The Porto players were with me for two and a half years, they believed in me, in my methods, in the way we do it. The next day I go and a manager arrives who works completely differently.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In the same way that I had to follow an Italian manager here, I can imagine that it was not easy for an Italian manager to follow me at Porto.
You need a manager that believes in you and shows that he believes in you by playing you.
I might be too emotional to be a manager. You love your players, don't you? And I'm not sure I could leave them out. I know how it feels.
I followed an Italian manager and it cannot be easy when you follow a manager who thinks very differently.
If I were on the field, I'd want the manager sticking up for me. Sometimes players are dead wrong, ranting and raving, but you stick up for them. They appreciate that.
Liverpool is a fundamental part of my life. They don't remember me that way, but time will change that. I could not have chosen a better place to go when I left Atletico.
I'm very happy at Atletico. I'm very proud to play for these fans, with these players, and with this coach. I want to try and pay back the confidence and care that the people at Atletico have always shown me.
I'm not a defender of old or new football managers. I believe in good ones and bad ones, those that achieve success and those that don't.
As a player, I always felt confident that if I was caIm, my teammates knew, 'He's going to do something to help us win.' As a coach, my hands are really tied. I got to believe in my players. If they see I'm calm, they'll believe I trust them, which I do.
At Barcelona, I had the best players ever, and they helped me to be a successful manager.