Marcelo Vieira revealed in an interview published Thursday by The Players Tribune the difficult episode he lived before playing the 2018 Champions League final against Liverpool: an anxiety crisis hitherto unknown to the Brazilian. "When you have the opportunity to make history, you feel that weight. But for some other reason, I was feeling it very much. I had never felt so much anxiety before , so I didn't know what was happening. I even thought about calling the doctor, although I was worried that he wouldn't have let me play, "said the Real Madrid defender.

"I couldn't breathe. I tried not to panic. It was in the locker room just before the final," he said. "I felt like I had something stuck in my chest. That enormous pressure ... Do you know that feeling? I don't talk about nerves, nerves are normal in football. It was something different. I say, I felt it was suffocating," he said. told.

Thus, the Brazilian has acknowledged that "everything had started the night before" to that final. " I could not eat, I could not sleep. I was thinking only of the game . It was curious, in fact, because my wife Clarice was very angry with me for biting my nails and had made me stop that a few years before. But I woke up that morning of the final and all my nails had disappeared, "he explained.

"Feeling a few nerves is normal in football. It doesn't matter who you are, if you don't feel nervous before playing a final, you are not a real person . It doesn't matter who you are, seriously. There you are trying not to shit in your pants. As is! ", He joked about it. "Maybe people will think it's strange, because we had already won two Champions League in a row. Outside of Real Madrid, everyone wanted Liverpool to win," Marcelo said, and then revealed how a comment by Jorge Valdano had left him 'touched' .

"A few days before the final, he had said something about me on television that got stuck in my mind. He had been asked about what he thought of the final and commented: 'I think Marcelo should buy a poster of Mohamed Salah, put it on the wall of his house and pray every night ', "he recalled. "After 12 years and three Champions League conquered, he disrespected me that way live and on television. That comment made me sink, but it also gave me a lot of motivation," he said. "I wanted to make history. I wanted young children in Brazil to look at me as I used to look at Roberto Carlos. I wanted them to grow their hair because of Marcelo," he said.

"If I have to die here tonight, I will die"

In addition, he has detailed the previous moments to jump to the grass of the Kiev Olympic Stadium. "I was sitting at my box office, fighting to breathe, and I said to myself: 'How many children in the world play football? How many of them dream of playing a Champions League final? Millions, millions, millions. Calm down. and tie your boots, come on, "he snapped. " I knew that if I could get to the field, it would be fine. For me, nothing bad can happen on a soccer field . You could be plunging into chaos, everything could become crazy around you; but, if you have a ball in your feet, you stop thinking. Everything there is calm, peaceful, "he said.

" When I finally stepped on the grass, I still had trouble breathing and I thought: 'If I have to die here tonight, fuck, I will die,' " he admitted. "That may seem crazy to certain people, but you must understand what that moment meant to me," he said.

"When I was growing up ... Real Madrid? The Champions League? Not even a fuck! A fairy tale! It's not real! Beckham, Zidane, Roberto Carlos ... those guys were as real as Batman You can't meet them in real life. You can't shake hands with a comic book hero, "he added. "And honestly, in 30 years, when I say I played on the same pitch as Cristiano, like Messi, they will probably say: 'Grandpa, are you telling us that they scored 50 goals in one season? You're lying. You're senile. We have to take the grandfather to the doctor! '", he said.

He has also talked about the current status of his club. " Last season was a failure. We already know that. We won nothing. Zero . It was a terrible experience. But my head is high because we are hungry again. I feel a passion like when I was a small child," he continued. " I'm sorry for those who doubt me, but I'm not going anywhere . For me, being the foreign player with more time to wear the Real Madrid shirt is more than an honor. It's a fairy tale. It makes sense, it's crazy, "he finally reflected.

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