Amorim and Dalot on Manchester Utd's Europa League quarter final at Lyon
09/04/2025
uefa25
Lyon - Manchester Utd Europa League quarter final first leg
09/04/2025
uefa25
Lyon - Manchester Utd Europa League quarter final first leg
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome, welcome everyone, thanks for coming. We have Ruben Amarim and Diogo Dalot. Please identify who your question is for.
00:14Okay, let's go. Who wants to start? Simon, if you just wait for the microphone.
00:30Hi, Ruben. Kobe is in the travelling squad. How good is it to have him back with the group and can he start tomorrow?
00:42Is he fit enough for that or is it a player that you have to be careful with?
00:45In this moment, we have to be careful with Kobe. He had some games out, so we have to be careful with his fitness.
00:55We are really happy to have more options and options like Kobe Maino. With the quality that he has, he can play in different positions.
01:02He's already played as a 6, as an 8, as a 10. So we are really pleased to have Kobe Maino, but we have to be careful and we need Kobe Maino fit and fresh.
01:16Things are obviously improving on the injury front, but Matthias is out, Tobi is out. Can you provide an update on their situation?
01:22Mate has a problem in his foot. We are trying to assess. We still don't have the data that he can return.
01:33Tobi has a small issue in his legs, so we hope to have him in a few weeks.
01:40Just going back to Kobe, you mentioned that you played him as a 10, for example. He started for England in the Euro finals as a central midfielder.
01:51Can he play there properly for Manchester United in your opinion? Do you view him as being able to play that position?
01:56Yeah, he can play. I think in England, sometimes they play with three defenders also. It was more or less the same position, so he can play.
02:06Of course, we need to help him. And we need to find a little bit like Casimiro in this moment. He's playing better because we are understanding better the way Casimiro can play.
02:17And I think we can do that with Kobe because he has a lot of qualities. He's really good on the ball, but he's also really good near the opponent's box.
02:28So we'll try to manage all that, to try to find the right space for a player like Kobe.
02:35I fully accept he's still a very young player, but having started for England in that final and done very well last season,
02:41when you say you need to help him, in which way exactly? Because he seems already very good.
02:47Yeah, but I think that is also a little bit the problem. When I see Kobe Maino, I see a lot of talent.
02:54But in the way I see it, I could be wrong. That's for sure. I see some things that Kobe Maino has to improve.
03:04The pace during the game, he has qualities that we can use. Like I said, in build-up, he needs to improve.
03:11Near the box, he has a lot of talent. And that's why I think he did a very good game in Europa League in that position.
03:19So when I see Kobe Maino, I see not as a full player in the moment because he's 19.
03:28And if I say to Kobe, no, you are done. You are the final player. I think I'm not helping Kobe. That's all.
03:36Diogo, you've been consistently available injury-free for Manchester United.
03:42Cristiano Ronaldo has also named-dropped you as a player who he thinks a United player can reach the top of his game.
03:48What behaviours and what routines do you use to stay consistent?
03:52And do you try and teach these to the younger players who are coming into a busy schedule and big intensities in the game?
03:58I would say I started to become a little bit more obsessed about being available.
04:06I think that's the first step for you to be able to play is being available.
04:09Obviously through some problems that I had during the first year, especially here at Man United, the first few seasons.
04:20That's why I had this mind switch a little bit in terms of being available physically.
04:29And then obviously I become a little bit more obsessed.
04:34Having Cristiano as a teammate helped me to understand a little bit more and try to know my body a little bit more and try to do the things a little bit more consistently.
04:46And then obviously with game time, with having more confidence in your game and playing more games, I think that becomes like a snowball.
04:56But overall, I try always to help my teammates.
05:01What I say all the time is that sometimes it can work for me, cannot work for other teammates because every person and every human being is individual.
05:11But overall, I try always to do whatever I can for me to be able physically.
05:17And then it's up to the manager to decide if I play or not.
05:22And then Ruben, to you, Altair Bayandere is back available for selection.
05:26He had started the Europa League game under you, he'd done very well.
05:29Would you expect him to come back in to play in the Europa League games?
05:32We'll see. Tomorrow he's going to play Onana and Altair is returning now.
05:41So we have two, three top goalkeepers that are ready to play.
05:47And just on the Onana starting, as you've just revealed, obviously we've seen the comments between Matic and Andre Onana.
05:56How do you think that will affect the game tomorrow? Do you think it adds anything to it?
06:00Well, I think tomorrow will not matter. I think if you see the full quote of Andre Onana is quite different.
06:11The first sentence is, Lyon is a very, very good team.
06:15So I think sometimes the players don't listen or the coaches don't listen to the full quote.
06:21And sometimes it's just a misunderstanding. And I know Matic also. He's a great guy. So tomorrow is going to be a normal game.
06:32Mr. Amarin, after you defeated Real Sociedad, you made mention of the physicality that was necessary to do that.
06:39And you also said that Lyon would be a very difficult, different physical prospect.
06:44Could you elaborate a little bit more? How do you go into this mindset knowing you need to attack this team in a different way than you did in the previous round?
06:50Yes. If you look at just in that department, it's quite simple.
06:55If you look at the team of Lyon, they are stronger, faster and bigger than Real Sociedad.
07:01They play a different football, but they have, since Paul Fonseca is here, they are winning most of the games.
07:10They are scoring more goals. They are suffering a few number of goals.
07:15So it's a strong team physically, but they have a type of game that is really based on possession.
07:23So it's going to be a different game. And you feel it against Real Sociedad.
07:27Sometimes you make a lot of runs with Rasmus, with Josh. To do that against this team is going to be harder.
