Sergio Berrios reaches 400 Asobal league appearances

The Fertiberia Puerto Sagunto winger will reach that number of appearances in next Saturday’s match against Juanfersa Gijón, after seventeen consecutive seasons in the top tier of Spanish handball.

Sergio, next Saturday you will make your 400th appearance in the Asobal League. Remind us what the first one was like. As it happens, my Asobal debut was in Valencia, playing for Zaragoza, the team that trusted me at the age of 18 to begin my sporting career in ASOBAL. It is clear that a player never forgets the day of his debut; it marked the beginning of the first of the 17 seasons I have spent in the top division.

After playing for Zaragoza, which teams did you play for before Puerto Sagunto? Zaragoza (2 seasons), Valladolid (2 seasons), Valencia (2 seasons), Granollers (3 seasons), Arrate (4 seasons), Puerto Sagunto (4 seasons)

You have played European competition with all of them and have also been a full international. What is your best European memory? I think making my debut for the senior national team has been one of the best memories of my sporting career, although reaching two EHF Cup semi-finals and another Spanish Cup semi-final was also special because of the atmospheres and experiences.

Leaving aside the current squad, who was the best team-mate you have had, and why? As a youth player, I spent two seasons playing for Maristas de Málaga, where I met José Luis Pérez Canca, “PEPELU”. Seven seasons later, at a good point in my development, I was able to share a team with him for three seasons at Granollers, during which we fought together for important things. He has been one of the most important team-mates I have had. I send him a big hug from here.

Which coach do you remember most vividly? Julián Ruiz

How did you get started in handball? Well, I suppose it was like it is for any youngster who starts playing a sport at school: I simply tried to enjoy what I was doing, and little by little everything else followed.

You are also now coaching youngsters. What do you recommend to them? The message is clear: enjoy what you do and do not think beyond that; whatever is meant to come will come.

After so many matches at the top level, what are the best and worst things about Asobal in your memories? It is clear that everyone always wants to finish as high as possible in the competition, and the years when we qualified for Europe were particularly special because of the good seasons we had. The worst was my knee injury, although it is also true that it makes you see things differently; recovering from it was a great challenge for me.

An unforgettable anecdote for you? Losing the Junior World Championship final against Russia in a match we were winning by nine at half-time. We would have been the only junior world champions. Víctor Álvarez, a familiar face from our team, was also in that squad, and I wish him a speedy recovery from his knee injury.

You are now here in Puerto. How many more years would you like to play? What are your personal goals? The truth is that I feel physically quite well, but when I lose the enthusiasm, the desire to train and the adrenaline that competition gives me, I will stop.

A final statement about your 400 appearances I consider 400 appearances to be a very significant number. The truth is that I do not particularly like receiving this kind of recognition because it means you are getting older, but it is also true that 400 appearances and 900 goals in such a strong league as ASOBAL is a considerable achievement.

Translation produced using artificial intelligence.