meet Juan Carlos Pérez

¡Enhorabuena!

Juan Carlos Pérez made his official Real Madrid first team debut yesterday against Deportivo, becoming the first canterano to debut at the hands of José Mourinho.  He came in at the 78 minute mark for Ángel di María in this, his third call-up with the first team.

After the game, he reflected on his debut.  Juan Carlos said that Mourinho had asked him if he was scared before sending him to warm up (the answer was “no”), and that Marcelo and Cristiano, who were near him when he came in, told him not to be afraid, and to just do what he knows how to do.  On the moment when he stepped onto the Bernabéu field, Juan Carlos said, “I got emotional seeing how involved in the game the people were, and how much they were cheering on the team.”

He added, “my life’s dream has come true.  When I was small, I told my father that I would play here.  I’m sure that my father is happy now… I feel very happy right now, I did what I knew how to do and it worked out well for me.”

Juan Carlos also revealed that after the game, Iker had told him that he had done well and had helped the team.  What a grand captain Iker is!

As for the future, Juan Carlos declared, “Mourinho can continue counting on me if he wants to, and if not, I’ll go back to my team, which is Castilla.”

Keep reading for more from Juan Carlos, including a very cute interview with “El Larguero” after the game!

First, some biographical notes on Juan Carlos: his nickname is “El Galgo de Boadilla” (the hound of Boadilla, with Boadilla del Monte being his hometown), his preferred jersey number is 7, and he spent 11 years with Madrid Oeste before signing with Madrid’s Juvenil team four years ago.  Last season, he was promoted to Castilla, and was the team’s pichichi at the end of the season with 11 goals in 29 games.

In a short call-in with radio program “El Larguero” after the game, Juan Carlos revealed the following:

– he’s 20 years old, and lives in the “normal” section of Boadilla del Monte, not the “rich” section [where Iker presumably lives].

– his father works for BBVA (a Spanish bank) in information technology and his mother is an activities coordinator at a school.  [His father is also his agent.]

– he’s not going to school anymore, but would like to study physical education.

– Mou speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish and “Brazilian.”

– when (presenter) José Ramón de la Morena described Mourinho as “well dressed, well coiffed,” Juan Carlos’s response was “always, always” and “he smells very nice” [Juan Carlos has just become my second favorite canterano for saying that!].

– on Saturday, he was eating with his family when he got a call from his Castilla coach telling him that Mou was counting on him for the Depor game, and so he went to train with the team in the Bernabéu, which was “impressive.”

– in the locker room before and after the practice session, his seat was the fire extinguisher, since there was nothing else available [and I guess there is no locker for the number “26”].

– and at the team dinner on Saturday (at the big table for everyone), he sat between Khedira and Carvalho: “Khedira didn’t speak a lot, I think he was angry about something, but Carvalho joked around.”

– his game shirt from Sunday will be for his grandmother, who lives in the La Latina neighborhood of Madrid.

I really hope Juan Carlos remains this unaffected and natural!