Interviewed by ESPN Argentina, Nahuel Estevez spoke about his adventure in Italy and at Parma: “I played in Serie A with Covid, I was at Spezia and there were empty stadiums. Now it will be something else. When I arrived in I adapted to Italy very quickly, they have a culture similar to ours. It’s something similar to us Argentines, I’ve been here for four years and I learned Italian, it was right to learn it, I started studying every day with a professor and there ‘I learned”.
Parma and its fans.
“Parma has had a history with incredible players. Buffon, Sensini, they have won important things. It surprised me a bit because in Italy there are somewhat ancient structures, when I moved from Estudiantes to Spezia the change was huge, and now that I’m at Parma it’s different. It’s all a luxury, the club treats us very well and the truth is that they love us Argentines after they had the Crespos, the Ortegas, the Verons.”
Moving with the family.
“I came here with my wife. The change for us was very big, it would have been difficult to change everything alone. Living in Europe is wonderful, without her everything would have been much more complicated.”
Did you follow Estudiantes’ victory?
“Yes, on the phone. We won the championship a few days ago, the same day as Estudiantes. We became champions at the same time as Estudiantes, while we were having a party. I was a little drunk, I didn’t understand much but I was very happy happy. I was with a couple of friends and we started singing the Estudiantes choirs (laughs, ed.)”.
The promotion party.
“We celebrated but we are training. Friday is the last match, the ‘clasico’ against Reggiana. We are already champions, we were promoted with Bari and with the draw against Cremonese we became champions. Now there is It’s Como fighting with Venezia to move up to Serie A, but we are already champions.”
You played with important players.
“At Estudiantes I already played with important players, from Andujar to Mascherano and when I arrived in Italy I asked him for advice. Mascherano was Mascherano, but we could talk to him openly. Then in Parma I found Buffon, an incredible person. I don’t think that he realizes the dimension he has in the world of football. He sat next to me, often with the group of Argentines, and he was happy with us. There was me, Ansaldi, Chichizola, Vazquez. We asked him about Cristiano Ronaldo Messi… a phenomenon.”
Buffon was asking something about Argentina?
“He obviously knew our football, he had many Argentine teammates. He really liked the Argentine personality, but in reality we didn’t talk much about that. I was with him when we won the World Cup, he was rooting for us a bit because he wasn’t there. ‘Italy. He had played with Dybala, with Di Maria, he supported Messi. We experienced the World Cup final together. There were 5 hours difference from Qatar, we were playing and as soon as it ended I ran away.’
What did Veron tell you before arriving in Italy?
“We spoke after the promotion and he congratulated me, he has always believed in me. I play in the position he played in, he always gave me advice and when I came to Italy he advised me what to do. He told me not to I only behave like a South American because Italians don’t like that. I learned the language, I integrated with everyone.”
You’re a smart guy.
“I’ve always had respect, I think that if a person moves to another country they should at least try to learn the language because it’s like showing respect and interest in that country. I’ve settled in well in Italy, I’m happy.”
