Gabri Veiga couldn’t help laughing and nor could they. It didn’t take a genius or a journalism student, which he is, to work out what they were up to, and not just because they were no longer trying to hide it. Instead, they giggled along guiltily, the whole thing becoming a game. The Celta midfielder, Spanish football’s great revelation, had already fielded 10 questions and nine had essentially asked the same thing – who are you signing for? – when there was an inquiry about which competition he likes to watch, another attempt at laying a trap. “The Euros,” he said, and everyone cracked up.
It was a couple of days before Spain Under-21s flew to the European Championship – “a lovely challenge”, Veiga called it – but that wasn’t the focus of the final press conference at their Las Rozas HQ. Instead, it was all about Veiga’s future: Madrid or Serie A, the Premier League or Paris. He was even asked how long he had practised fending off the inevitable line of inquiry – “Not that long; I’m not used to speaking in public but I think I’m doing quite well” – and another question opened with an apology “but you’ll understand it’s our job to insist”. To which he replied: “And you’ll understand the Euros are the only thing in my head.”
