Iker Muniain shares his views on Spanish football

Spanish footballer and Athletic Clubs prolific goalscorer Iker Muniain gets chatty and shares his views on his career so far and what he aims to achieve in the coming seasonsQ Does getting a win takes a great weight off your shouldersA Yes achieving a victory when you are in that dynamic always drives you on I remember that we managed to beat Girona in the last minute with a penalty and from that point on good results came along for us Then when the dynamic begins to turn positive it is easier to feel good on the pitch and dare to do more things In one way or another we have been finding an idea and a style of play that is allowing us to enjoy what we do This is also reflected in the atmosphere since people identify more with the teamQ On a personal level how are you feelingA On a personal level itrsquos a great moment in my career I feel full of confidence and happiness I am able to enjoy playing and some very nice things are coming my way such as the callup to the Spanish national team I am enjoying myself very much with the same excitement as my first day playing and with a lot of desire to do big things with the clubQ And yoursquore also scoring goals A Im happy about the goals Ive scored I hope that for the remainder of the season I can get more and end the season with a nice number to my nameQ Which is your favourite from this seasonA I would say the goal that I scored against Real Betis I thought it was a good goal especially because of the great move I made inside the area moving the ball with my heel and shooting with my left foot It was a good goal in a beautiful game which we ended up winning 10 Ill go with that although every goal is specialQ How do you remember your first goal for AthleticA My first goal for Athletic was very emotional and very special It was a goal with which I broke the record as the youngest player to score in LaLiga That record was broken again a few years later but it was very special It was in Valladolid when I was 16 years and 9 months old it was an afternoon that I will never forgetQ Which is your sons favourite goal of yoursA My son watches all the goals that I have scored as he can see them on a tablet and the like He watches all the goals and he sees videos of me Hersquos a kid so as I score them he likes them allQ Whatrsquos your favourite oneA In LaLiga the goal I scored against Real Sociedad I took the ball on the left side dribbled inside and then put the ball into the top corner It was a nice goal in a derby which is always important Im sure Irsquove forgot another one but Ill go with that oneQ Yoursquore having fewer injuries nowA The injuries I suffered during my career have been major injuries which meant I went a long without playing That is tough for a player Now Irsquom fit again and I donrsquot think about the injuries when Irsquom on the pitch because that would distract me from the game I work to minimise the risk of injury every day doing prevention exercises but once I get on the pitch in a game I forget about that What you want is to play enjoy yourself help the team and do your bestQ How have the injuries helped you mentally and athleticallyA The issue of injuries has helped me in general I believe there is a before and after in my life both in the sporting and personal sides After going through some hard times you recover and you see that you are still performing at a good level and doing good things after the ordeal That gives much more value to what you have suffered and what you have gone through I believe that it strengthens you on the inside having dedicated so much time to recoveringQ What do you remember about your first injuryA The first knee injury I had was at the SaacutenchezPizjuaacuten in a LaLiga match I have that moment in my mind where I noticed something was wrong with my knee It was when I was holding the ball up in the area When I remember it the hairs on the back of my neck still stand up on end Then there was the operation which is also tough and then you have to recover get back to exercising and work constantly every day I donrsquot like to think back to the incident itself because it gives me a little chill down my spineQ Letrsquos talk about your contract renewal How do you get to the point of thinking I want to stay here foreverA The issue of my renewal has also been a very important matter recently It was a different renewal without a buyout clause that binds me completely to this club with no option for another team to pay a certain amount and be able to sign me Its a decision I made because I love this club and I feel that this is my home where I want to be I communicated that to the Board of Directors and between the two of us we managed to devise this renewal that created so much impact Now we are seeing that other players have also opted for this method of signing without a buyout clause Its something that makes me proud that other players are following suit especially because its good for the club Taking into account that at other times the buyout clauses for some of my teammates have been paid and they have left hurting the fans I think this also gives them peace of mindQ Irsquom sure the fans let you know about thisA Yes they let you know In the end for the fans the club and the players are sacred When one of us leaves the fans have a hard time because they feel disappointed so to speak I did not want that to happen to me and thats why I opted to make that decision I am very happy with how everything was resolved and how the people have taken itCatch up on all the latest IPL News and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates