Realmadrid News

Emerson to El País:"I feel essential to the team"

How have Real Madrid achieved becoming leaders a year and a half after being in the top spot for the last time?
The key to our success was the match against Barcelona. We realised we could play better.

Was it a matter of pride?
I think there's been a change of mentality on the team. Before, we played for the sake of playing, but now we truly know what we want.

Did you play for the sake of playing because of things that were happening within the Club, or because of things surrounding it?
A bit of both. The Club had problems and people in office didn't know what was going to happen with the whole absentee vote controversy. The team had problems with Ronaldo and with some new players, like myself, who still had to adapt.

What about now?
We can win the League. We believe we can take the title and we depend solely on ourselves to achieve that goal.
Despite the recent radical change, Real Madrid still have trouble dominating for 90 minutes. This was evident in the games against Valencia, Sevilla and Espanyol. Why is that?How do explain those 45 minute 'amnesias'?
It's normal for them to happen. We are not alone on the pitch; we face eleven players. Unlike Italy, Spain doesn't have weak teams.

Who's responsible for the latest comeback victories, Capello or the team?
We all are. Capello has managed to instill his mentality on the team. He's been trying to do that from the very start, but was unsuccessfull at first.

Why?
Because he came from calcio, which is very different from football in any other country. Real Madrid never gives anyone enough time to work and making a winning team in four months with a new coach, new players and after a three year title is simply impossible.

What is Capello's mentality?
He wants to build a team that never gives up, that fights to the very end, that is convinced of being able of turning the score around, that believes it can always improve and do better... We weren't even like that during training sessions before, but we are now. As a result, the coach is much more relaxed.

Maresca literally said 'Capello has a flower up his back side', meaning he is extremely lucky...
I don't think Maresca can allow himself to make such a comment about a coach that has won practically everything in this sport. He has never worked with him and I think his comment was very disrespectful.

Real Madrid are in better physical form than Barcelona and Sevilla. Why is that?
I think it's because we only play one game each week. That allows us to recover well after a match.

Are you the same player you were in August?
Absolutely not. My stay here hasn't been easy because I've had personal problems that haven't allowed me to do my best. I've been a professional footballer for 14 years and never before had I felt useless to a team. I wasn't ready to feel that way.

And now?
I feel essential to the team. I feel well and more confident with what I do. I would love to have a magic wand to change what I didn't do well in the past few months.

What criticism has hurt you the most?
Personal attacks have nothing to do with football. I have always tried to do my best for the team. Maybe I should be a bit more selfish on the pitch, but I prefer to do things for the rest. I have never been interested in being the best. This is how we all think now.

You said many times that you needed to work more in order to do better, but you are being coached by the same staff you had in Roma and Juventus. Has their working method changed at Real Madrid?
No, their method and mentality are still the same. The players are different. It's pointless to ask Ronaldo to do his best during training because that's never going to happen. He's never done it. Each player is different; some like to do their best during training and others prefer to save up energy to do really well during a game.

At the start of the season, Capello liked to use you and Diarra in midfield. He later made room for Guti, Beckham and Gago. Now he's gone back to his original scheme. How does one win his trust back?
I think he had a very clear idea of what to do when he arrived, but because of the problems Diarra and I had and the lack of good results he decided to make some changes. He's now gone back to the idea he's had all along.

Against Espanyol, each time Guti received the ball, you and Diarra were at least 15 metres away from him. Did Capello tell you to do that?
No. Guti constantly looks for the ball and when he gets it we shouldn't be only 5 metres away from him.

But you're not supporting him well by staying 15 metres away from him.
We made a mistake. Espanyol's first goal came after Guti lost the ball and we were too far away to try to recover it. We are sometimes too confident, thinking our teammates won't lose the ball.

Would you follow Capello if he leaves the team?
I have a contract with Real Madrid, not with Fabio Capello.

Have you spoken to Gianluca Zambrotta or Liliam Thuram about the crisis at Barcelona?
No, but I know Fabio [Cannavaro] talks to Gianluca often and it seems the team is going through a difficult moment. I think it's normal for a team that has won it all to have a sharp drop. It happens automatically.


Realmadrid.com

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 7:21 PM