Few players in the Real Madrid squad sweat as much for the club as Fede Valverde, and when things go wrong, he has admitted that it has a big impact on him. The 26-year-old is one of the leaders in the squad these days, but admitted he is still learning how to cope with mental pressure.
While it is so often been framed negatively, Valverde welcomed the adversity for helping him to improve.
“The San Mames game, for me, helped me a lot. I’be To improve, learn, so that such a mistake does not happen again. It will be a team that will put us in a lot of difficulties and that will put men on top of us, but we have very fast and skilled people. We are players made for these games,” Valverde told the press in Bergamo ahead of their Champions League clash with Atalanta.
Valverde also admitted that he tossed and turned after giving away the ball for Gorka Guruzeta’s winner during Athletic Club’s 2-1 win over Los Blancos last week.
“Sometimes games don’t go the way I would like… We would all like to put in a 10 performance every game, and in San Mames I made a mistake that cost us the game, something that had never happened to me in my entire career. It was difficult to sleep that night, but those things are part of football. The important thing is to move forward and show that, as one of the captains, I can be an example.”
"It p*sses you off, obviously. We're not used to going through these moments; we're always on top. But you have to be calm, it is part of football, the process and trust in the work."
"Despite winning so much, we must keep our feet on the ground."
🗣️Valverde on being 24th #UCL pic.twitter.com/yhKo6VoxNa
— Football España (@footballespana_) December 9, 2024
The Uruguayan has been one of the players trying to hold things down in the engine room for Los Blancos this season, and he was asked whether Real Madrid are struggling to be compact due to the number of forwards they are playing with. Kylian Mbappe’s name was not mentioned, but Carlo Ancelotti has generally used three out and out forwards this season compared to two last time out.
“The lineups are the coach’s responsibility. He is the person who chooses the team. It is up to us to give our best, whatever the formation may be. To contribute our grain of sand. As a midfielder, I like to play with forwards who carry the ball forward a lot and less backwards. We midfielders want them to look towards the opponents goal, and less at defending.”