You played in 26 Clásicos. What are your best memories?
I always remember the games I won most fondly – whether it was with Barça or Real Madrid *laughs*. Everything else doesn’t matter to me!
Many Blaugrana fans say you reached your peak at Barça. Do you agree?
Everyone has their own opinion about that *smiles*. The most important thing is how you play – and that your team wins in the end.
How do you rate Kylian Mbappé’s season, who has faced a lot of criticism lately?
He’s still one of the best players in the world. His goal tally this season is just outstanding. But of course, the team’s performance also matters. If he scores so many goals and his team wins trophies, the analysis looks very different. In his first season, he was a bit inconsistent because he had to adapt to a new environment and a new league. But after that, he reached the level everyone expected from him.
His idol is Cristiano Ronaldo: Can he be as successful at Real Madrid as Ronaldo was?
I don’t know, I don’t have a crystal ball *smiles*. But with all his qualities… in the end, we’re talking about the same club, but different eras and different players. It’s always tough to compare players from different generations. To reach that level, he’ll have to win trophies.
Jude Bellingham had a fantastic start at Real Madrid, scoring crucial goals, including a brace in the Clásico in Barcelona (October 2023). Since then, his form has dipped a bit. What’s your view?
This season was tough for him because he had several injuries. That slowed down his progress. After a long break, it’s like starting all over again. That was really his main issue.
Did the tactical changes affect him?
Things don’t always go smoothly, you also have to know how to find your best position on the pitch to get the most out of yourself. He’s still an exceptional player, but when you play for a club like this and go two years without winning trophies, the pressure builds. That affects the whole team.
You often played as a winger at Barça and know the position well. How do you rate Marcus Rashford’s contribution?
He had the chance to join Barcelona and did pretty well. He showed what he’s capable of. We’ll see if he stays and gets more playing time – though that doesn’t depend only on him.
If you were Deco, would you keep him?
*Laughs* Deco knows much more about that than I do!
The rumors about José Mourinho returning to Real Madrid are getting louder. What do you think?
You’d better ask the president of Real Madrid *smiles*. He’s a very good friend of mine, I’ve seen him in many roles (as translator and assistant coach at Barça, editor’s note). I’m always happy to see him among the top coaches.
The pace of matches has changed a lot, even compared to your era, which isn’t that long ago. There are more goals in the final minutes. What’s different now?
I don’t know the exact stats, but maybe it’s because players make more mistakes as they get tired, even though they’re very well prepared these days. And you can’t forget that matches are simply longer now because of much more added time. Plus, you can make five substitutions and there are always situations that can lead to goals.
The World Cup is just weeks away. 2006 was your last major tournament, Portugal went out in the semi-finals.
Yes, that’s a painful memory. It was very intense, we had a lot of high-intensity matches in a row. We also picked up a lot of cards (23 in total during the tournament, editor’s note), which didn’t help us.
There was a penalty shootout against England in the quarter-finals.
That was a real battle *laughs*. There were several bookings (two for each side, editor’s note) and a red card (Wayne Rooney in the 62nd minute, editor’s note). It wasn’t exactly great advertising for football.
You were close to reaching the final.
We played consistently well, but then we lost to France again. That’s a bitter memory for our generation, because every time we faced the French, we lost. But that’s football.
The upcoming World Cup is wide open. Who’s your favorite?
Yes, there are a lot of contenders, as we’ve seen in recent tournaments. You need great players, but also luck – especially with the draw. The teams I see as favorites are the ones who have regularly reached the semi-finals lately: Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Portugal and France – they even have two full squads, which is really impressive.
To the Match Center: FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid