Pepe, the mythical defender who rose through the ranks of the Real Madrid, he discussed his career in an interview with the Expresso newspaper, which will be released in Portugal next Friday, in which he tells the best anecdotes that he lived with the elastic of the merengue team.
Pepe assures Madrid fans are not that emotional
He almost arrived at Deportivo de la Coruña
Ufff … My signing with Real Madrid? Everything went very quickly, but actually 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, you will definitely not be staying here at FC Porto any longer.” But the press kept writing a number of things and Jorge Mendes told me others: “There is one club from England that is interested, there is another …”. And the more he played, the more clubs appeared. In the third year, I extended by another five and at the end of the season, Real Madrid’s proposal came in, although I had other opportunities. And I really wanted Real Madrid, despite many people telling me they were crazy to go there because it was very difficult and especially because it was a central cemetery. At that point, Madrid had a gap to fill since Hierro’s departure and I wanted this challenge. They were still trying to get me elsewhere, but I was always very direct. ”
His signing with Real Madrid
“I cost 30 million euros and come from a championship like the Portuguese … The Spanish press is much harder than the Portuguese, I guarantee you (laughs). My signing was as follows: I left the Porto concentration, I bought clothes at the airport and when I arrived at T4 in Madrid, a lot of journalists were waiting for me. Jorge Mendes warned me, “When you walk out the door, you have a lot of people by your side, give me your bag.” I gave Jorge my bag, which I remember was a shoulder bag, I opened the door and the journalists asked me the first question, “Pepe, Pepe, do you have the 30 million in that bag?” I didn’t know what to say, I felt a push on my back and Jorge said, “Come on, come on, don’t talk.” “The 30 million? Guess what? He didn’t speak Spanish. So yeah, it was difficult.”
The scolding Cannavaro gave him
“ Well now I can tell you this because many years have passed and we are friends: it happened with Cannavaro. In the preseason I practically did not speak, I just trained and watched, because I am very attentive. This was work and more work. So we went to Austria by plane and he happened to be sitting 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 got brave and said, ‘Cannavaro, Cannavaro (in a low voice), may I have the magazine ? ‘ And Cannavaro looked back and said, ‘Cannavaro? My name is Fabio. And he turned his back on me. I couldn’t say. It took seconds, maybe minutes, but it seemed like an eternity until he handed me the magazine. ”
His Real Madrid debut
“ My first match was against Atlético de Madrid. I came from a tactically organized club where if the ball comes to the left, you have to push it there, if the ball comes to the right, you push like this, stuff like that, basic. And what I found in Madrid was chaos. In the 30th minute the game breaks and they hit us one on one and we run backwards. I turn to Fabio and say, ‘Fabio! Fabio! Cover, cover! “And he said to me,” No, no, you don’t do that here. Each on his own side. And I: “Is that so? Damn! “I looked and saw the wingers up, the defensive pivot up. And I thought,” What? 50 yards behind me and I’m here for one-on-one? ” Then I calmly thought that I would do well. Little by little I was overcoming Status. The one who played for Real Madrid had to listen to the fans’ goals at that moment, because the 2-0 was not enough, they had to score four, five, six goals and all that remains is the power stations and the goalkeeper forbidden. ”
Pepe’s father’s harsh remark to Madrid
Boxes and language
‘When I arrived in Madrid, Iker said to me,’ So do you speak Spanish yet? And I: No, no. “Well look, you have to talk.” A few years later, when I returned to Porto and took it here, I also said to him, “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). ”
The locker room egos
It was not an easy wardrobe. There they are all players of the national team of high level. And that’s why they’re all important, not just those eleven heads. But it is a brutal pressure: if you win, you are fine, you stay in the team and in the club; If you don’t win, you leave, another player enters your place and that’s it. If you don’t have a performance, you have others waiting who want your place squeezed; so you must always be at a high level. ”
Portuguese in Madrid
“Mourinho came to Real Madrid to win La Décima, because that was all that mattered. The club only wanted the Champions League, the championship was secondary. Mourinho brought a lot of enthusiasm, as he had won the Champions League with Inter Milan. in the Bernabeu, and also a lot of organization and we ended up having three good years with him: we won a League, a King’s Cup, but we couldn’t win the Champions League. ”
The day Pepe paid the Besiktas team salary
He has won three champions with Madrid
“ That I, a boy who slept with my mother until I was 18, could win three Champions League (laughs)? See, I never thought it was true. I felt like I could go far, but it never occurred to me to win three. But I have never been one to think about his future either. I think 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 so 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, which has a lot of quality, and I have you. I’m telling you you’re not the first option. ‘I replied,’ Okay, sir, but what do you want? Do you want me to go? ‘And he said,’ No, no, no, I want you to stay, but I also want you to know you’re not my first choice. ‘ I said, ‘I accept. But does it give me a chance to fight for my place on an equal footing? No preferences? Ancelotti replied, “This is exactly what I was hoping to hear.” So in the future if this gentleman is honest as he is now I will stay and fight for every opportunity that comes my way. The coach ended as follows: ‘We will be champions’. And we were. ”