"I'm already full and I'm learning Spanish well," celebrates Renan Lodi (Serrana, Brazil, 1998) on the other end of the phone, after completing the interview. He started playing soccer in the street thinking that he would be a striker like Ronaldo El Fenómeno, his idol when he was a child, and for just over a year he has owned Atlético's left wing. "Phew! One year now, ”he sighs, reviewing each chapter of this strange season. The coronavirus gave him a good scare during the break and the saudade complicated his first days in Madrid. With Filipe Luis he spoke "three or four times" upon arrival. Among Brazilians there are the secrets of the red-and-white left-handed lane. A fast dagger with the surname Lodi that already contained Liverpool and today wants to repeat against Leipzig.

Has your life changed a lot in a year? Quite the truth, when I arrived at Atlético I was surprised by many things, my life changed completely. Making the leap from Brazil to Europe is not easy. And that my colleagues welcomed me great. Since I arrived I am very excited to develop my football. Almost without knowing it, I've been a year. Do you remember the day they told you that Atlético was going to sign you? Yes, yes, yes. I was in my room during a concentration with Atlético Paranaense. I had a Copa Sudamericana semifinal against Fluminense (November 8, 2018) and my agent called me and told me that Berta (Atlético's sports director) had come to Brazil to see me. "Play like you normally do," he said. But, of course, I got very nervous. He had come from Madrid just for me. So I said to myself: "I have to play very well." And in that game I gave an assist and scored a goal. Did you talk to Simeone? Simeone sent me a message on my mobile, but after I had already spoken with Berta. He wished me good luck and told me that they were waiting for me in Madrid to start training. It was difficult for him to get used to that strength that the coach transmits. In the first training sessions it scared me a lot because I was screaming a lot. In Brazil my coaches were calmer. Months went by and I got to know him. Now I am calm, I know that when he yells at me it is for my good.

Renan Lodi poses with the Champions League ball.ATLETICODEMADRID.COM

He came to admit that at first he considered returning to Brazil. Were your first days complicated? When I arrived in Madrid my whole life changed. I entered the Paranaense quarry at the age of seven. He had been there all his life and knew all the people. I left friends, family. When I said in an interview that I wanted to go back, I was not mentally well. It was just me, with my agents and my girlfriend. When I returned from San Rafael I found a house and it gave me a lot of strength because I was really bad. I couldn't train as I wanted or show my best football. But I found my strength and now I am much calmer. Giménez, Saúl, Diego Costa and Felipe have spoken with me a lot, you were Atlético's first positive for Covid-19. How was your experience with the virus? One day I was at home training and I noticed that I was short of breath. I sent a message to Óscar [Celada], the club's doctor. I was very scared. You run out of air and it is a very distressing feeling. From there I started with back pain, headaches and I had no sense of taste for a few days. It was pretty bad. The teammates went back to training and I wanted to do it with them. I had to wait, but they gave me a lot of strength while I recovered completely. His grandparents have been like his parents. How are they in Brazil? Before the situation there was very complicated, now they seem somewhat calmer. They stay home and are very careful. They are old and very dangerous. Is it hard for you to look back to remember your childhood? Many years have passed. When my mother left me I was only a few months old. She left and I stayed with my grandparents. My father was not very supportive either. He never had the necessary words for me. But then she came to live with us in the house in Sao Paulo and I had to treat her like my grandparents. I got used to it and the relationship improved, but it wasn't easy.

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