Aspetar Magazine 2026

131 ASPETAR MAGAZINE LEGENDS AT ASPETAR Welcome to Aspetar. What is your overall impression of the hospital and its role? It’s a magnificent centre. For any player who wants to recover properly, coming to Aspetar is ideal. It has all the conditions needed to prepare and rehabilitate elite athletes. Everything is here. It is truly a centre of excellence. You experienced sports medicine at both club and national-team level. How important is strong medical support today? Today, almost every club has a large medical team supporting the player. In the past, it wasn’t like that. When I was playing, we didn’t have this level of support. Now, it’s extremely important. You see that players almost always have a physiotherapist working directly with them. It’s not only about recovery. When you play every three days, recovery becomes essential, but prevention is just as important. Preventing injuries is key, and when you see a place like Aspetar, with all the conditions to support prevention, it becomes incredibly valuable, not only for footballers, but for athletes in general. I was lucky to play in two World Cups, Korea– Japan and Germany.