Fernando Evangelio is a passionate of the radio and, probably, the only fan in the planet for both Brazilian Gremio and Spanish Conquense, the only two teams that he follows for love and the ones he suffers for. The rest, according to his own words, are just watched based on his job, even though he loves to see any kind of football.
He is a sports journalist at Cadena COPE and has been following international football for over 20 years, an immeasurable job. In fact, he believes that his expiring date at this role has come. From August on, with the start of the new season, he will partially leave the role of following all the foreign leagues and will focus more on LaLiga both as a director and commentator of the sporting programs at Cadena COPE. This has been our chat with him at ELXIIDEAL.
Tell us how you started in the sports journalism industry.
Fernando Evangelio: I moved to Madrid in 1997, at the age of 18, to study Computing. By that time, i loved to play football video games and I just thought that the Computing Degree was about that. Of course, I was wrong and so I dropped it right away (laughing). My first contact with the radio took place during my stay at the Chaminade Student Residence, at their radio station Onda Mayor, where I run sports shows along with my friends. That is when I fell in love with the radio.
Lately, I joined the Journalism Degree and then I entered the Cadena SER a few months later at the ‘Carrusel Deportivo Madrid’ show, thanks to Manu Martín. That was my first school. At the next year, December 2000, I joined Carrusel Deportivo and stayed there for 20 years.
What do you like the most about journalism?
Fernando Evangelio: Just like Twitch or any other kind of streaming platform, the radio is all about live content, and that certainly provides you with the ability to tell what is going on and have the required resources to know how to get out of different situations that might take place during live shows. All in all, it gives you experience and the capacity to learn from your own mistakes, as they are part of this.
In the end, that bond that we have created at the sporting shows of Cadena COPE are the reason for me to be in love with the radio and to enjoy of it everyday.
What are the main differences that you see from the current journalism industry compared to when you started in the job?
Fernando Evangelio: Social media and the Internet have changed it all both for good and bad. On one side, they have given us the possibility to have a closer contact with the people that follow us, get more feedback and also learn from them. On the other, people are getting more demanding because now they have all kind of information on every topic, so it is getting harder to meet expectations as well.
Regarding to the access to the traditional media companies, the process has also changed. Now it is getting harder because there is a lot of demand from the universities and also the big media companies have created their own masters, which create barriers for those who can’t afford or just do not want to go through them, and that might prevent some talented people from getting a chance.
What do you think is currently the biggest challenge of the radio? How do you see its future in the mid/long term?
Fernando Evangelio: I think that the radio is always going to exist, specially its function of telling what is going on live. However, we are going to have to adapt to the new ways of consumption regarding to formats and multiple content options that are available nowadays, where the podcast is becoming ‘the new radio’ for the youth.
Apart from your job at the radio station, you also have your own Twitch channel. What do you think of the arise of the new streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch? Do you see them as a complement or a threat to the traditional media such as the radio and the TV?
Fernando Evangelio: I do not see them as a threat, as I have been streaming on my own Twitch channel and also working at the radio station for the last two years and a half. In addition, there are many other experienced journalists that are opening their own channels as well in these new platforms.
Twitch is an excellent platform for both entertainment content and also communication. In the end, journalists like us have a perfect place to create personal content. However, I do not like Twitch as much as I used to because I do not agree with the fact that they treat the same way very different content.
You root for Conquense and Gremio. Where does your passion for international football come from? Why did you decide to specialize on it?
Fernando Evangelio: I follow international football for following Maldini Chus del Río and Esteban Cuesta in the different European leagues that they covered at Canal + back in the days. In addition, I used to check all the scores on the TV (when there was not Internet) from the main foreign leagues. That is the way my passion for international football began.
Regarding Gremio, that is just a matter of love, as my wife and her entire family are Gremio fans.
How are you able to follow that many games and leagues during a radio show? And how do you organize yourself to watch that much international football?
Fernando Evangelio: It is and endless job. I have even talked about this with Axel Torres based on what he said on the role of a journalist who follows international football in an interview to Ecos del Balón, where he said that this is a job that demands your life and that you will only be able to make it right if you are willing to give your entire life for it, because you would be in trouble if there was a time where you just wanted to do something else.
“It is an endless job”
Fernando Evangelio on following international football
As it is an unlimited job, as time passes by, you learn to prioritize (Champions League, the top European leagues, the opponents for Spanish teams in European competitions…). You must choose and there are also other times where it is just better to get some rest. In the end, you add some knowledges to both be honest enough to admit when you do not know a specific player and also have enough resources to now how to get by with many others.
Next season, I will leave this role of international football expert and I will be a director and commentator for different shows, specially LaLiga’s related. I have been working on this for 20 years and it is a beautiful but exhausting job that certainly has an expiring date that I already passed some time ago. I have felt for some time that I needed this change that I am going to make towards next season.
