At midday, the Carlos Tartiere press room accommodated the official presentation of Nereo Champagne as a Real Oviedo player.
As in every presentation, the player was accompanied by the club’s Director of Institutional Relations, Cesar Martín, who gave him a hearty welcome, highlighting that, “We want to thank him for his high aspirations and willingness to join our club. He’s going to contribute a lot of experience with his wide background in Argentina and Spain. His conditioning, skill, and experience are going to help a lot. He has signed for two seasons, with an option for another depending on the fulfillment of certain objectives”.
Champagne started by answering the first question, which was what he knew about Real Oviedo from Martín Mantovani, who has told him a lot about what he will find in his new team. “I always used to talk with Matovani about what the city and team were like. Football is life for the people here, it’s very similar to the football culture in Argentina, and I really based my decision to come here on that. First of all, because I wanted to find my next destination quickly, I wanted to stay in Spain, and when they told me about Real Oviedo knowing what this club is for the history of football in Spain, how the fans live it, what the people are like… I really liked every part, both the personal parts and the football parts. I like this kind of challenge.
When asked about how he felt in practice this morning and his first few hours in the city, the goalkeeper explained that, “I’ve found myself an exceptional group of human beings, everybody has treated me well. In spite of having only been here a few hours, I already feel right at home here”.
With regard to his personal goal, Champagne assured that, “I want to enjoy the Spanish football league by playing, hopefully I’ll get that chance, and if not, I’ll contribute however I can, even if it’s just a little. But logically I’ll try to compete in the greatest number of minutes possible”, he concluded.
At the conclusion of the press conference, Nereo Champagne posed for the first time with the goalkeeper kit on the Carlos Tartiere pitch.
