Long interview by Nahitan Nández within the program “De Charla” on the YouTube channel “La Cucina de Kesman”. The Uruguayan of Cagliari it covered various topics, from the beginning to the arrival in Sardinia, with a passage also on the near future. Below we provide an excerpt.
The first step
“When I was sixteen I went to Montevideo, a person who worked for Pablo (Bentancur, his agent, ed.) accompanied me, I tried Peñarol and I stayed. As an only child, the beginning was a bit difficult, leaving the family… I remember crying every night, I wanted to go home and I was two hours’ drive away… it was still a pretty big change for me. Peñarol is the club I have always supported, I have experienced many beautiful things, I was their youngest captain in history, winning the championship…”
Boca Bond
“The move to Boca in 2017? At the beginning, leaving Peñarol wasn’t easy, I was in a very good moment, I was starting to fully enjoy that whole world. Then came the chance to go to Boca Juniors, I still had doubts because it was another change for me, but I took the responsibility to accept and it was another good move. It’s difficult to describe in words what the Boca world is, it’s something special. I always say it, I was born a Peñarol fan and I was lucky enough to also become a Boca Juniors fan. We won the Argentine Championship and the Super Cup, then later we lost the final of the Copa Libertadores. Winning was nice, obviously the Libertadores was a hard blow because we had made a good run. It hurts to lose a final regardless of the fact that it was against your all-time rival (River Plate, ed.), then you know how it works with football folklore, the Clasico, these things, but a final remains a final anyway. Sooner or later I would like to return to Boca as well as Peñarol and I would like to do it again as a real player.”
Red Blue
“The arrival at Cagliari? Another quite important change, linguistic, lifestyle, even in her passion given that she lived differently here. I was used to Boca that when you drew or lost a match the week became complicated, while here on my debut we lost at home and I remember that I was worried, but leaving the stadium I found something I hadn’t imagined: people asking for photos and he greeted. Here it’s more of a show, a different way of experiencing football. Obviously everyone in Cagliari also wants to win, but another thing remains. It is certainly different to play with Peñarol and Boca and then with Cagliari, the expectations or rather the objectives are different. It is a club that represents an island, a people, the people are very close, but the truth is that Cagliari has always been built to maintain the category. Cagliari has a beautiful history with the Uruguayans, everyone who has passed through here is in love with what the city is.”
Heavenly
“My location? The truth, I don’t know either (laughs, ed.). I had the opportunity to play in various roles, central, lateral… the Copa America with Tabarez I played on the wing, I had already played full-back with Boca and Peñarol, but at that moment the Maestro decided to put me there permanently and I was lucky enough to also play a good tournament. What was Tabarez for me? The word maestro says it all, it’s not just a figure of speech, it was and is since we still talk to him today and I send him messages. A very important person, even beyond what football is. He was interested in your life outside, how you were doing, how you felt, if your family was well, in short, a gentleman. His exoneration? For us there were many years together with him, when a person with whom you have created a relationship of affection, a relationship, passes away, it was obviously a sad moment both for us and for the national team. Being excluded from the 2022 World Cup was a difficult situation, one of the most difficult in my career to date. I had to accept the decision, be aware that it was reality and the important thing was to move forward. Bielsa? Another important person, the first year at Cagliari there was the possibility of going to England to play for his team (Leeds, ed.), then due to the coincidences of life we met in the national team anyway”.
Market
“Which teams have I been close to? In these five years I have been through all the clubs… we always talk about the transfer market, the closest was Inter, three years ago everything was done then the president couldn’t reach an agreement and I stayed in Cagliari. Arabia? I’ll tell you the truth, I don’t know if Gallardo (coach of Al Ittihad ex River Plate, just sacked) wants me, I haven’t had much of a chance to talk to my agent Pablo Bentancur, now I’m fully focused on the end of the championship with the Cagliari which is intense. Then, obviously, for the preparation of the Copa America.”
Matteo Zizola
