I Can't Change People's Opinions About Me - Fernandes In His Own Words

6 hours ago

The Football Interview is simply a caller bid successful which nan biggest names successful athletics and intermezo subordinate big Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations astir nan nation's favourite sport. We'll research mindset and motivation, and talk astir defining moments, profession highs and individual reflections. The Football Interview brings you nan personification down nan player.

Interviews will driblet connected Saturdays crossed BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and nan BBC Sport website. They will besides tally connected BBC One connected a Saturday aft Match of nan Day.

Bruno Fernandes has been 1 of Manchester United's astir accordant players since joining 5 years ago.

The 31-year-old Portugal midfielder is nan Red Devils' skipper and has scored 99 goals for nan club.

He sat down pinch BBC Sport's Kelly Somers successful April to talk his family, his astir influential head and why group are entitled to their opinions connected him.

Kelly Somers: Well, Bruno, picture to maine a young Bruno. What were you for illustration arsenic a child?

Bruno Fernandes: A dreamer. Someone very passionate astir everything I did. I kept a shot nether my limb each nan time. The kid that would emotion to beryllium extracurricular of my house, pinch my cousins, pinch his friends, not only to play shot but to do thing that I could to bask my childhood. I was a very happy child.

Kelly: What is your standout puerility memory?

Bruno: I wouldn't opportunity I person one, I person truthful galore because I had very bully moments arsenic a child. Obviously for maine playing shot will ever beryllium nan highest constituent successful my youth. The point of going to schoolhouse pinch nan shot while waiting for nan doorbell to travel on, to tally into nan pitch, to get to get location first. There are many, many, galore bully things that I person done successful my puerility that I wouldn't opportunity that I person a standout one.

Media caption,

'People person an sentiment astir maine and I can't alteration that' - Fernandes

Kelly: Do you retrieve nan first squad you played for?

Bruno: Yes - it was called Infesta. I went into location arsenic a futsal subordinate but I only sewage into 1 training convention and they wanted maine consecutive distant pinch nan older ones. I ended up playing pinch group 2 years older than me, because I was still very young to get into nan leagues. It was a very bully infinitesimal for maine because I learned successful adversity, being smaller, being little beardown than them, and it made maine much beardown mentally to understand that you're going to person this benignant of situation done your life, and you conscionable person to get done them.

Kelly: Who would you opportunity had nan biggest effect connected your career?

Bruno: Obviously my family. My parents increasing up, wherever they ne'er fto maine deliberation that I wouldn't beryllium capable to do something. And astatine nan aforesaid time, they ever kept maine connected nan level - like, don't deliberation excessively precocious and ne'er deliberation excessively low. So, conscionable put a statement there, put your dreams supra that, and past spell for that.

And past my woman now, woman astatine nan time, she had a small spot of nan aforesaid arsenic my mum and my dad. She ever kept maine very low. She was ever very supportive of me, but always, like, conscionable beryllium alert that things tin spell wrong. So conscionable don't deliberation excessively overmuch ahead. Just deliberation astir nan infinitesimal and what you want for nan future, but make that nan infinitesimal that will thief you to execute that successful nan future. As a family, we ever had that from my childhood. And past going to walk that to my young kids now, it's astonishing because nan measurement I and my woman deliberation is very similar. So together that was very good.

Then arsenic head I deliberation [Francesco] Guidolin was nan 1 that changed my profession astatine Udinese because he was different 1 that made maine play. He made maine deliberation astir everything I had to do. He made maine study that to get into nan apical level you will person to suffer.

The Football Interview: Bruno Fernandes

Kelly: You person 1 punishment to triumph nan Champions League. Out of each nan players that you've played pinch successful your career, who would you prime to return it?

Bruno: That's easy. Cristiano [Ronaldo]. I deliberation he's astir apt nan personification that astir group successful nan world of shot would choose. Just because of nan measurement he dealt pinch moments of pressure, 20 years playing successful nan highest level and ever providing twelvemonth aft twelvemonth - nan champion numbers, nan champion levels and everything.

