Q: How do you judge the start of the season for RB and for
yourself personally?
A:
“We are very happy. We are in the next round of the DFL
Pokal (Cup) and also, we reached a very important win
in the first game against Mainz. It was even more special
in front of our fans. It was a special moment to play
again with the fans. We are looking forward to it. This
weekend we have another very important game again
against Leverkusen. So, we want to win too.”
Q: What are you particularly looking forward to in the
coming weeks?
A:
“We want to keep working as always. Improving as a
team and of course, myself as a player every day, every
week. This is our goal: to be better every day and keep
improving as a team and winning as many games as
possible.”
Q: How do you feel about the comeback of the fans to the
stadium?
A:
“I enjoy every moment of this comeback to the
competition and playing again with the fans so it is
totally different and totally better than before. I keep
looking forward to it and I hope that soon, we will have
even more fans in the stadiums.”
Q: How difficult was the changeover for you? What did you
have to work on in particular during your first period
here? How did you do it?
A:
“I have worked a lot. All the players and the staff are
helping me in this adaptation, shall we say. Now, I feel
really good. Like one more in the team, let’s say. I feel
really good. I have the feeling my football will become
even better now.”
Q: Did you have to work harder than the others when you
came to Leipzig?
A:
“When you come into a new team, you always have to
show yourself a little bit. Even more if you come in the
winter. Like I said, all the players helped me a lot to be
in the team; to be one more player. I feel great. Now, I
am very good with everybody.”
Q: With 179 body height you weigh 68 kg according to the
data sheet. Is that still true?
A:
“179 or 180 let’s say. Now, I weigh around 72kg, let’s
say. So, I grew a little bit.”
Q: After all, you were 3 x National Champion, Cup winner
and the winner of the Croatian Supercup with Dinamo,
won U21-Euro you played in the Spanish National Team
already! What was the best sporting moment you have
experienced so far?
A:
“I don’t know if I can choose one moment. Now, this
year, I lived one of the best moments of my life: to
reach the semi-final of the Champions League but I also
remember I have very good memories of my first game
in the Champions League and the Europa League. Of
course, the final U-21 against Germany that we won. So,
I have special moments in my short career as a football
player but I think the best moments are still to come.”
Q: What attracted you most to come to Germany and why
did you choose RB Leipzig?
“The project they have in the young players and in me
personally. The visit that sport director Markus (Krösche)
made me in Zagreb and the talk I had with the coach –
Julian (Nagelsmann) – made me decide that it was the
best option for me. I am very happy to be here. I will
keep working of course, because that is the only way to
keep going and keep growing. I am very happy!”
Q: RB Leipzig is quite a young team with an average squad
age of 23.2 and exciting young players such as
Christopher Nkunku, Dayot Upamecano and Tyler
Adams. Was this part of what attracted you to the team?
A:
“Also how the club works with the young players and the
competition I will have here in the team makes you
better. I think this team can grow a lot more than now
because as you said, we have a lot of young players. We
can develop ourselves even more.”
Q: Was coach Julian Nagelsmann a decisive factor in your
decision? What makes him so special and what makes
him different from your previous coaches?
A:
“His way of thinking, his way of seeing the game. This
makes him different. We have a good relationship. He
has good relationships with all the players. I think that is
why we reached what we reached. That is essential: the
relationship between the staff and the players. Here, I
feel like everything will go in one direction. That is why
we are making good things.”
Q: How would you describe yourself as a player? What are
your strengths and what can you improve?
A:
“I think my strength is that I move very well between
the lines like a number ten in this position behind the
striker. Also, when I get the ball, I try to find the last
pass, the assist or even the shot. I always try to look
forward and create something to score or to make the
team score. Also, my dribbling in small spaces. I can
make good movements in small spaces. I think I can still
improve a lot in everything so every day I am working
for it.”
Q: How did you come to football and how did your parents
support you during your time as a youth player?
A:
“Yes, a lot! I have a brother. He is two years older. He
always played football and I always played with him. My
father is a professional coach so in my family, we always
breathe football, as they say! From when I was young, I
was always with the ball. All my life was around a ball.”
Q: The path to professional football from Spain via Croatia,
let’s say, is unusual. What experiences have you gained
here in particular, what do you take from here into your
career?
A:
“Yes, I improved a lot in Croatia. They gave me the
chance to play with the first team at the age of 16. This
made me improved a lot as a person and as a football
player. I am where I am now also because of this:
because of Dinamo and the opportunity they gave to me.
This was the goal when I went there: to become a
professional football player and to be where I am now.”
Q: You have signed in Leipzig until 2024. What are your
personal plans in the coming years as a footballer?
A:
“I am not really looking too much into the future. I am
looking in the present. Now, in this Bundesliga league
and the upcoming matches, of course. What will happen
in the future, I don’t know. Now, I am focused on this
and this year. We have many good things to reach that
we can reach. We have to go looking for it.”
Q: What makes the Bundesliga so special? How would you
rate the football played in Germany? What is the
reputation of the Bundesliga in your previous stages in
Croatia and Spain?
A:
“It is different – Bundesliga to Croatia and Spain and the
Spanish league. I think the Bundesliga is more physical
and stronger. There are a lot of players with more
speed. Maybe the game is faster than in Spain. Spain is
more tactical and more possession based. Here, the
players are physically stronger, I think. They also have a
lot of quality players like in other leagues. That is why
the Bundesliga is one of the best leagues in Europe and
in the world. So, I think the Bundesliga is a really good
league for young players in terms of developing
yourself.”
Q: What do you particularly like about Leipzig and Germanyand what do you still have to get used to?
A: “I like it. Leipzig is a really calm city. You have
everything. I like the center. There is one lake here, a
little bit out of the city. It is really good. I feel at home
here. I am very happy.”
Q: What does a Spanish guy do in Leipzig when he is not
playing football?
A:
“When I am not playing football? No, I am here. I live 24
hours for football so I try to rest. Sometimes I go out
with my teammates. We go for a dinner or a coffee.
Anything. So, when I am not training or something, I am
probably resting at home. Like normal.”
Q: What do you want to achieve with the club this season?
What is the goal?
A:
“We had a really good season last year. Now, our goal
this season is to make it even better. We have a really
good team. I think we can do very big things again this
year but we have to keep improving every day, every
week. We go step by step, always. We will keep
improving for sure, every day. That is our goal. To keep
going like this and I think good things will come.”
