Carla Camacho Carrillo (Madrid, 2005) is the top scorer in the European Under-19. A forward by trade who has the area as her habitat and who, based on work and goals, has earned ownership with Sonia Bermúdez. With Benzema and Esther as references, the Real Madrid player has the white club in her heart and this season she will already be a full-fledged player for the first team. Another dream come true. How to win a World Cup (Under-17). And now she is going for the Eurocup.
-Congratulations, you are already in the grand finale.
We are super happy because it has not been an easy road. We trusted the team, we are a super healthy group and that has made us get to where we are.
-Yes because the match against the Netherlands was very tough and competitive.
Yes, it suffered. We managed to score early, but then we had a lot of work to keep the result. We didn’t have many more chances, but we knew how to manage the game, also thanks to Txell’s save and everyone’s strength. The work is rewarded.
-You were a starter and, also, although without a goal, you made a great game.
Always, with or without a goal, the most important thing is to help the team either by going down to receive, giving passing lines… I am very happy and also with the team. We always help each other and that is the most important thing.
Now it’s time for Germany, how do you see your rival in the final?
We played in the Under-17s in the European final last year they beat us and we have that little thorn. The older ones really want to win their two-time championship, the little ones want to win the first European Championship. Some are going to play their first final, so everyone, including the staffwe are very excited
Do they thirst for revenge?
Exactly. They are also a super strong rival, but I think we are working very well and focused. We know what the objective is and by all paddling in the same direction we know that we are going to achieve it
During the championship the only setback was defeat against FranceWhat did you learn from her?
Everything in life happens for a reason. We had to face France, we fell but we got up very well. It has made us stronger, we have corrected our mistakes and, as I always say, you always learn from defeats. Now we are stronger and more united and with even more desire to win.
At the moment you are the top scorer in the championship…
From here I want to thank my colleagues and staff for the trust they have in me. I am very happy because I really wanted to play this European Championship. The most important thing is to enjoy both inside and outside, if you are happy outside it is reflected inside and if you enjoy, the individual comes alone. The important thing is to enjoy and help the team with or without a goal and all together for the same goal
How is the competition with Wifi?
When we all row towards the same goal, it’s very nice because it doesn’t matter who comes out or who’s inside, she’s going to do great and when the one on the bench comes out, she’s going to do well. We support each other wherever we are.
What is it like to train with a legend like Sonia Bermúdez?
As a striker, she always gives us great advice. It is reflected that he has been a footballer, because all the advice he gives us is because he has lived it from within. In the end she understands us better than anyone. When she talks and tells us anything we feel identified and she with us because she has lived it. She helps us a lot to face each game, knowing how to keep up with the times, how to keep concentration, because she has been with the National Team for a long time. She has been the example to follow for many and continues to be, that helps us a lot.
Is it difficult to have such long concentrations with so much time away from home?
We were talking about it the other day and we’ve spent a lot of time adding up the days of preparation. The environment is super healthy, we are always happy, bringing out the best version of each one to achieve the goal we have in mind. Three days until it ends, nobody wants it to end. We are super excited, when you are happy about something everything flows. Obviously you miss the family, but they are on video calls, they come to see us so we get along very well.
What advice of those that Sonia has given you would you take?
Ugh, I couldn’t tell you. But many times he talks to us about fear, he tells us that we are always going to play with fear, because football is like that and what you have to do with fear is to know how to manage it. With this base, I think that when we are all in the semifinal, we are afraid of not going through, for example, but she, in the way she transmits it to us, gives us a lot of peace of mind. When you are nervous before the game, you remember what she told you and you say outside the fear that it turns into desire and death.
She will be a great trainer…
She is a very good trainer
How would it be defined?
I am a player who really likes to help the team, be it with assists, passes, passing lanes… I protect the ball well from behind, the area is my comfort zone, it is where I am strongest and most powerful and I have a good shot.
The other day against the Netherlands, of course, he gave a master class on the game with his back turned…
It is something that is asked of the striker because many times the game needs that calm and it is something that I love to do. I feel that I help them, they recover and can get high, it’s something I like to do a lot and I think I’m good at it.
Who are your references?
My idol is Karim Benzema. No one knows this, many times I watch videos of him before going out to games because I feel super identified with him and day after day I work to be like him because he is an exceptional player, he has class and indisputable talent. As a female, Esther González, who I was lucky to be my coach and last year shared a dressing room with her at Real Madrid. The truth is that she and her professionalism have helped me a lot to get here.
It hasn’t been a good summer for you, both have left Real Madrid…
In that sense, I’m sad. But they are professionals and wherever they go they will do great and I will follow them wherever they are.
You recently renewed for Real Madrid and, furthermore, you will already be a full-fledged first-team player.
It is a dream come true. When making the decision, the trust that Alberto Toril placed in me helped me a lot, because he was also the one who encouraged me to do this. I am very happy, for me it is a dream. Everyone knows how I feel about this shield, because for me it’s not just a team, it’s a feeling that can’t be explained. Every time I put that shirt on it’s sensational. I am very happy and looking forward to the start of the season and to show Real Madrid what I am capable of.
His Madridismo is noticeable, you just have to remember that when he scored his first goal for white he couldn’t hold back his tears…
It’s a lot of effort, the family… and in the end when you’re at the top you remember where you come from. A lot of effort and days of training and seeing the faces of my teammates happy for me… that filled my heart at that moment.
Let’s go back to Spain. The lower categories are dominating Europe and the world right now…
To play the semifinal we put our videos because it’s a way to motivate you and want more, when you see it you always want more. We saw it and we said how strong how well it has gone for us. Many of us who are here, the Under-20s are going to play another Under-20 World Cup and those of us who have just played the Under-17 World Cup are going to play another Under-20… These are experiences that fill your heart, you learn a lot. In India, I mean, it was one of the experiences that filled my heart the most because of the place where I went, all the people we saw… when you go to places like this you realize that people don’t value things, not here we lack nothing and we don’t realize it, but on those sites you realize that you have to value every second of life, every thing, every detail… you have to appreciate everything. Football, in addition to giving you all these things on the pitch, also gives you a lot off it, which is why these big events are so important.
Sonia always says that she is there to train, these championships are a training for life…
When you live outside for so long… also think that when we started all this in the lower categories we were very small. You go out of the house, without your family and you have to learn to manage everything that happens to you in a more individual way and that makes you grow a lot. In these competitions, when you all look at the same goal, you put all your ego aside, you have to know how to look out for your partner, it makes you more empathetic, you get to know the world, cultures… it fills you up as a person, you grow and for me that is the best thing in life Growing as a person more than as a soccer player, growing as a person in each concentration is the best thing that can happen to us.
Now it’s Colombia next year…
We are all aware of how difficult it is to get there. We will all work to death to be able to go and especially those who will remember, as we always say before going to each game, those who have been in preparation, those who are not. It is important to remember all those who have been part of the experience, those who have been training, have been in other concentrations.
What is your dream?
Win the Champions League with Real Madrid, the first Real Madrid Champions League.