Gonzalo Crettaz, the black and white guardian

Gorka Santamaría and Gonzalo Crettaz support Badajoz’s playoff aspirations. The lion with his goals and the feline with his saves. The Basque is a guarantee of points every time he scores and the Argentine is life insurance if the team gets stuck up front. On Saturday Gonzalo Crettaz (Buenos Aires, 2000) kept the black and white illusions alive with a stellar performance. His miraculous hands and especially his reflexes with his feet to clear the penalty with twenty minutes to go saved a point to continue to lurk in the promotion phase. “I had an intuition and it went well,” says the Badajoz goalkeeper.

It is said that Buenos Aires is a city with open doors, but Gonzalo Crettaz, despite being a porteño, tries to keep Badajoz’s doors well closed. Before the Calahorra he masterfully held the attacks from La Rioja. “I’m very happy on an individual level, but as a group it’s a shame not to have been able to get the three points,” he says. Regarding the penalty and those moments of tension that are experienced before the launch with so much at stake, the black and white goalkeeper was sure of winning the duel against David Soto and shielding his goal. “A lot of things go through your head. I trusted myself, although penalties are a lottery.” And he admits that he has never been a specialist in beating the distance of eleven meters. “Since I was little I haven’t stood out in saving penalties, but the experience of the years and the goalkeeper coaches give you advice.” In the first round, he already faced the fateful point against Zamora with a different result.

At just 22 years old, he has become the new hero for the New Nursery, although Gonzalo Crettaz plays down the importance of hoarding the spotlight and appeals to work to get the fruits. “I’m happy for the part that touches me for the game I played, but this is football and you have to go step by step and keep your feet on the ground.” In that sense, he only thinks of the Unionists. “We are psyched up for Sunday’s game,” he maintains.

The draw against Calahorra at the Nuevo Vivero left a bittersweet feeling among the entire black and white family due to the lost opportunity to cut points to the playoff and for knowing how to value the point in a game in which the team was unrecognizable. But Gonzalo Crettaz does not consider it a step backwards in the options of reaching fifth place. “Football is like that. In this category, each team makes life difficult for you, but we have to stand with our heads held high for everything we have left.” Despite the point, the interventions of the Argentine goalkeeper and the defeats of Rayo Majadahonda and Celta B keep Badajoz alive. “We are at the same points as last weekend and with another chance at home.” Gonzalo Crettaz believes that it is possible to get hooked on the playoff and that goal is being talked about among the staff from Badajoz. “The dressing room is very united and we know that we depend on ourselves. We are going to give everything as we have always done.”

The first stop is Unionistas, a direct rival who has taken advantage of Badajoz’s setback to get ahead. «Each game is a world. It’s a complicated team, but we have the advantage, so to speak, of playing at home and we’ll give it our all”. The squad is aware that Badajoz is left with no margin for error. “All games are finals and we have to focus on going week by week, not beyond. Now it’s Unionists.”

Gonzalo Crettaz arrived in Badajoz on loan from Málaga as a projected goalkeeper to challenge Limones for the position. It cost him to enter the eleven until the ninth day due to the injury of the Daimiel goalkeeper. “The other time I had my moment, but then I had no more opportunities,” he assumes. They were six consecutive games, but he again returned to the bench for another five days. He now he has established himself as a starter in the last twelve games in a row. «Since I arrived in Badajoz I have worked to play as many minutes as possible. I have to keep working more than ever because this is very long and you never know.

As for the institutional level, Gonzalo Crettaz admits that it is difficult to abstract from everything that is happening. “It is a very difficult situation that I have never experienced, but we players try to focus on what is happening on the pitch. It is not being an easy season for us due to the uncertainty.” Regarding the intentions of the management group, the Argentine goalkeeper points out that they maintain communication with the dressing room. “The captains are in contact with the possible future owners and hopefully a solution will be found for all parties as soon as possible,” he sighs.