The Uruguayan, currently reunited with his national team, spoke on the show
Valdano Universe broadcast this Monday, during an interview recorded after the Clasico and the Ballon d'Or ceremony.
Saison au Deportivo: “I started living alone, even though my parents were 10 minutes away. But I also needed to have my space, to start growing up and get used to living alone. Football-wise, that was a very big evolution. We go through moments that are not good, but they made me grow a lot.”
Call from Madrid: “I thought it was a joke, until I saw my mom so excited.”
Why is it called “Pajarito”: “When I was little, it was because of my appearance and my physique. I was very skinny and very small. That's how my coach described me. My father was very angry because of this nickname , he didn't like him at all, and my mother said to my father: “They call him that because he steals.”
Fourth captain at 26: “It's not easy. They are the best team in the world and they ask for everything in return. The feeling of playing for this club is the best of all, there is no other. There is no other. It's not possible to give up anything. I have to be the best at everything, show it to my teammates and make my teammates believe in me and be the best. That's the only way to be the best. world and to play for this team with a lot of pride and a lot of honor to wear this badge, which is not for just anyone.”
Lopetegui : “The savior (laughs). I owe him a lot. He was the one who gave me his confidence. I was in Uruguay because I had been left out of the World Cup, which hurt me a lot , one of the worst things in my career I had a month and a half off and I was training all day. The reward for my hard work was arriving at Real Madrid.
Competition upon arrival with Modric, Casemiro and Kroos: “You arrive and you see Marcelo, Casemiro, Bale, Benzema, Sergio Ramos sitting at the table… It was Casemiro who welcomed me. He hugged me and said: 'Sit- you there”. Because of the jersey number, we were also very close in the locker room. Casemiro didn't need to shout on the pitch to give an indication or correct someone. He was close, always with constructive criticism . The one my wife did to me today, Casemiro did it to me in the locker room: “Fede, you need to practice more.”
The 0-4 in the Clasico: “The level of football we play is not the best nor the one we thought we could have. It hurts to lose to a direct rival, against whom you play for pride and honor in one of the most important matches. most watched in the world It hurts a lot and we feel very helpless not to take the three points on our home field. But you also have to know how to recognize when you are playing a match inferior to the other and I think Barcelona did one. very good match, especially in the second half The first half was very balanced, but the goal changed everything. They scored the second goal quickly and it went beyond the tactical or footballing aspects and we became a little more. crazy. They played very well, they knew how to manage their lead and that's it. They played well at the Bernabéu.”
Team status: “A few years ago we lost 0-4 at the Bernabéu and we ended up winning the Champions League and the championship. Those are games and that doesn't represent the year. Which ultimately qualifies the year, it's if you won titles and not if you didn't win certain matches. I will keep that in mind, that there are still a lot of things to fight for, a lot of things to fight for. We are a team that has the will to change the situation and move forward. The story of this club is to never give up, we must fight until the end. bludgeoning ourselves in practice and showing people that we want to win everything this year is the only way we can continue to improve and grow.”
Physical strength: “I like to defend, even if I don't know how to do it very well, I try to do it. I like to attack, I like to be everywhere on the pitch, I like to help… My satisfaction is to hearing a teammate say 'Good, Fede', for covering him in the back, for giving a pass for a goal. That's the satisfaction and pride I feel at the end of a match. this club, you have to adapt physically, rest well, eat well…”
When he was young, he played as a point guard and ran less. Since then, there has been an adaptation: “I hated running and I hated training. I thought I had the qualities and that was it. I said to myself no, why not, if I could play as a striker. I had a hard time understanding. But I had a trainer at Peñarol,
He crooked Perdomo, who loved to defend a lot. He told me: 'If you don't defend, you won't play.' He put me on the bench. When you're not playing, you start to understand everything. I realized that what I love now, helping a teammate, I wasn't doing. I convinced myself that on the field I would not lose to anyone and that I would try to be stronger than others, to fight more than others and to be the first contributor in defense and attack and to to be the best player whatever the field in which he plays. It helped me, even if I'm not going to pass like Toni Kroos or defend like Casemiro.”
One-week trial at Arsenal: “I was 16. I was invited to train for a week with the first team. I imagined a whole future there. When I arrived in England, it was really good. See the clothes they wore to practice…it was another world. I enjoyed this week. Back is one of the people who helped me the most. He was the first to approach me, just like Bellerín, Alexis Sánchez and Cazorla.”
An anecdote with his wife : “After the match where Ajax eliminated us, where I didn't play or played little, because of a simple game action, I got in the car after the match and she started: 'Why are you passed it? Why didn't you hit it in the goal? Why didn’t you run in that play action?”
Captain with Uruguay: “Playing for the national team is the best thing ever. My mother cries every game I play. I feel responsible since I arrived. I feel like I have always been a leader, sometimes at in a low voice, sometimes in a loud voice At other times, I had another, less important role, and that was also a good thing for me, because there were matches where I didn't have one. to bear so much pressure, but today it's different, I feel responsible for everything that happens in the national team and I try to be that leader for my teammates.”
Character : “I don't talk much in the locker room. I won't give you a bronca like Diego Godín, who made you leave almost in tears. We are different leaders.”
17th for the Ballon d’Or: “It's crazy. I have to continue and progress otherwise at home I'm going to get killed. I was hoping to be a little higher, but it's a great source of pride. I celebrated with my wife at home, while drinking mate. I didn't intend to go to Paris, but if I had finished in the top ten, I would have gone there alone (laughs). and that's good. I was very happy, even if I hoped to gain a few places, I'm not asking for more.”
Another interview in 10 years to take stock: “I’m going to take some of Luka Modric’s blood to see if I can do it (laughs). I don’t know if I’ll make it to 32 and he’s almost 40…”
