Javi Martínez – El País Q&A

I look forward to having Javi Martínez around on la selección for a long, long time, because he seems to be genuinely nice and funny.  And because he has asked Fernando Torres for an autograph!  Our team is in good hands.

Q:  Can you recommend to me a food shack on the beach?

A:  That on the beach of Arrigunaga, below my house, but I don’t know the name.

Q:  Would you ban bullfighting?

A:  No.

Q:  What gets on your nerves?

A:  When I have to wait.

Q:  Do you know what a scrum is?

A:  No.  [Boooo.  My bet was on Javi knowing.  We only have four more of these Q&A.  Will this question ever be answered correctly?]

[Q:  Do you remember what was your first kiss like?

A:  This one was not asked!]

Q:  What do you play on Play?

A:  Football and GTA.

Q:  Nesquik or Cola Cao?

A:  Cola Cao.

Q:  How many watches do you own?

A:  I don’t own any.  I don’t even have Puyi’s!  But I like yours.  Where did you buy it? [Jajaja!  C’mon Puyi, give Javi one!]

Q:  What were your first boots like?

A:  Very ugly.

Q:  How long has it been since you went to the circus?

A:  Eight months.  I like the circus.  I go every year to the one in Bilbao.

Q:  How long does the pregnancy of a whale last?

A:  It depends on the size of the whale.

Q:  Do you know who Katalinski was?

A:  No.

Q:  Where was Iribar born?

A:  In Zarautz, Bilbao.

Q:  Who did you ask for an autograph when you were a kid?

A:  Fernando Torres.  [Oh, this must make Fernando feel OLD!  And he’s only 26!!!!  It must amaze Javi that Fernando’s now his teammate.]

Q:  Do you know who wrote Saber perder?

A:  No, I don’t know.

Q:  What is your dog’s name?

A:  Marta.  It’s a girl.

Q:  Why have shows with midgets in the bullfighting ring in Zaragoza been prohibited?

A:  No idea.

Q:  Which player has kicked you the most?

A:  Amore, I mean Amorebieta, in the training sessions.  I suppose Llorente told you the same thing…  [Yes, he did.]

[Q:  Why hasn’t the Constitutional Court passed the Estatut [the Statute of Autonomy of Cataluña]?

A:  This one wasn’t asked either, perhaps because just yesterday the Court agreed to uphold most of the Estatut?]

Q:  What year did apartheid end?

A:  In 1996.  Did I get that right?  [No.]

Q:  What was the name of Pippi Longstocking’s horse?

A:  Lunares.

Q:  Have you been able to get a reservation at elBulli?

A:  I don’t know what that is.

Q:  What’s the last TV series you’ve become addicted to?

A:  The Mentalist.

Q:  If it weren’t for the World Cup, why would you go to South Africa?

A:  For vacation.  I travel a lot.

Q:  What does your town have that Johannesburg doesn’t?

A:  My town is very small, but it’s the best [es la hostia were his exact words.]

Q:  How many years was Mandela imprisoned?

A:  I just read John Carlin’s book but I don’t remember.  20 years?  [No.  Now I see why you didn’t get the scrum question.]

Q:  Do you know what an Afrikaner is?

A:  During apartheid, there were two classes: the Afrikaners, who were the white racists, and the blacks, who lived like slaves in the 20th century.

Q:  How many diapers have you changed in your life?

A:  None.

Q:  What is the name of Portugal’s captain?

A:  Cristiano Ronaldo.  [Much easier than when it was about Chile, no?]

Q:  Does a lion or a hippo kill more people?

A:  The hippo.

Q:  To be a Spanish international, do you have to know how to play pocha (a card game)?

A:  No, but I know how to play.

Q:  Do you know where Del Bosque was born?

A:  In Salamanca.

Q:  What position did Xabi Alonso’s father play?

A:  I don’t know, tío!