“Racing has become a loved and respected team throughout Spain.”

There are still a few months left to reach his first year in the Racing presidency, but Manuel Ansede (A Coruña, 1957… “but increasingly from Ferrol,” he says) takes stock of his debut season at the helm of the Racing squad. the naval city. And he does so delighted both on a sporting and personal level by the response of Ferrol, a city that he describes as “wonderful, quiet, beautiful, with extraordinary hospitality… It allows you to enjoy the sea and the proximity of the people; “Whoever comes here ends up falling in love with her.”

Have the objectives for the season of return to professional football been met?

Definitely. We are very happy and satisfied with the season. And we started it with problems, because due to the works that were being done in A Malata, and thanks to the moratorium that LaLiga gave us, we played the first two days away against great rivals like Elche, recently relegated from First Division, and Oviedo, provincial capital team with significant potential. And to the surprise of the majority, not ours, who always hope for the best, we added four points…

And what happened next thanks to that good start in the league?

From there a state of confidence was generated, of believing in our possibilities. In fact, already in A Malata, another “miura” like Sporting de Gijón visited us, with all its fans (it was the second game with the most attendance of the season in A Malata, remember), and by winning there it was confirmed that no It was a dream, that Racing was a serious, rigorous team, with a defined style and a model of what they want to do and how they want to play.

Who makes Racing work so well?

We have a sports director who forms a group and molds it and a coach who speaks the same language. The board of directors trusts them completely and absolutely. The fact that they speak the same language leads to the creation of a powerful, united group, and that carries out important work throughout the season, which has been reflected in finishing in tenth position, tied with eighth, with a historical record of points in the team. Racing in Second… and after being winter runner-up and spending much of the season in the playoff zone.

We firmly believe in our values ​​and our possibilities

What has Racing achieved thanks to that exercise?

What has been done this season has generated joy, unusual expectation… and has turned Racing into a respected and loved team in Spain. With the humility that we have to have, because we know where we come from and what we are, in addition to respecting our rivals a lot, we firmly believe in our values ​​and our possibilities.

What is your best memory from this season?

There are many… I remember that in Santander, before the game against Racing, they asked me how we were going to turn out and I said that we were going to win, that I was convinced of it… and in the end we did. I also remember the number of people who were in Gijón… We are very grateful to the fans for the unconditional support they have given us throughout the season and it fills us with satisfaction to see them tirelessly accompanying the team, because they are also a sports fan. , who knows how to lose and win: these are the values ​​and humility that characterize us and that are reflected in the effort made on the field to achieve the objectives.

Was there relaxation in the second round of the championship?

I totally deny that possibility! The team has not relaxed, but has always competed to the maximum, with enthusiasm, with desire, with strength, contributing everything it could. But there have been injuries to the players who arrived after the departure of Carlos Vicente, another key position… It is what it is, but the same enthusiasm with which we started the season is the one with which we finished.

The coach and the sports director “speak” the same language and that creates a powerful group

If Racing is, as it claims, an ambitious club, what is going to be its next objective?

The models are medium and long term. The first step was to reach professional football… and we have achieved that after taking steps, consolidating stages and gaining experience. Now we are in the Hypermotion League, which due to the equality that some call it the Hypertension League, so for next season we will try to improve what we already did, because we already avoided relegation in the first season and now we will try to consolidate and improve the tenth position – which in reality is as if it were the eighth – of this season.

Does the renewal of Cristóbal Parralo indicate the stability of the project?

Of course. It is also something very exciting, because we are delighted with the work he has done together with Manjarín and his entire team. We wanted him to continue, but we were also aware that he had other offers. But he is very comfortable in Ferrol, he likes how we work here, the philosophy and the project there is and that is something that also helps retain talent. In fact, there are more and more people who want to be in Racing, because it is a reality that is progressively consolidated and we are moving forward.

What do you expect from the coming season with the arrival of big clubs like Deportivo, Cádiz, Castellón…?

Exciting. The match against Deportivo is going to be extraordinary, a celebration of Galician football. The last time we faced each other there were no incidents and it was wonderful, because what it’s about is enjoying the celebration of football and uniting hobbies… and may the best win, hopefully it will be us in both games: I would give great joy. Of the rest, some rise and others fall, the level will be very high again… and the only thing is that you change territory, because we will no longer go to Madrid but to Andalusia. But he always looks forward to what is going to happen during the next campaign.

“The infrastructure awaits us. We do not stop!”

“We do not stop!”. Now Racing is at a standstill in terms of football activity, but Manuel Ansede remembers that the entity, little by little, continues to grow organically to end up becoming a great club. In fact, he anticipates that “the infrastructure is just around the corner: the lighting, the roof, the sports city…”.

Is building the sports city the biggest challenge that the club has to face?

Immediacy places us before three challenges. The first is the lighting, which must be installed no matter what to be able to play in A Malata; It is an agreement between the Council and the Provincial Council that is about to be signed. The cover is the next thing, because without the light you can’t play but with some leaks you can. And in parallel there is a basic and fundamental project to complete the infrastructure, which is to build a sports city.

Lighting, roof and sports city are the three challenges that come to us now

How will carrying out this work affect the club?

Racing cannot hope to reach higher and continue wandering through fields to be able to train. We hope that in July 2025 we will have the fields ready for training. The rest of the sports city will take longer to execute, because it includes important civil works, but the priority is the fields so that we can enjoy our own capacity and be able to train in our facilities.

Has it already been decided in which location it will be built of the two plots on which it is planned to be built?

The City Council of Ferrol is looking at a piece of land, but we need to know what type of agreement is going to be made, whether it is a transfer of surface, an administrative concession, how many years it will be, if it will have a fee and how much it will be. … And above all, that the land is suitable, because what we cannot do is go to a land where we have to spend a lot of money to adapt it. There are other locations, but the opinion of the Ferrol Council, which is helping us with all the infrastructure of the A Malata stadium to reach an agreement, has priority. I am convinced that before the end of the month everything will be clear to be able to carry out the relevant works.