07:35To do it all the time. And we have to arrange other ways to win the game.
07:40Mr. Thalo, are you ready for that rearrangement? Making those runs differently?
07:44Yeah, I'm always ready for every scenario. I think for you to be able now to go through in this competition, obviously games get more difficult.
07:54And at this stage, you have to be ready for every scenario. Obviously, we prepared well the game.
08:01And tomorrow, I think if we're sharp in our minds physically, I think we can make a very good game.
08:08Ruben, Nemanja had some very nice quotes about you, what you were like as a teammate,
08:14and how he thinks some of your strengths then have helped you in coaching.
08:19He said you were the most optimistic guy in the dressing room, regardless of what the situation was.
08:25Have you carried that trait into coaching?
08:27That is clear. I'm always saying that we are going to win the Premier League.
08:31So you can see that I'm really optimistic. So I think it's something that you born with that.
08:38You cannot change. You cannot fake it. You can fake it for a while.
08:43But through your life, you are who you are. And then I'm like that. So I'm seeing things in the positive way.
08:51Sometimes I get a little bit frustrated, but these are characteristics like any other.
08:56And then with Onana and Matic, you know them both really well. Onana on Sunday, it didn't seem like he was coming from a place of disrespect.
09:05He was being optimistic. He was being quite positive because this is a huge game for United.
09:11And he was just on the front foot about it. And Nemanja has obviously read it the wrong way and reacted very harshly.
09:20How will Andre be feeling hearing comments like that?
09:24It's really hard. It's really hard to deal with that. And that is for sure. And again, if you look to all the quotes, you cannot see disrespect there.
09:35Just respect, but trying to give confidence and to show confidence in his team, especially in this year.
09:41So everybody can talk bad things about Manchester United. Sometimes our group as a player, as a coach, as a staff has to show some confidence in our team.
09:52So I think that's all. And again, I know really well Nemanja Matic and how good a guy he is.
10:00So he hears some things by half, not the whole story. So that for me is clear in this situation.
10:10Hello, sir. I'm Noah from Ziggo Sport Netherlands. Question to the coach. Could you tell us a bit about the importance of this league for your squad,
10:18as it also might be the only possibility for United to gain European football next season?
10:23It's really important in all aspects. The first one is to win a title, especially an European title.
10:32In this season, in this context, winning something like that is massive for us, for our confidence.
10:39And then to the future, to the next season, to play Champions League in our club is completely different.
10:45The environment, the way we are going to face the summer, the budget for the summer, everything is connected with this competition.
10:54And we know that pressure. But again, it's not the biggest problem in Manchester United.
10:59And we have another strength to get this in the right way without Champions League next year.
11:05But of course, if we are here, we will try to win.
11:08And I also wanted to ask you about the development of Joshua Zierkse. How are you looking at that and how is he doing?
11:13I think he's improving in all aspects. I think he needs to be more selfish.
11:20And that is a thing that when you play as a striker, he's not the typical striker, but he has to be more selfish.
11:26He's more aggressive now. He works better now. He's defending better now. He's connecting quite well.
11:33He played as a striker in some games, especially against Arsenal. He did really, really well.
11:39And then in some games against Real Cidade, he played more as a 10. So he can adapt in different situations.
11:45So I see it in that Josh is improving and he's showing good things. Thank you.
11:52Question for Diogo. There's been a lot has been said about the lack of intensity in the Derby on Sunday.
12:03Have you noticed a pick-up in intensity this week ahead of a crucial game or has it been the same as it always has been?
12:11I mean, I can tell you straight away that it was a really intense game. I was on the pitch. I run a lot and my teammates run a lot.
12:19We fought really hard to be competitive that game. I think everybody in the stadium felt that we wanted to win the game.
12:31And I think we were really competitive. I mean, everybody is entitled to their opinion.
12:36You might like the type of game that was. You might prefer that the game was a little bit more open.
12:43But if you ask Man City players and if you ask Man United players, I'm sure that everybody was with the right approach and right intensity to win the game.
12:53But at the same time, both teams respected each other a lot in terms of knowing that a little mistake, a little detail could define the game.
13:02And we were really aware that any slight inch of the pitch that we could give to Man City, they could score a goal and they could win the game.
13:14So we were very, very compact as a team. I think it was something that we've been improving a lot.
13:21We created enough, I think, to win the game. In the end, I understand as a fan that you watch Man City Man United winning nil-nil is not the same as a result with more goals.
13:36Obviously, everybody wants to see goals. But I would say that me, I felt inside the pitch, the game was really intense and we did everything to win.
13:46In the end, it was a draw. It's part of football.
13:49Last question, Rob.
13:51Hi, Ruben. Obviously, since you've come in, the results in the Europa League have been a lot better than perhaps they have been in the Premier League.
13:57Because you're asking the players to change the way they play a little bit, do you think they're finding it easier to play in the Europa League games?
14:03Possibly because it's less intense or it's not as physical and it's easier for them to kind of follow these new instructions that you're giving them?
14:10I think it's nothing tactical. I truly believe it's the pace of the game, the physicality of the game.
14:17I mean, you have, guys, we have the best league in the world. Sometimes the games, you don't see a lot of intensity, but I can guarantee you that it compares to some games that we had in the Europa League, and I have the data to talk about it.
14:33It's completely different. And if you have one more second to think with the ball, it's a different game. So until now, I don't know the game tomorrow, but until now, I felt a difference when we play Europa League and when we play any Premier League game.
14:51So that small space of time can give us an advantage to play better. Thank you.