- Adrian has been named in the Spain squad for the first time in his career
- Goalkeeper is picked alongside David de Gea and Pepe Reina in Julen Lopetegui's selection
- No13 has made 106 appearances since joining West Ham United in summer 2013
Adrian says being called-up by Spain for the first time is the proudest moment of his career.
The Seville-born West Ham United goalkeeper has been included in the squad for a friendly international in Belgium and opening 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier with Liechtenstein.
The Hammers stopper, who has been rewarded for three outstanding seasons in Claret and Blue, revealed that he had received hundreds of messages from family, friends, teammates and fellow professionals.
“I was on the standby list for a couple of squads before Euro 2016, but this time around I didn’t ask my agent if I was included, then when I finished training on Thursday I got back to the dressing room and checked my phone, I had 360 WhatsApp messages, emails, texts and missed Facetime calls!” he smiled.
“It’s great news and a great moment. For me, for my family, my friends, my wife, my baby and for West Ham United, I am really happy for this news. It’s so exciting to go there and train with all the international players and to give my best, as I always do here.
“My grandfather recently passed away and he was probably the proudest person of all about where I have got to, and he was always looking after me and called me after every game. This is a great moment for him, also, and I’ll give everything to play in the national team.
“The work has paid-off for me because I work hard. I made my debut in Real Betis and after a season I came to West Ham and have played most of the games in the starting XI.
“It’s a great moment for me. I’m still only 29, which is so young for a goalkeeper who can play for a long time, so with the new manager [former Barcelona goalkeeper Julen Lopetegui] he has given opportunities to new players to show they are ready for the national team.”
The vastly-experienced Iker Casillas, Sevilla’s two-time UEFA Europa League winner Sergio Rico and Villarreal’s recently-capped Sergio Asenjo have been left out in favour of Adrian, showing how highly thought of he is among his fellow countrymen.
“I am really, really proud of this – to be one of the three best goalkeepers in the national team,” he confirmed. “It’s so, so hard to be named in the national team because we have so many goalkeepers playing at the top level.
“The manager has a different decision to pick just three, so I am so proud of this. I’ll give 150 per cent in the training and, if I have the opportunity to play, of course in the game.”
Before he had even made his first-team debut for Betis, Adrian met Reina randomly in Spain’s capital, Madrid, where the pair chatted about the art of goalkeeping. They remained in touch, and Reina was one of the first to congratulate the No13 on his historic call-up.
“Pepe was one of the first to text me and congratulate me, and I congratulated him again because he has gone a long time without a call to the national team,” he said. “He is a great man and I have a good relationship with him and also with De Gea, as we have played against each other many times.
“I think we’ll train very well together and will give our best in every session.”