Kelly: Which retired subordinate would you emotion to play against?

Bruno: I played against almost each my idols. I would opportunity 2 - [Zinedine] Zidane and Ronaldinho. Ronaldinho was my first emotion successful football, basically. He conscionable made everyone bask football, emotion football. Like, it was truthful nosy to watch him play, ever pinch a grin connected his look successful everything he will do. So it was conscionable axenic joy. As a young player, that's what astir of nan times you wanted to spot - him getting connected nan shot and being truthful effective successful everything he would do, moreover astatine nan aforesaid clip being truthful nice, a batch of flair and everything. But he could do that and beryllium effective astatine nan aforesaid time. So it had everything. Unfortunately for astir of my generation, he didn't play arsenic agelong arsenic we wanted to person him playing, because he was thing special.

Kelly: What are you astir proud of from your profession truthful far?

Bruno: Everything, because I was a young kid afloat of dreams who ne'er thought I would execute arsenic overmuch arsenic I person - because you ne'er deliberation astir that. You conscionable deliberation astir playing football. You deliberation astir enjoying yourself and playing arsenic overmuch arsenic you can. When you're young, you conscionable deliberation astir playing football. You spot nan television, you spot nan professionals, and deliberation this is wherever I want to be. But my thought was conscionable bask playing shot and do it for nan remainder of my life. There is thing other I cognize really to do, there's thing other I want to do different to this. For me, shot was ever nan main point and will ever beryllium my main point until nan extremity of my days, not my career.

Kelly: What's nan hardest point to do connected a shot pitch?

Bruno: Being consistent, I think. During 90 minutes, you person to beryllium truthful accordant successful everything you do. Sometimes it slips distant from you and it tin alteration everything. So I deliberation consistency successful nan first point - accordant successful doing immoderate you deliberation is nan champion for nan team, because that has to travel first of everything and you can't do thing without reasoning of nan squad first. That's existent successful football, and it's what has to travel supra everything because there's thing much important than nan team.

And past it comes to yourself to put yourself successful nan champion position to thief nan team. And erstwhile I'm connected nan pitch, that's nan point that I person astir successful my caput - to do my things will thief nan squad to go amended truthful I person to. I person to beryllium nan astir accordant and meticulous subordinate I tin beryllium successful immoderate infinitesimal of nan game, not pinch nan ball, but besides without nan ball, but besides successful immoderate things that you person to opportunity to your team-mates erstwhile you want to alteration thing position-wise, changing set-pieces arsenic to beryllium meticulous because if small things change, it tin spell against you.

Kelly: How would your champion friend picture you?

Bruno: I don't know. You should inquire him! Very passionate astir everything I do. Everything I see myself successful I conscionable for illustration to spell pinch myself astatine full. I don't for illustration doing things astatine half. Football was nan main point and I ever wanted to spell afloat for it. What you spot connected nan transportation is what Bruno is for illustration - nan passion I put into everything. I americium overmuch much calm distant from nan transportation - I don't person nan emotions connected nan tegument arsenic overmuch arsenic I person connected nan pitch. But still very passionate successful everything I do.

Kelly: You said you're calmer disconnected nan pitch. When were you past nervous? Do you get nervous?

Bruno: A batch of times. The crippled against Wolves, I was connected nan chair but I deliberation I get much tense connected nan bench. I get much tense being connected nan bench. Hopefully not galore times I'll beryllium connected nan bench. I get much tense watching nan crippled because I americium suffering for my team-mates erstwhile you spot thing spell against them and they're trying to make thing different and it doesn't come. I get tense and can't beryllium dependable connected nan chair aliases moreover astatine location if I person to enactment and spot nan crippled astatine home. I can't beryllium not loud. I request to beryllium large and active. It's for illustration I'm successful nan game.

You request to usage it energy-wise. The crippled against Lyon was astir apt nan crippled I was astir tense until now. We knew really overmuch it meant for us. Even earlier nan crippled I was very tense successful nan consciousness I couldn't hold for nan game. It's that bully tense of we want things to travel speedy because we want to show we are capable to do thing good. That's nan bully point of being tense successful a bully way.

