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Hinojo: "Sacrifice and effort is beginning to be rewarded"

The recent debutant talks about his breakout

He's been progressing through the youth ranks for eleven years, and last Sunday, in the postponed match against Villarreal, Roger Hinojo was able to make his first-team debut for RCD Espanyol.

"It's taken many years of sacrifice and effort to begin receiving the rewards. I'm very proud that it happened at this club," he commented in an interview on Friday, ahead of the team's next LaLiga game against Real Betis.

After overcoming an injury earlier this season, he emphasised that it's "time to be prepared for everything, because you never know when your opportunity will come. It was a long term injury, and I had to adapt to what the coach asked of me to be able to perform."

Everyone gave him advice and "pushed him to get where I am today, so I can only be grateful," although, at the same time, this forces him "not to stop just because I made my debut, but to keep working. There's still a lot of work to do to continue fulfilling new dreams here."

Hinojo acknowledges that, step by step, the work being done at La21 is bearing fruit.
"You can tell when a player is ready and a coach is trained to teach the players what to do. That's how the rewards come when the players make it to the first team."

"I will continue working like I do every week, with the utmost dedication. This Sunday I expect tough opposition, but we're on a good run, except for the most recent result. We'll keep working to maintain this good run. It would be great for me to play at home and finish the game with a victory."