The Manchester City defender is thriving on the adrenaline and pressure of the English top flight and rejects criticism of his side’s style of play under Manuel Pellegrini
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By Diego Morini
Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis may have come to the Premier League towards the end of his playing days but believes the physical challenge has prolonged his career at the very highest level.
Having followed manager Manuel Pellegrini to the Etihad Stadium from Malaga last summer – via, briefly and bizarrely, Atletico Madrid for less than two months – the Argentine made 36 appearances in all competitions last term.
It took him some time to adjust to the English game, which he says is very similar to rugby, but he came into his own in the second half of 2013-14.
And Demichelis, who has previously played in Germany and Spain, has become acustomed to the no-holds-barred approach on these shores.
“It’s obvious that the Premier League is the hardest because of how the referees allow a lot more physical contact, trying to work out the good intentions of a player when he’s trying to get the ball and not cause an injury,†Demichelis told Goal. “In that sense, anything goes. As well as that, the [players’] physiques are different.
“A kick hurts in England, in Argentina, in Spain or any place – in that sense the league is super strong but also I understand that it’s the way the English interpret football. It’s how they were brought up. It’s what they like, getting kicked and getting up, whistling a player who simulates a foul or stays on the ground.
“It seems that rugby is closely related to football here. They like this game of knocks, of aggressiveness, and you can see it on the face of the fans, when they cheer and shout. It’s a way of experiencing it and it’s good.â€
Demichelis also spoke openly about his approach to football, and life in general, and insists he is glad of the need to push himself physically at this late stage of his career, with the stakes regularly high for City.
He also believes the competitive edge in the Premier League helped earn him a place in Argentina’s World Cup squad.
The 33-year-old explained: “Team-mates are always asking me how I manage to carry on at my age with so much enthusiasm and with so many responsibilities. I always say that, the bigger the challenge, the better I feel.
“I can’t relax, because of the team-mates that I have and for the opponents that I will face. It all makes you want a little more every day. Here, where you play 60 games, three or four defeats in a year – which in any other place would not be a lot – here it can make you lose the league, lose titles, lose prestige, so because of this I love this type of challenge.
“With games every three or four days, it’s impossible to relax and, at my age, it’s the best way of keeping myself competitive. Having been in the Premier League was the best test for me, to show that I was at a good level physically and in football terms, and helped me reach the World Cup.
“It’s undeniable that this year, like last year, City are obliged to be champion or a major player in the league – for everything City represents, for the investments they have made, for the desire to keep growing at an international level.
“But the truth is that I love the pressure because I like tough challenges. I’ve been used to it since I was young.
“At River they taught me that I had to be a champion. When I went to Bayern Munich, the obligation was to win everything. One year Bayern finished fourth in the league and it was 10 or 12 years since they had been eliminated quickly from the Champions League – it was a year that they sold 10 players. Imagine what it was like!
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“In such big clubs as these, finishing second is not enough. I keep relying on these pressures; they are healthy and beautiful. That takes me to the highest level.
“At my age I could choose clubs with less pressure and enjoy it a little more but the truth is that I need that adrenaline, that obligation to not relax, to always have a healthy responsibility to strive for success. It’s my way of moving forward.
“I love to have to re-evaluate what we did last year and even to do better because the reinforcements that we’ve added make us even stronger.â€
Having worked with the Chilean at River and Malaga, Demichelis knows Pellegrini better than most and moved quickly to quash any complaints about that ‘the Engineer’s’ playing style.
“I don’t read or listen to the critics so the comments don’t make much difference,†Demichelis replied. “I can tell you that Manuel is very respected by the City fans and, when he enters the stadium, they don’t stop applauding him and singing the song that they made for him.
“He earned great respect because he was the first foreigner to win two titles in his first season [in England].
“I believe that there is nothing more beautiful than being able to see a team that expresses itself how the manager wants. Any football fan who sees how City play realises that it’s a Manuel Pellegrini team. I love that ideology, of always being the protagonist, of going out to look for the win from the first minute – and not by running and kicking but for what we do as footballers, loving the ball and trying to use it the best possible way at all times.
“I believe that Manuel is passionate about this philosophy, of promoting this form of winning. These things, especially, in the last two years impressed me so much and I believe that, when you see City, even though there are still good games and bad games, we try to play how the manager wants us to.
“The truth is that it’s very beautiful. It’s great to be able to enjoy this way of playing.â€
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Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/scotland/rugby/story/219807.html
Demichelis: Football is like rugby in England - but I love it
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