People want titles and I think we can try and get it. Maybe in the future I will return to Spain. But now I’m focused on what we’re doing here on Mars and hopefully we’ll have a good year.”