Fabio Coentrao and his adventure at Real Madrid: “I was not received well by some fans” – Real Madrid

The former Portuguese international admits going to the Spanish capital was not the “right move”

Fabio Coentrao admitted that moving from Benfica to Real Madrid in the 2011/12 season was not the “right move”. In a conversation with Luis Freitas Lobo, on SportTv’s “FutebolArte” programme, the former Portugal international recalled the adventure in the Spanish capital and admitted that the beginning was complicated.

“At first, things did not go as I expected and I was not received well by some Real Madrid fans. At that time it was not the right move. I felt like I could play for any team in the world.” “And that’s what most big clubs consider, they didn’t have a left-back at my level. And at Real we had two. Going back 12 years ago, there weren’t 3 or 4 left-backs. There weren’t any left-backs. “I joined,” he said. To the best in the world ever. “It has become complicated,” he said, adding:

“In these clubs, there are only 11 players and they are always the same. There must be players like me, who felt it at that time. Marcelo was good and played. Ancelotti often told me that he had never met a player before.” “Who competed a lot. Just like me… I didn’t play for a month and a half, but when I was called up, I played 90 minutes and competed.”

Speaking of Ancelotti, Fabio Coentrao was also invited to compare the Italian helmsman to Zidane. “They are coaches who are trained to coach great teams and great players. They know how to deal with players very well. Maybe I did not play much with Zidane, but he is a great man, an excellent coach because he treated me like someone who scored 50/60 goals. He treated everyone equally. The player feels very happy this way,” says the 35-year-old former full-back, who also played for clubs such as Benfica, Sporting, Nacional and España Rio Ave.

As for whether he would change anything in his career, the former Portugal international seems to have no doubts. “Of course I’m happy with my past. I played for the best clubs, won a lot of titles. Of course I’m happy with my past, but will I change? Maybe, there were decisions… “He will say yes. There were many clubs interested. “Even things could have gone wrong, but I felt I could have taken another step.”

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