Diogo Dalot discusses Man United's game plan to beat City in the FA Cup final, how he became obsessive after meeting Cristiano Ronaldo and more.
A Portuguese is holding court in the press room at Manchester United's Carrington press room and contemplates the FA Cup final. "As we used to say in my country, finals are there to win and not to just play in."
"So the message from inside is that this is our game of the season. That's the way we're facing it, that's the way we want to face it as well, and the way that we should face it, I think."READ MORE: I coached Mainoo and Garnacho aged 17 - more debuts will follow "So for me, it gives me energy because I don't want to be in that position. I've been at this club for a while now and I want to feel that feeling of dominance in every game and in every competition we play, everywhere we go. So that, for me, is good, because it gives me even more energy to want to win it.
Dalot mentions the word "suffer" four times during a tactical breakdown that suggests a future career in coaching beckons. "When you have the ball, have the personality to play because you can play against City, you can have the ball against City. At Brentford, obscene hand gestures greeted the United players at full-time. Twenty-one months later, the mood was harmonious bordering on the celebratory at Selhurst Park.
"For me, that’s why I always try to when I play at Old Trafford or an away game - give something special to the fans because that’s what they are expecting, even when the stadium is not going as great as we wanted. Mourinho opined United had a right back for the next ten years after the 19-year-old Dalot's debut against Young Boys in Bern back in September 2018. The contract he agreed last year takes him until 2028.
There has been turbulence with Dalot's development. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was so unconvinced he insisted United target a British right back a year after the prudent £19million they invested in Dalot. The arrival of the £50m Aaron Wan-Bissaka, a slew of injuries and the selection of the revived Timothy Fosu-Mensah over Dalot led to a season-long loan with AC Milan in 2020.
"I became a little bit more obsessed, especially after meeting Cristiano and spending a lot of time with him," he explains. "Having this obsession about being available, not focusing on the quality of your football first - first ensuring you’re available. "I’ve become a bit more obsessed about being physically and mentally available for every game. During the early stages of my career, I had some problems with injuries so that was something that was consuming me because the first step for you being able to play is being available and if you’re not you’re not going to play.
"In Portugal, there's not this culture, unfortunately, the same as in England. In England, they value a lot what is English, what is the English person, the English culture, they value a lot, their country. And in Portugal, it's more that what is from abroad is good, we don't see too much what iust going on inside the country.
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