Pepe, the legendary defender who passed through the ranks real Madrid, reviewed his career in an interview with the newspaper Expresso, which is published in Portugal on Friday and tells the best anecdotes he had with the meringue team’s jersey.
Pepe assures that the Madrid fans are not so emotional
He almost arrived at Deportivo de la Coruña
” Ufff … My signing for Real Madrid? Everything went very fast, but in fact I could have gone earlier, but not to Madrid, but to Deportivo La Coruña, at the end of my first year in Porto. President Pinto da Costa told me: “No, no, no, in no case, you will stay here longer at FC Porto”. But the press kept writing some things and Jorge Mendes told me others: “There is an interested English club, there is another …”. And the more he played, the more clubs appeared. In the third year I renewed for another five and at the end of the season the proposal from Real Madrid arrived, although I had other opportunities. And I really wanted Real Madrid, despite the fact that a lot of people told me they were crazy to go there, because it was very difficult and, above all, because it was a central cemetery. At that time, Madrid had a gap to fill since Hierro’s departure and I wanted this challenge. They still tried to get me to go somewhere else, but I was always very direct. ”
His signing for Real Madrid
“I cost 30 million euros and coming from a championship like the Portuguese one … The Spanish press is much tougher than the Portuguese one, I guarantee that (laughs). My signature was like this: I left the concentration in Porto, I bought clothes at the airport and when I arrived at T4 in Madrid I had many journalists waiting for me. Jorge Mendes warned me: “When you go out the door, you will have a lot of people next to you, give me the bag.” I gave Jorge my bag, which I remember was a shoulder bag, I opened the door and the reporters asked me the first question: “Pepe, Pepe, do you have the 30 million in your bag?” I didn’t know what to say, I felt a little pressure on my back and Jorge said, “Come on, come on, don’t talk.” The 30 million? What do you think? He could not speak Spanish. So yes, it was hard. ”
The rebuke Cannavaro gave him
“Well, now I can tell you that, because many years have passed and we are friends: it happened to Cannavaro. In the pre-season I practically didn’t talk, I trained and I just watched, because I’m very attentive. This was work and more work. So I was flying to Austria and he happened to be in front of me. I caught him reading a magazine and when I realized it was over and the plane was about to land, I dared and said, “Cannavaro, Cannavaro (in a low voice), can I have the magazine?” And Cannavaro looked back and said, “Cannavaro? My name is Fabio. And he turned his back on me. I didn’t know how to say. It was seconds, maybe minutes, but that seemed like an eternity until he gave me the magazine. ”
His debut with Real Madrid
“My first game was against Atlético de Madrid. I came from a tactically organized club, where if the ball comes out on the left side, you have to press it there, if the ball comes out on the right side, you press it that way, things “What we found in Madrid was chaos. In the 30th minute the game is interrupted and we hit each other and we run back. I turn to Fabio and say,” Fabio! Fabio! ! “And he said to me, ‘No, no, you’re not doing this here. Each on his own. And I said, “Is that so?” Damn it! “I looked and saw the wings up, the defensive pivot up. And I thought, “What? 50 meters behind me and I’m here to do one by one? ” Then I thought calmly that I would be fine. Gradually, I conquered the Statute. Anyone who played for Real Madrid, at that moment had to listen to the fans shouting goals, because 2-0 was not enough, they had to score four, five, six goals and the only thing left behind is the central defenders and the goalkeeper were banned. ”
Pepe’s father’s harsh comment against Madrid
Boxes and language
“When I arrived in Madrid, Iker said to me, ‘So you already speak Spanish?’ And I said, “No, no.” “Well, look, you need to talk.” A few years later, when I returned to Porto and took her here, I said to her, “So, do you already know Portuguese?” And he said, “Oh, a little, a little.” And I: “This is not enough.” Iker is a great guy (laughs). ”
Locker room egos
” It wasn’t an easy wardrobe. There, they are all high-level national team players. And therefore, all are important, not just those eleven titles. But it’s a brutal pressure: if you win, things go well, you stay in the team and in the club; If you do not win, you leave, another player enters your place and you’re done. If you have no performance, you have others waiting, who want to squeeze your place; so you should always be at a high level. ”
Portuguese in Madrid
“Mourinho came to Real Madrid to win La Décima, because only he mattered. The club only wanted the Champions League, the championship was secondary. Mourinho brought a lot of enthusiasm, because he won the Champions League with Inter Milan at the Bernabéu and also a lot of organization and we got to have three good years with him: we won a league, a Copa del Rey, but we couldn’t win Champions League “.
The day Pepe paid the salary of the Besiktas team
He won three champions with Madrid
” That I, a boy who slept with my mother until I was 18, could win three Champions Leagues (laughs)? Look, I never imagined it, it’s true. I felt I could go far, but it never crossed my mind to win three. But I have never been a person to think about his future either. I think that the more you imagine, the more you forget the present. ”
His relationship with Ancelotti
“When Ancelotti signed, I was on vacation and it wasn’t going well. There was this confusion, there was speculation in the Spanish press about my situation. And then Ancelotti called me and he was very honest: “Look, Pepe, I have Sergio Ramos, I have Varane, who has a lot of quality and I have you. I’m already telling you that you’re not the first choice. I replied, “Okay, sir, but what do you want?” Do you want me to leave? And he said, “No, no, no, I want you to stay, but I want you to know that you are not my first choice.” I said, “I accept. But will it give me a chance to fight for my place on equal terms? No preference? Ancelotti replied, “Exactly what I was hoping to hear.” So, if this gentleman is sincere in the future, as he is now, I will stay and fight for any opportunity that comes my way. The coach concluded: “We will be champions”. And I was. ”