Alan Varela: “My aim is to make the World Cup squad, I had a great year” | OneFootball

“I always thought about enjoying football until my daughter was born when I was 17, and that’s when things got very serious. I had to work my tail off to give her a better life and make it to the top flight,” Alan Varela emphasizes. At 24, he already has a résumé that includes winning a title with Boca, the team he supports, and recently with Porto, another giant and, until further notice, his first stop in European football, since his name and his game have caught the attention of several Premier League heavyweights, such as Manchester United and Liverpool.

For now, he is enjoying this first league title won with a very demanding club and being on Lionel Scaloni’s list of 55 preselected players for the upcoming World Cup. Successes and recognition that come because of his talent and also the maturity he shows in this conversation with LA NACION.

-How does this title won with Porto feel to you? Because it’s not easy to settle in Europe, become important to the team, and end up a champion.

-Honestly, it has been a very good year and season, both personally and for the team. We turned the page very well from what happened last year, which obviously everyone could see, because I think we hit rock bottom, since we didn’t fight for any title. And the truth is that when you arrive here at Porto, the only thing people demand from you is to win titles and play well. And well, I think last year we weren’t up to the task, and this year was very good because good players arrived with the right mentality and a new coaching staff that also demands a lot from you and focuses on every little detail. And well, all of that was reflected throughout the season.

-What was the hardest thing that happened to you last year? Was it the failed Club World Cup campaign?

-Like I told you, we weren’t up to the task in any competition. We weren’t able to fight for the league title, which people here always demand you win. In the domestic cups in Portugal we also weren’t up to the task; we were knocked out very early, and I think the Club World Cup wasn’t very good from us either. Honestly, that was like hitting rock bottom. This year we managed to turn it around and we’re very happy about that.

-What did Francesco Farioli change in the team? And what is it like having his assistant Lucho González, a club legend, close by?

-Well, Farioli’s arrival was very important because he came with some very good ideas, always trying to improve every little detail, and he prepares for and analyzes matches very well. And well, having Lucho here is an honor for me. As a player he was extraordinary, and being able to share the day-to-day here with us, with him always pushing me, is really great for me. I always try to improve, to listen to him, and to learn from everything he tells me.

-Lucho is on the list of Argentine champions at Porto, along with Lisandro López, Fernando Belluschi, Ernesto Farías, many Argentines who left their mark, and now yours is there too. What does it feel like to enter that group?

-It’s really nice because, obviously, you mentioned very good players who are very well known here in Portugal and who left their mark. When I arrived here in Portugal, people were always talking to me about Lucho, Lisandro, Belluschi, and that reflects the great work they did here. I always try to work hard, be professional, and give everything on the pitch so that people can recognize that I was always a player who gave 100% for the team.

-What was it like for you to adapt to this team and earn your place? Because coming from Argentine football, people often talk about there being a difference in level with Europe.

-No, honestly, adapting wasn’t difficult for me. As soon as I arrived, I started playing, but it also depends on the coach giving you confidence, on the players trusting you too, and on me being able to develop my game. That was key for my adaptation, which was very quick, and then for continuing to show everything during all this time I’ve been here.

-What ideas from Martín Anselmi stayed with the group and contributed to this success that later came with another coaching staff?

-Martín seemed like a great coach to me, always very attentive to every player and every detail too, but the truth is he took over the team when we were already doing badly, and we weren’t able to help him with all the ideas he had. And well, what happened, happened.

-What relationship do you have with president André Villas-Boas, who was successful as a coach and had the task of succeeding a historic president like Pinto da Costa?

-André is doing an incredible job. He’s always very attentive to the team, to everything related to Porto, and he’s a great person. You can always talk with him in the best way, and he really understands what a player needs. He was a coach himself, and he understands all of this very well.

-And what is the rivalry with Benfica and Sporting like? What were those derbies like? Are they the kind of big matches you enjoy, like playing against River?

-Yes, they’re tough matches. Everything is on the line against those teams, because a defeat can knock you out of the title race. This year we did well in all those games; we didn’t lose against any big team: Benfica, Sporting, and Braga. I was really happy to win some derbies, and in others not to lose them, so we could become champions.

-What was it like to face Nico Otamendi, Benfica’s captain and a world champion, who is also with you on the list of 55 submitted by Scaloni?

-With Nico we’ve always had a very good relationship, on and off the pitch. We were always respectful toward each other. Obviously it’s a derby and on the pitch you give everything, but beyond that, nothing happens.

-Is the dream of the national team still fully alive?

-Yes, honestly, it is. To be considered for the list of 55 for a tournament like that is really nice, and obviously I’m not satisfied with just that. I think I had a very good year and season. I felt very comfortable here at Porto, and I think I have a chance, but there’s still time to go. I have to keep working and we’ll see what happens.

-And how do you see the national team in its title defense?

-Argentina is always a contender. We won the last World Cup, we won the Copa América, and we’ll always be contenders as long as Messi, our number 10, is the best player in the world.

-And you suffered because of him at the Club World Cup…

-Yes, yes, I did.

-At Boca you won a title in a similar position to the one Leandro Paredes occupies in his return to the club. Did you expect the level he is showing?

-Lea’s return, for a Boca fan like me, is really wonderful. When he arrived, he changed the face of the team, and he’s doing things very well. For me, he’s one of the best in Argentine football. Hopefully he can keep going like this, showing all his quality and all his class, and that it will be the best for Boca.

-Do you talk often with Riquelme, who always praised your intelligence on the pitch?

-Yes, every now and then we exchange a few messages, and not long ago I sent him a Porto shirt. My relationship with Román was always good, and for me that’s really nice because he’s one of my idols.

-Someone from Boca who is also on the list of Argentine champions with Porto is Agustín Marchesín, who suffered a serious injury.

-Yes, here I have teammates who played with Marchesín, and they really regret his injury. As a Boca fan, I also really regret that he got injured like that. But well, I hope he can recover in the best possible way and keep showing that he can wear the Boca shirt.

-As for your future, there were rumors that several Premier League teams want you. How do you handle that mentally?

-I’m calm and 100% focused here at Porto. Obviously my agent handles all those matters, and right now I’m not thinking about that. My goal, like I was saying, is to make the World Cup squad, and honestly that’s what I’m focused on at the moment.

–And what is Porto’s next objective as the big club it is?

-Here the aim is always to win everything, right? Domestic cups, but above all the league. The league is very important in Portugal because it gives you direct access to the Champions League, and it also matters a lot to do well in the Champions League next season.

-When you were little, when you first started kicking a ball, did you imagine that you would become a champion with Boca and also a champion in Europe, being an important player for both teams?

-When you’re little, you don’t think so much about winning, about lifting trophies, but about enjoying football. I always thought about enjoying football until my daughter was born when I was 17, and that’s when things got very serious. I had to work my tail off to give her a better life and make it to the top flight. I achieved it, and obviously from then on I always took football as a way of making a living, more as a livelihood, but also as a way to be part of the history of every club I get to play for.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.