«Against Rayo we cannot lower the bar because in a moment they paint your face»

In the core of Unionistas resides a goal man. David Rabadán, hero of the first round of the Copa de His Majesty the King by scoring three goals against Utebo, has become a fundamental piece in Dani Llácer's scheme. The midfielder has been present in all 15 League matches, starting fourteen times. In the First Federation he has two goals in his backpack, the last of them in the last match against Barakaldo that served to leave the three points at the Reina Sofía. But, if there is an indelible performance by the young man from Madrid, it was the one on October 30, when in 41 minutes he destroyed Utebo with a hat-trick in the KO tournament.

Before fully entering the Copa del Rey, with the goal against Barakaldo he surpassed his best number of goals in a single season (5).

—The truth is that I am personally very happy with everything, for the adaptation, the performance so far, and also for helping with the goals, although I recognize that for me the individual statistics are good, but it is something secondary. I pay more attention to the rest of the performance during the game, but in general I am very, very happy with both the team and the coaching staff.

Because this season if we talk about stellar performances in the first round of the Cup, we must remember his, nothing more and nothing less than three goals under his signature.

—In the end that's football. There are days when you are touched by a wand and everything comes out, but there are also other days where nothing comes out. That day in Utebo the coin fell heads and everything turned out for me, so let's hope that against Rayo I have a good day too.

That day he put them in all colors, also positioning himself in the right place and at the right time, as he also did against Barakaldo. Is that your letter of introduction, being at the right time and place?

—Well, it's true that the other day (Barakaldo) I had a bit of luck – between laughs -. But, yes you can be right in the end I follow how the play evolves and what Alvarito and Jonny are doing, and to be in that place in the end is to have intuition and reach that area. Sometimes the ball falls and other times it doesn't, and I was lucky that it fell there.

Against Utebo he played his second match in the KO tournament after doing so in 2020/21 with Internacional de Madrid. Was it your best game, not only in the Cup, but also in general in your short career?

—Yes, yes. It would be nice to repeat it, why not, but well, honestly, what happened with Utebo is over for me, it's something that happens to me a lot, when the game ends that's where it ends and I'm already thinking about the next one. I'm not thinking about the goals or anything, just about the next game arriving to try to do my best.

In the Cup, at an individual level, they have faced Linares Deportivo and Utebo, however, now they have to face an entire First Division.

—Well, it is something exciting, not only for me, but also for the entire team. We are eager to play a good game and demonstrate. In the end, everyone, when you are in a lower league, if you face teams from higher leagues, you always want to perform at your best, you want to show that you are also a good player and that we are a good team, so we are really looking forward to it.

How a player from his youth experiences it, who will also have to fight against veteran and top-level rivals.

—In every game you have to give your all and be focused the entire time of the game, and against Rayo Vallecano even more so if possible. Above all, because they are high-quality players with a lot of experience who, any time you lower the bar a little, paint your face. So, always be alert and focused, and don't give up during the 90 minutes.

And, for this type of match, if you don't think about passing despite the difficulty, why come then?

-Exact. We have confidence and each of us should have it because there is a good squad. We are confident in all the work we do every day and here with our fans, we believe that it will help us a lot to do a good job.

And we finish with what you just mentioned, the Reina Sofía will once again offer a great image in the stands. The goal that does not depend on you is scored.

—Well yes, in that sense it is something that excites me a lot. See how the Unionistas fans live football and how they always cheer for the team. In the end, it doesn't matter what happens because it is already nice to play the Copa del Rey against a First Division, but it is even more so if you do it in your field with all the fans, and in the Reina, which is always special, with the field full cheering, the truth is, my hair stands on end just thinking about it.