«Quality, pride and faith. This is how we won a Mundialito with top-level rivals» – Spain’s News

Alillo Alonso (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1980), who defines himself as a “craftsman at heart” given his affective link to the historic club that has now disappeared,
He is one of the current protagonists in the Gran Canaria quarry.
He has just led the Villa de Santa Brígida cadet to the conquest of the Club World Cup held last week in the Catalan town of Cambrils, an event in which, among other rivals, the Satauteño team, the only Canarian representative,
It was imposed on shields of the stature of Juventus of Turin or Valencia. A feat that has filled the municipality with pride and whose shock wave still resonates due to the success it brings to the island school.

-How do you breathe hours after returning home with the Mundialito cup?

-It has been a dream for all of us. We were fired from the concentration hotel with a corridor made up of other teams for being the champions, then we were received at the airport by the president of the club, the Santa Brígida Sports Councilor, parents, families and friends… There are many emotions. We are like touching the sky and assimilating everything.

-Did they think they would be able to do what they have done?

-Being invited was already a source of pride for us. And when we took the plane to go we joked that we had to win even if it was a game. My son Aitor told me, when I said goodbye to him, that he would return with the cup. In the end he was right. We are talking about a top-level competition, with clubs from many countries, including the United States, and the best from Europe. The debut was against Juventus. Almost nothing. But we won all seven games deservedly. With quality, pride and a lot of faith. We grew as the days went by and I have to say that we justly proclaimed ourselves champions. These players gave a huge lesson. They have made history.

-This achievement shows that there is a youth team beyond UD?

-It’s like that. Friends who are or have been at UD have called me and they reminded me that when they traveled to similar tournaments, they almost always lost. They have congratulated me for what Villa has achieved. UD has a very important youth academy, but there are many clubs that work at the base with a lot of professionalism and hard work. It is the case of Villa, in which I have been two years and in which I see a very well-structured quarry. Before, I was also at Claret or Veteranos del Pilar, where things are also done very well.

-Do you see in any of your promises the size of a player who will knock down the door in a few years?

-Diego, Jorge Luis, Carlos… As cadets, he has already trained under Ángel Sánchez in the Third Division team. Of course I think that if they continue to train and develop their conditions, both they and others can go far. We know that in football you depend on many variants and luck. But they must believe that they can do it. They have everything and I wish them the best of luck so that they can fulfill their dreams.

-What does this Mundialito mean to you in your coaching career?

I have no words to express my happiness. I was in another Mundialito, years ago and directing Claret, and it was something incredible to eliminate Dortmund. Now with this I run out of qualifiers. They were very intense days and they will stay with me forever. And with the pride of being with a wonderful group of players. We played intelligent football in which we combined resources, tactics and efficiency. We touch perfection.