Kelly: How were you emotion during nan game? It didn't spell to scheme to commencement with. Were you tense astatine that point? Do you get tense successful games?

Bruno: No, never. During nan games? No. Before nan games I tin get nervous. During nan crippled I conscionable deliberation astir nan extremity we person for nan crippled which is to win. I retrieve each measurement that we person trained and that my team-mates person to do and I retrieve each position they person to do. When I spell to a training convention I attraction not only connected what I person to do but what is astir maine because it tin change, I person to play a different position aliases a team-mate could not beryllium alert of wherever he has to beryllium aliases which position he should stay.

On set-pieces, I cognize precisely wherever everyone has to be. The only tense point is getting everything into my representation truthful I tin retrieve successful nan crippled each step. Also, erstwhile I'm connected nan shot I cognize each activity my team-mates person to do. To beryllium alert of, 'I'm connected nan shot present truthful this is what we trained' - but you person to deliberation that successful a divided second. It gets automatic because I deliberation astir that during nan week until nan game. When you deliberation truthful galore times astir thing your musculus representation useful by itself.

Kelly: If you could deterioration an invisibility cloak for nan time truthful cipher could spot you, what would you do?

Bruno: I would spell pinch my kids wherever they wanted to go. Sometimes it is very reliable to spell pinch my kids astatine definite points. They're very alert of group asking for photos and worldly and they already cognize erstwhile personification asks maine for photos they conscionable spell isolated - nan older 1 gets nan smaller one, she grabs him and stands looking astatine maine like, 'take nan photo'. I would for illustration to spell places wherever I was going arsenic a young kid, pinch them, without them needing to extremity each nan clip and conscionable bask nan clip pinch them.

I'd spell to a formation successful Portugal to effort to bask arsenic overmuch arsenic I tin pinch them. I still do it. I'm not a personification who gets irritated erstwhile group are asking for photos. I get much irritated astatine group trying to return photos of you while you're doing thing pinch your kids. I don't mind group asking for photos. It's 1 of nan bully things of our activity - getting recognised. In a fewer years' clip we won't get recognised that overmuch truthful we will beryllium fine.

I'm a personification who does what immoderate different personification does successful a normal life. If personification catches maine doing thing and puts it successful nan newspaper, I won't mind. I was conscionable enjoying nan infinitesimal and being happy pinch my kids doing thing successful immoderate place. Even if I person to do thing pinch my friends I won't mind group taking photos. They tin extremity wasting their clip taking photos reasoning they are going to make large news. I'm conscionable a normal personification surviving a normal life.

Kelly: How would your kids picture you?

Bruno: That's much difficult. Very reliable connected them. Nowadays we make things easier for nan kids. As a parent, I evidently do it. I look backmost erstwhile I was a kid and astir of nan things my mother and begetter did to maine I was seeing arsenic a punishment. Now I spot it was thing to make maine spot 'why is nan logic for that?' and nowadays sometimes I make things excessively easy for them, but I effort to make it arsenic reliable for them to understand things don't travel easy arsenic often arsenic we want aliases immoderate clip we want.

Every clip they want thing for themselves, they person to gain them. As a father, a small spot reliable connected them but I person a very soft heart. It's excessively easy for them to get connected to my soft broadside because I'm a very soft personification moreover if it doesn't look for illustration it connected nan pitch.

Kelly: What is nan 1 point group get incorrect astir you?

Bruno: Nothing. People person an sentiment astir maine and I can't alteration that. That's nan measurement group want to judge you astir what they spot connected nan transportation aliases nan tv aliases interviews. I can't alteration that. They person nan state to deliberation nan measurement they want astir maine arsenic I person nan state to deliberation astir them. I don't judge group until I cognize them. They tin person an sentiment astir me, that's good - we each person an sentiment and that's why life is truthful bully and truthful different. If we each deliberation nan aforesaid measurement it would beryllium truthful boring.