“It is a very beautiful but exhausting job, and that has an expiring date that I already passed some time ago”
Fernando Evangelio on following international football
What are the leagues that you like to watch the most? What is the aspect of football that you look for the most in order to watch games?
Fernando Evangelio: In the last 20 years, I have mostly watched football based on what I needed for my job. I only watch games as a fan for both Gremio and Conquense. The league that I like the most and the games I enjoy the most are the Premier League ones, even though I also watch them for my job.
When I watch a game as a fan, I want entertainment. However, I have learnt that there are many ways to play football and all of them are useful to get the victory, which is all that matters in the end.
“I have learnt that there are many ways to play football and all of them are useful to get the victory”
Do you think that Mbappé will some day join Real Madrid? When?
Fernando Evangelio: I think that he will join Real Madrid next season, but I have no clue. He changes so much his mind and plays for such a special club such PSG, that is very hard to guess.
As of now, he wants to stick to his contract and PSG want to transfer him if he does not extend it. Regarding to Real Madrid, and just based on what happened last year, when PSG did not even reply to Real Madrid’s two bids, I understand that they are going to wait until a price is set on the player to sign him. My guess is that he is going to stick to his contract and will join Real Madrid for free next season.
“I think that Mbappé is going to stick to his contract and join Real Madrid as a free agent next season”
And do you think that Mbappé is a need towards next season?
Fernando Evangelio: With the exit of Benzema, there is a spot left for a key player to play along Vinicius forward. They are in need of a star, yes indeed.
Football wise, he would have to be adjusted in the starting XI. He has played as a striker several times, but he does not want to play there, it is not the position he feels the most comfortable at, and that is where he would have to play at Real Madrid.
The club’s current plan of playing with Joselu as their main striker and having Rodrygo as well for that role is not enough from my point of view.
Do you trust Real Madrid when they say that they will not sign anyone else (if Mbappé does not come) having left number ‘9’ free?
Fernando Evangelio: Listening to the club, I believe them. Another different thing is that I believe that it would be a strategical mistake for Real Madrid towards next season. However, I also thought that of other seasons and I ended up being wrong. Real Madrid have already lifted titles after the exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos.
Do you think that the fact that real Madrid chose to go for Mbappé and not Haaland was a strategical mistake?
Fernando Evangelio: That is hard to say until knowing if any of them has ended up at Real Madrid and we get to see how they do, but this is something that Real Madrid have already dealt with, because last season they bet it all to Mbappé and so lost Haaland, and then Mbappé did not come either. Let’s see which bet they make this season, if they do, as that will also be related to next season’s for sure.
Who do you think is the right replacement for Busquets at Barça?
Fernando Evangelio: Taking a look at what Barça have right now, I believe that Frenkie De Jong could be a ‘5’ in some contexts. Gundogan’s profile is more of a kind to be on the opposite half, which is where he has been playing at Manchester City. However, he can also play in the base, but I do not think that that is his best position. This way, they do not have a solid ‘5’ yet.
From your point of view, and because you think that the premier League is better than LaLiga, is there any aspect where where LaLiga surpass the Premier League?
Fernando Evangelio: I believe that LaLiga’s playing level was better until recently, but not even anymore. Premier League is better economic, international, club’s financial strength, marketing, selling of products, schedules… Everything. The only thing where I think that LaLiga is better is at the calendar. The Premier League has an issue with some many games being postponed constantly.
“The only thing where LaLiga is better than the Premier League is in the calendar”
Since the beginning of the 21st century, LaLiga teams have lifted 35 European titles out of the 68 that have taken place between the Champions League, Europa League, Conference League and the European Super Cup, and the Premier League have only conquered 13 trophies. How do you explain this difference?
Fernando Evangelio: Those are numbers that can’t be discussed. However, I believe that the outcomes from Spanish squads in European competitions recently have been above the real level of LaLiga.
“The outcomes from Spanish squads in European competitions recently have been above the real level of LaLiga”
Real Madrid are still the kings of the Champions League and so is Sevilla in the Europa League, but there are more teams in the Premier League that access to European competitions and then make progress in them. In the end, UEFA do not consider LaLiga as the best championship anymore based on their coefficient.
Quick questions and answers to wrap up.
Favorite championship.
The Premier League.
Best player of all times.
Leo Messi.
Best player in the world currently.
Haaland.
Messi or Cirstiano.
Messi.
Haaland or Mbappé.
Mbappé.
Best player in LaLiga currently.
Antoine Griezmann.
Best replacement for Busquets at Barça.
Frenkie De Jong.
Will Kylian Mbappé sign for Real Madrid this summer?
No.
Radio in a word.
Immediacy.
Translated by Guillermo Bermejo.
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