‘The most special night I have ever experienced was against Manchester City. It was a unique feeling, scoring the equaliser with six minutes added on and the atmosphere that was created. We looked at each other's faces and we looked like gladiators in the Coliseum,’ said the Madrid full-back.
Dani Carvajal was the protagonist of the third day of the White Week of the Real Madrid Universidad Europea University School. At the event, moderated by Emilio Butragueño, our right-back, winner of six Champions League titles with our club, said: ‘It's been five and a half months since the operation, I've already put my boots on and we're accumulating sessions on the pitch to try to be back as soon as possible, but with guarantees of arriving safely’.
Injury
‘From the moment I got injured and went into the dressing room my head clicked, I was the one cheering on my team-mates, even my wife. It was one more challenge along the way. Just as you prepare to win titles, this was an important stone but we were going to go for it with everything we had. These months have been tough, but I've felt very much loved by everyone at Real Madrid. Also, the respect and affection of the football world has been an important factor in helping me to take that little step forward when I was feeling down’.
White sentiment
‘I arrived when I was 10 years old, but I've been a madridista practically since I was born. I don't think I'm aware of it yet. I see the image of the youth academy pitches and I remember perfectly well when I played there, in the youth teams, with the dream of one day training with the first team players. Thanks to God, thanks to my work and a lot of perseverance, I can say today that I have lived one of the most golden periods and I am living, because this is not over. It is a dream to enter as a legend of this club. The goal of being the most successful player in the history of the club is unimaginable and I go to bed very happy every night every time I think about it.
The Champions League and Real Madrid
‘The most special night I've ever experienced was against Manchester City, I've never experienced anything like it. That feeling was unique, scoring the equaliser with six minutes added on and the atmosphere that was created. We looked at each other's faces and we looked like gladiators in the Coliseum’.
‘Whenever you play a match of the calibre of the final you always imagine that you are going to score the goal of the final. And in my case, the sixth time was the charm. That feeling of scoring a goal was incredible and I felt an indescribable sense of pride. People will remember me for that goal I scored at Wembley because it was the culmination of a great year. To go down in football history for the 6 European Cups with my 5 teammates is fantastic. Madrid keeps winning and has been, is and will be Real Madrid, and it's above all. That's why you have to get on that boat, learn the values that the club has and take the essence of what this club means’.
Motivation and philosophy
‘To the end, let's go Real. This phrase refers to one of the strong points of this shirt and of this club. We never give up, we know that Real Madrid is alive until the end of the game and we have proved it not once, not twice, not three times. Thanks to this, our opponents, when the final stretch of the match approaches, even feel the stage fright of having Real Madrid in front of them and they know what they have achieved in their history in the last few minutes. That's why, even if the game is very bad, it turns in our favour’.
Captain
‘I still have the armband I wore for the first time at home, and that says it all. In the end you achieve your goals, although at first you see them as far away, the years go by and you continue to be just as important, if not more so, within the club. Wearing the captain's armband at Real Madrid means a lot. What I try to transmit is above all education, a lot of discipline and to carry the values of Real Madrid and instil them in the youngsters. Not giving up until the end, knowing how to win and how to lose.
Other interventions
Víctor Alfaro, CEO of Podoactiva and podiatrist of the Real Madrid first team, participated in the third day of the White Week with the conference Everything starts with a step. Alex Wicks, CEO of Real Madrid Estadio, focused his speech on a stadium for the future. And Silvia Montes-Jovellar, Project Director of the Real Madrid Foundation, spoke to the students about The Real Madrid Foundation: the soul of solidarity.
