Sneijder Interview, Algarve Pics

Here is an interview with Wesley Sneijder, its humurous, and it shows his ambition to wint the Champions League this year!

Wesley Sneijder rejoined the team after his short vacation. In an interview to AS, the midfielder said he believes this squad can win the Club’s tenth European Cup title.

How have your holidays been like? Did you travel to many places or did you stay in one place?

My vacation has been phenomenal. It’s a shame it is now over. I went to the beach, dined in several restaurants and enjoyed myself with my family. I’ve had a lot of time to spend with my wife and my son Jersey. I like to be calm and rest during my holidays, but that doesn’t mean I don’t do anything. I play tennis and football with my brothers and I do lots of different things to avoid boredom.

I guess you saw Rafael Nadal’s and Roger Federer’s impressive Wimbledon final

(Laughs). Nadal is incredible. His skill with a racket is amazing. I couldn’t get my eyes off the television set. I was very happy for him when he won. Naturally, I’m no way as good as he is, but I’m the best amongst my brothers because I always defeat them (laughs).

The pre-season has started for you in the Algarve. How do you feel now that work is back?

I always like to return to work with my friends. I’ve only had three weeks off in the end, but I think they were enough. I don’t need any more days to rest. I want to train hard, grow strong again and enjoy the competitions we will play in. That’s what makes me really happy. I end up missing football when I don’t play for a while. Holidays are good for me to spend time with my family and to rest, but I wanted to come back.

You believe the current Real Madrid squad can win the Champions League…

I do. We were eliminated by Roma because we had many injured players. I think that if Ramos, Robben and myself had been there that day the team would have won.

What did you do during your holidays?

I spent one week in Holland and then came here to the Algarve with my family. This part of Portugal is beautiful and I have a great time here. This is the fourth time we come. I love it. The beach is spectacular. My family enjoys itself here.

Besides playing tennis, what more have you done to keep in shape?

I haven’t practised sport every day, but I have tried to be active during the holidays. It’s good to rest and forget what surrounds you on a daily basis sometimes. I played with my brothers and my son on the beach.

Does he behave well? He may become a football player one day…

He could be great! I’m serious. He is left footed and has a powerful shot despite being only two years old. Left footed players are the best in Holland.

He will be the new Maradona!

That’s right! But he’ll never be like his father, though; I shoot with both feet (laughs).

What did you think of Spain’s performance in the Euro 2008?

I was very happy for Spain. I preferred them to win instead of Germany. Their football was amazing and I had two friends on their ranks, Sergio Ramos and Casillas. Spain deserved to win the championship. They are a strong, quality team. They were nevertheless lucky because Russia played incredibly well against us and badly against them.

Iker told me he would’ve preferred playing against you and that they would’ve also kicked you around…

Sure, sure. I’ll have to talk to him about that. Show-off… (laughs).

Did you congratulate them?

Yes, I sent them text messages. I didn’t call because I knew they would be very busy with the celebrations and all. I was very happy for them.

Which goal have you set yourself this season?

I played very badly for three months last year and this time around I want to perform at a constant level. I always want to play well. I know it won’t be possible to do so in every game, but that’s my goal. I am anxious to play again.

What’s your dream for this year?

To win Real Madrid’s tenth European Cup.

I never doubted his attitude, he is all about working hard an improving. And he even admitted to his bad passage of play last year, I remember it well because I got on him alot about it. But he improved, and now we have one of the best central midfielders in Europe, who hoepfully will carry his Euro 08 form into this season!

EDIT: Here is another, seperate interview with Sneijder where he disucss Van de Vaart as well as CRonaldo. Interesting insights from a Real player.

‘I’ve talked to him several times in the last few days,’ Sneijder told Spanish sports daily AS. ‘He told me he wants to play for Real Madrid, but he still doesn’t know if it will be possible to do so this season.

‘He told me that he wants to come to Madrid and that he is very excited about achieving this aim.

‘Rafael is a great footballer, He seems very good to me. I played with him for four seasons at Ajax and we have played quite a few matches together with the Holland team and we have always been together in the centre of the pitch.

‘However, I don’t know if he will come this year or the next.

‘I would definitely sign him for Madrid. He has a very good head, as much on as off the pitch. Moreover he has a great advantage and that is he goes a lot into the opposing area and each season scores a lot of goals.’

‘I don’t want to say much (about Ronaldo) because every day different news emerges,’ added Sneijder. ‘Cristiano is a great player, he has a lot of quality and if he comes to Madrid he would be welcomed by everyone.

‘But at the moment no-one can say anything about him because talking well about him also shows a slight lack of respect to the players that are here and this Real Madrid has a lot of people of quality.’

‘It’s true that could happen,’ he continued. ‘It would be bad for the dressing room if he gets a much higher salary than the rest of the squad.

‘It’s not important to me, but I know that other team-mates would not like that at all. Here we have footballers like him, for example (Arjen) Robben or Robinho.

‘It’s obvious that I want to play with Cristiano, but you also have to maintain the equilibrium in the dressing room.’

While claiming he would love to link up with Ronaldo, Sneijder believes Madrid do not need the winger, insisting they already have a player who is more than his match - Robinho.

‘For me, this Madrid side do not need new signings,’ said Sneijder. ‘In the last few matches last year we were very solid and the team has grown a lot.

‘This squad is strong enough and this season we are going to do more.

‘It’s also obvious that if you bring in a player of a lot of quality it can be better for the team. In that case the only one thing I think we need is to sign a striker.’

‘I hope Robinho stays at Madrid because I think he is equal to Cristiano Ronaldo,’ said the Dutchman.

‘People have criticised Robinho because he hasn’t performed in the big matches, but I saw important matches for Manchester United and Cristiano didn’t perform either.

‘It’s not a criticism. I just want to point out that a player can’t be at the same level all season.’

Some biting words for Ronaldo to consider.

Bonus Post!
Here is a bonus for today, some pictures from the Algarve were Real is having a pre-preseason training camp, kind of like in high school how we did clinics and camps all summer before the first official day we were allowed to train by the state.

Run To The Left!

Now Run To The Right!

Now Do The Cha-Cha Yall

What The Hell Is That Bastard Doing There?

Category: Team News

Tags: Team News

Subscribe   The Offside RSS Feeds

Print

Share