Rioja: “I wanted to play for Valencia CF and I really want to play at Mestalla”

Luis Rioja was presented officially as a Valencia CF player on Monday, in the VIP Box at Mestalla. He spoke to the media about his excitement regarding this newstep in his career.

Message from Carlos Marchena

He is an example to look up to for everyone in our town. I have played in his tournament in the town, and he had a great track record at Valencia CF and withthe Spanish national team. That he has such kind words for me fills me with pride.

Signing for Valencia CF
It is a very special moment and an important leap in my career. I am coming to a big club, a great club in Spain. It has taken a little longer than expected to get here, but the important thing was to be here. I had a clear idea from the beginning: I wanted to play for Valencia CF and I am happy and proud, as well as looking forward to playing here at Mestalla.

Impressions of Valencia CF

It's a great opportunity. It's a big club, a historic club in LALIGA and it is a great opportunity to continue growing and improving. It is going to be an important challenge.

Playing under Rubén Baraja

The atmosphere has been very good in my first few days here. We have not had many days to train, as it was just a case of arriving and playing, but I quickly got the message. I know what he wants, we have a similar idea of football and he was important when it came to me being here.

His first days in Valencia

The trip was a little stressful: Getting up in Vitoria, leaving everything as organised as possible... I had already told Corona that I could go to Vigo on my own, that there was no problem. That's how the situation was. I see a dressing room with clear ideas, we want to meet the objectives and improve on this start.

Objectives

I have a clear one, which is to go out and win every game. The competition will tell us the objective. We want the fans to enjoy supporting their club.

Being a starter

I have worked towards it. I have prepared myself well physically, but that has to be decided by the manager. I am capable of competing at a high level and if the manager considers that I should participate from the start, I am delighted to do so.

What he can contribute

In my first few minutes I felt fine physically, but was a little nervous due to the stress that came before the signing. I had some positive minutes, although the result was a pity. I would have liked to have debuted scoring points.

Expectations of his first match at Mestalla

We have to make Mestalla a fortress. Most of the objectives involve being strong at home, so on Saturday we want to give the fans a victory.