... death of Sevilla teammate Antonio Puerta: “When something like that happens, football loses its meaning. We cried a lot. It was a very powerful experience”
... being red-carded after punching Sweden’s Marcus Rosenberg during a European qualifier: “I can’t explain what happened, but I regretted it in the same second. It was a hard walk off the pitch that night”.
... children and family: “My oldest child keeps asking why daddy has to go away so often and all the travelling makes it hard for my wife as well, because she is alone with the children a lot. I try to tell myself, that it is only for a period and in a couple of years I will be able to spend much more time with them”.
... Spanish versus German football: “In Sevilla we had to get forward as often as possible to get out and win the matches, where in Germany the result was the pivotal focus”.
... moving to Juventus: “As one of the traditional big clubs, Juventus was something different from what I had experienced before”.
... the competition for places at Juventus: “I am used to that from Sevilla, where we also had at least two good players for every position. We will play 50-60 matches and I am sure I will be able to play my part”.
... his spats with Totti and Gattuso: “I thought about it a bit before the move to Juventus, but they were not concerned about it and it is very much media hype. Still, there will, of course, be extra focus on me when we meet AC Milan and AS Roma”.
