Ivi Lopez was one of the most important heroes of Raków's first few seasons in the top league. The Spaniard was magical on the pitch. He was the team's top scorer for three years in a row. In the 2021/22 season, he scored 20 goals and provided seven assists. A year later, the achievements were more modest (9G, 6A), but Raków won the dream Polish championship.
In Poland, he became a league star. Now he appreciates our country. He also pointed out the disadvantages
Unfortunately, in the next season, Ivi Lopez played only 80 minutes. All because of a very serious injury – rupture of the cruciate ligaments. He missed almost the entire term of Dawid Szwarga. He has only now returned to regular play. In the last two matches, Marek Papszun gave him a total of over two hours on the pitch. In the match against Puszcza Niepołomice (2:0), Lopez scored a goal and made an assist. In the match against Radomiak Radom (2:0) he scored another goal.
– My coach and I talked a lot about my situation. Papszun knows well how to properly prepare me for the game – he praises the coach in an interview with Onet Sports Review.
Ivi Lopez says directly in this interview that moving to Raków in 2020 was a great decision. – Coming to Poland was the best thing I could have done at that time. I wouldn't have expected to play here for so long, but I'm very happy with my stay. Poland has given me a lot. I can say that I have become stronger. Not only as a player, but also as a person. Today I have a lot of support here from my partner Sheila and my son Thiago – he admits.
However, he adds that living in Poland also has its disadvantages. – Of course, there are disadvantages to living in your country. The language barrier is one of them, even though I already understand a lot. Plus it's cold and the food varies. In turn, people are more introverted compared to Spaniards. We are expressive, we like going out. I noticed that your mentality is closer to the north of Europe. But I still want to emphasize that I feel very good here, he emphasized.
Will Raków become champion? A major league hit is coming
Now Ivi Lopez hopes that Raków will win the national championship again. – I believe that we will win the title – he says. Marek Papszun's team is currently third in the league. On Sunday, they will face Pogoń Szczecin in the hit of the Ekstraklasa. If the Częstochowa team wins this match, they will have 26 points and will overtake Jagiellonia. The league leader – Lech Poznań – has 28 points after the win against Cracovia.
The match Raków Częstochowa – Pogoń Szczecin will start at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 20. We encourage you to follow this meeting on the Sport.pl website and in the Sport.pl LIVE mobile application.