To celebrate his two hundred appearances with the Lazio shirt, the Biancoceleste central defender Patric spoke to the microphones of Lazio Style Channel describing his entire career, from his arrival at Villarreal, up to his success with the Biancocelesti, passing through Barcelona:
Let’s go back to 2018, when you were excluded from the UEFA list for the Europa League. If they had told you at that moment that you would reach 200 appearances for Lazio and this status in the team, would you have believed it?
“I’m not telling you no. I am a person who has felt very strong in times of difficulty. Everything that has happened to me, even negatively, is right that it happened. When I arrived I wasn’t ready. I was a child, not only in football, even in life. Sometimes when we talk about footballers we only refer to what they do on the pitch, but in reality they are people, each with a personality that changes their way of being. When playing football there are many aspects to consider at that moment and I think that the aspect that never made me be excluded is that I always worked, listened and learned. I knew I had the qualities, but also that I had to mature in many aspects!”.
What is the perfect game of these 200 that you have played?
“I don’t have one in particular, I live every emotion to the fullest. That’s how I am, so I don’t know which one to choose. I like to experience the matches. Then it’s normal that in terms of importance, playing the Champions League is the dream of all the great players and the Big clubs. Experiencing a night like the one against Bayern Munich in a full Olympic stadium is also special, except the away ones.
You arrived in Rome in 2015, was it already in your thoughts to stay for all this time? Did anyone recommend Lazio to you before arriving?
“I already knew Lazio because it’s a historic team, then I’ve always liked Italian football and I knew I could learn a lot. I didn’t think I’d stay for so many years, but I think I couldn’t have stayed in a better place to grow and mature. Maybe staying in Spain my career wouldn’t have been so good. Coming to a place where I didn’t speak the language, where I closed myself off with my parents, where I only thought about playing football was part of my growth living the Italian mentality, much harder than in Spain, where they are usually lighter with young people. I think being here has done me good to grow and become a footballer at certain levels, I feel very comfortable “.
How would you explain Lazio? Do you feel like you embody the Lazio spirit?
“I heard it a lot in the early years. Even if I didn’t play, even if I was criticized, I understood the situation and the Lazio environment got inside me. It’s like a family. In certain moments you get emotional on your own without thinking about it, it means that there is something that has entered you. I will always carry Lazio with me, it is my favorite team. It has something special. Anyone who spends many years here realizes that you can’t do without it. You will remember it forever. The fans and the shirt get inside you. People die to go to the stadium to see Lazio win. These are values that we have always had and that make you love the shirt.”
How would you like to be remembered?
“The best thing in life is to be an example for those who come. Footballers come and go. I like that parents can tell my story to their children, who have to fight for their dreams. Taking me as an example is the best thing you can receive. I have always been a fighter and I would like to be remembered as an example of growth for children.”
A footballer who disappointed you a little on the pitch?
“In terms of quality in training for the 9 years I’ve been here, there was no one else like Ravel Morrison. The problem is that football is not just about talent. Sometimes it’s not even just the footballer’s fault, but the environment around you. You come to the camp for an hour and a half, the other 22 and a half hours are spent with your family and those around you. For him this was the problem, but in training he had superior quality. With this talent he was at the level of Luis Alberto, perhaps even more in tight spaces. He did incredible things, but the difference is the head, the desire to pedal and this penalized him a lot.”
A footballer who you immediately noticed was a phenomenon?
“Sergei. When he arrived the first few months he showed a physical and technical superiority. It was difficult to see a player so tall that he expressed this quality with the ball at his feet. If you put the two things together I knew he was a special player for Lazio. He could be seen from afar.”
Off the field. Are you at peace with the world and with yourself?
“I talk to my family a lot. The most important thing to find your best version not only in football is to feel good about yourself. To find this moment here, we have to go through different things and we cannot judge others. I have to enjoy my moment and my story, I deserved it and I’m calm, proud of myself, happy to be here. You must never let your guard down and be aware that life is not always the same. Sometimes things happen that can change you, but you have to stay humble. I am a much more mature person, I know how to manage positive and negative emotions and this makes me feel calm and serene.”
Depression and mental health. Is it talked about less than it should?
