Alex de Souza Live Chat Full Transcript

Alex de Souza Live Chat Full Transcript
By Nathan L. Redd

Fenerbahce star Alex de Souza conducted a live chat with UEFA.com on Friday. Alex answered questions submitted by fans around the world. Here is a full transcript of Alex's chat:


Administrator: Welcome to Talk Football.

Moderator: Alex will be joining the chatroom at 12.30CET. You can start
sending your questions now.

Alex: Hello everyone. I am talking from Istanbul and it is a pleasure to be
here with you. So… I am waiting for your questions!

FenerFan: Hi Alex, what do you think for the next champions league matches
after the victory against milano?

Alex: It is going to be more difficult. Exactly the way we imagined before
the start of the competition. Our group is very tough and we will have to
play in Moscow and Eindhoven, two away games far from our crowd. We believe
it is going to be quite difficult to get points.

Cuneyt: What do you like the most in Istanbul?

Alex: The city itself is so nice, the nature around. I think what I like
most is this contrast of modern and past. The place I like most to go is the
Bosphorus. Anywhere near it, where you can take a look at the strait, is
very pleasant.

erhun: Which feature or position should Fenerbahce improve to gain success
in the Champions League?

Alex: You can always improve and you have to improve to gain success in this
competition. I would say we lack a bigger group of players. We needed more
players at the same level.

FENFAN: Do you think to be a coach in the future?

Alex: I don't think about that yet and, to be honest, I don't see it with
good eyes. Being a coach is such a difficult job. Any player who likes
football and studies it has the background to become a coach. But I will
wait and see when I retire.

Mesut: Our team plays very differently in the Super League and in
Europe..Why? Is the Turkish Leauge no longer a motivation for you?

Alex: In Turkey, we lower our level. We become more physical than usual, we
start to play the same way the opponent is playing. You get nervous and
runaway from the simple task of playing football. When our concern is only
to play, we show our quality. And that happens more often in Europe.

Cuneyt: When you were a little kid, which football player did you look up
to?

Alex: Zico. I always looked and admired the way he played, he was the
greatest of my generation. Even today, when I go to the training sessions, I
don't believe I am working with my idol.

Alex: About playing in Turkey, it is not a lack of motivation, it is the way
football is played. In Turkey there is more physical contact and the
referees don't award many fouls. Besides, all the teams that play against
the big clubs, Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Galatasaray, they just try to defend
and do something in counter attacks. In Europe, we play against better
teams, so we equal them, we raise our level.

tuncerotti: If you were a manager or coach which player would you buy for
your team ( 3 names)?

Alex: Rio Ferdinand, Ronaldinho and Messi.

vodina: you were criticized by many writers and fans for not playing very
efficiently in big games but your excellent football of the last victory has
silenced them, what do you want to say to those who still ignore your
quality and skills ?

Alex: I have nothing to say. Critics are there and the fans have the right
to criticize us as well. But they just have to look at my numbers. I scored
against our rivals in Turkey, against PSV, against Milan… I made assists
against Manchester, now against Inter… there are no arguments against the
numbers.

mysterYSM: did you know anything about Turkey before you came

Alex: Absolutely nothing. I had no idea what to expect and it had never come
into my mind to play in Turkey. The only thing I knew was that school thing,
that Turkey is divided between two continents, Asia and Europe. Once I got
here, though, I started to learn and I was so surprised. I really liked it
from the beginning.

FB-Legend: does playing as a captain affect ur concentration or ur play?

Alex: No, it doesn't affect me. I was captain in Coritiba, Cruzeiro, Brazil…
even when I am not the captain, I have always tried to help my colleagues
with information about what I see inside the pitch.

magichand: whats the most difficult match in your life?

Alex: It was Coritiba vs Palmeiras, 1997 Brazilian league. I had just moved
from Coritiba to Palmeiras and it was a new situation for me. I would be
playing against the club I supported, where I had spent my whole childhood.
And both teams needed to win. I played a horrible match and in the last
minute I scored the goal that got us the draw… 1-1.

Cuneyt: Who do you think is the best player of Galatasaray and would you
like to see him playing for Fenerbahce?

Alex: Arda, he is a young guy who plays with the jersey number 66.

christub: How does the Turkish league compare with the Brazilan and the
Italian league you have played in?

Alex: They are all different. In Brazil technique is the important thing. If
you are not talented, the supporters don't accept you. In Italy, what
matters is the tactical part. To close spaces and win 1-0 is good there. And
in Turkey what matters is the effort, the heart. There are teams that you
don't even understand their system, but they keep going, they never give up.
Alex: In Brazil, skills. In Italy, tactics. In Turkey, heart.

BORDERLINE: Now im in office and chatting with you. Also my Fenerbahce
uniform is on my desk. Supporters in Turkey love football too much? What do
you think about that?

Alex: It is phenomenal, isn't it? I've played in Brazil and Italy and people
really love football in those places. But there is nothing compared to
Turkey, Here football is above all things.

alex10fan: hi alex,what do you think about Zico's 3-5-2 system in Rizespor?

Alex: All systems are good as long as you practice them. We hadn't had time
to test this system, lots of players were coming back from national teams
and we had one session only. And I think it worked, because we created lots
of chances. It is a system that has to be worked on.

Cuneyt: Do you think the Fenerbahce-Galatasaray derby is one of the best of
the world?

Alex: It is a difficult question, because all countries will consider theirs
as the best derbies. Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray makes the city different,
everyone talks about it, so I think it might be one of the biggest games of
the world.

aytun: alex how many more years are you thinking of playing football with
fenerbahce?

Alex: I have a contract until the end of the next season, two years then.
When it expires, we will see what to do.

big_julius: Do you have any kind of belief we may lose the title against
Galatasaray this year? We are 5 points behind them..

Alex: The supporters have to be patient, because it is just the beginning.
Yes, we've dropped five points, but there is a long way to go.

gomart: who are your best friends in fenerbahce?

Alex: For obvious reasons, I am closer to the Brazilian players. There are
plenty of them!

Cristian Chivu: What is your opinion about Roberto Carlos?

Alex: It is good to have him with us. He is helping us on the pitch with all
his experience and he is helping the club outside the pitch, with all
marketing campaigns. He is an asset.

Alex: OK, thanks to all of you who participated. It's been a pleasure for me
and let's hope Fenerbahce keep winning in the Champions League. Bye!