Eduardo Camavinga, a Real Madrid midfielder, gave an interview to Goal in which he analyzed the role he has at Real Madrid, which last year managed to win both the League and the Champions League with the Franco-Angolan playing the role of substitute theoretical, although very relevant at times, especially in the comebacks of the Champions League.
Were you surprised to be in the World Cup despite not playing much for Madrid?: “No, I wouldn’t say I was surprised, but I did have my doubts. I didn’t really know if they were going to select me. But I was confident. Of course, people are missing and that allowed me to be here. And when my name appeared on the list, I was very happy. I sat in front of the TV at 19:58… (the list was not announced until 20:30).
Does it bother you to be a substitute?: “Of course I would like to play every game. There is a reality at Real Madrid: there are good players ahead of me. I can’t say I like it because being on the bench isn’t nice either. You have to be patient. It is true that last year I helped a lot as a substitute, I know that. When I came in, we were at a disadvantage and I managed to be decisive. They must be some of my best matches. I still get chills when I watch some moments from the game against City.
Is it looser with the score against?: “No, not necessarily. I don’t usually hold back. If he had come in and we were winning, it would have been a different style of play. We would have tried to keep the ball to try to keep the result and defend well. When you lose, the most important thing is to keep going. I don’t play by calculating, saying to myself, “Oh, we’re losing, I’m not going to let go of the horses.” Even when I come in and we win, I have to let go of the horses to help the team win. My best version is to recover many balls, play forward, dribble, take risks and win duels.
What is your best position?: “I can play various positions, so I am inspired by various players. Casemiro wins many defensive duels. Modric is also capable of winning defensive and offensive duels, he has eyesight, vision of the game and also an outside foot. Kroos is important in the game with his incredible passing quality. My preferred position is that of ‘6’, ahead of the defence. But you can’t have everything, you have to adapt. I have to be more stable defensively and spread out less.
How can you end up being the owner?: “When you’re a footballer, you want to play every game. I don’t want to say it’s annoying, but you have to be patient. I don’t want to have this luxury understudy status all my life. You have to realize that there are a lot of people ahead of me. I have to learn from them and then my time will come. It will simply come with performances on the field that will lead me to be a starter. Being versatile is necessarily an advantage. When you are versatile, you have more possibilities to play because you can play in more positions.
Lessons from the last Champions League: “Our history in the Champions League has been made up of difficult games, with games that we have won at the last minute. I think that can help me because I know that if we lose at any given moment, we shouldn’t give up. And you know that you can turn the mountains at any time, even if you lose 90+2. That was the lesson of our European tour last year.”