“Yes, without a doubt. There are many situations but also matches in which I didn’t see the ball. Sometimes I was too good. The fact of not saying that I was sick so as not to disappoint and to make others happy and not me. They were all injured, I had to play and for me not playing was disappointing. I said to myself ‘how can I not play just because I’m sick’. It was too easy to give up. At that moment I wasn’t well, but facing that moment made me who I am. Not facing this fear, doing the easy thing, that is, giving up playing, would not have made me so mature. I remember a match with Sassuolo at home, with Bruges in Belgium, I couldn’t see the ball and I wasn’t well. I didn’t understand why. I stopped the ball and passed it to the closest teammate. I finally got over it all. Mental health is everything. Ever since I was a child I have thought that the important thing is to enjoy life and be happy. When you grow up you realize that life is full of difficulties and when you least expect them they arrive.”
Did anyone on the team know about your difficult period?
“Yes, I mentioned it a little. For example, I had panic attacks on planes when we traveled. Sometimes someone laughed, but I wanted to be strong, so that nothing would happen to me. In the end it was a very serious thing and I always kept it to myself. This was a mistake because you need to ask for help first. The last thing I wanted was to play football. If you don’t feel well you can’t do a job like ours. You must be calm and at peace with yourself. I woke up in the morning without the desire to do anything, I had lost the sense of living. I wondered why I had to go to work. I’ve always been a bit of a hypochondriac. The fact of seeing people dying from Covid on TV and I was alone made me ask a thousand questions and made me go into crisis.”
If Covid hadn’t stopped the championship in 2019/20…
“I don’t know if we would have won the championship, but we would have come close until the end. I’m sure. The feelings I had the last time at home against Bologna with 70,000 people in the stadium, we won matches after 20 minutes. I’ve never had the energy I had in my entire career. I was putting everything on the line, for the first time I felt like an important piece, they always won and it was the talk of all of us in Europe. Finding yourself stuck at home shortly afterwards was difficult. I told myself to keep up and I killed myself with workouts at home. But I couldn’t see the way out and I didn’t know how to handle this situation, it was the first time it had happened to me. We would have played it until the end, I’m sure.”
Is Cagliari-Lazio the craziest match of your career?
“Surely. There were others too but that was madness.”
Your passion for singing is a project for the future…
“I like music because it has always been very present in my home. My mother, sister and grandparents played some instruments and counted. I never took it seriously because I always had it clear that I wanted to be a footballer. My humble idea is that if you are a footballer you have to leave singing alone. Either you do one thing or the other, but I respect those who do it, but I don’t think about becoming a singer in the future. It’s a hobby that I just enjoy.”
What relationship do you have with Rome?
“It’s like Lazio. It enters your heart. I like on quieter days in the empty streets before going to sleep, to take a walk with my girlfriend. Seeing Rome is beautiful, its monuments. Walking around Rome is special, one of the most visited cities in the world.”
The Roman word you hear the most?
“Ao (laughs, ed.)”.
How did you become Italianized?
“In food. I defend Spain a lot as is normal, but Italy has no rivals when it comes to food. It’s devastating how we eat here.”
Have you gotten better at cooking?
“No”.
Favorite dish?
“All. I can’t tell you why there isn’t one I like. We in Spain use many more sauces, you let the food speak for itself. I’ve grown fond of this, I like to eat in every tavern in the centre, it’s all good.”
Will you return to live in Spain at the end of your career?
“Still do not know. I bought a house here, I feel like one of you. I haven’t decided, it’s a few years away. I think you have to stay close to your parents. When they are older I will have to stay with them like they did with me. As long as they are there I will always be at their side, they want to enjoy them as much as possible.”
Ideal holiday?
“At the sea. But not all the time under the sun, I’m too white and I turn red like a shrimp.”
You turned the boos into applause. What is the lesson you would like to pass on?
“Difficult situations make you stronger. If you take it out on others there’s nothing you can do, it’s just making excuses. In your soul you feel this, you have to show who you are. The greatest joy is to prove to yourself that you can change the situation. It’s nice for people to realize this and tell you they’re proud of you and your story. This makes me proud. I have been criticized, but I have never taken the field with fear. We get a lot of money, it’s right that we are judged by the fans. Sometimes you go through bad moments, all the players did. The difference between a strong player and a weaker one lies in the willingness to face these difficulties.”
