Features - Jorge Andrade's interview
On the 14th May 2005, I arrived at the NH Gran Hotel in Zaragoza with 2 of my friends and my son. We were in Zaragoza to see Depor play the following day but this was not to be any ordinary weekend for watching my favourite team. Firstly, we were actually staying in the same hotel as the entire squad and watching them interact with each other in a totally relaxed atmosphere is great in itself. However, even better than that, was the confirmation that I had received via Xoan, that I had been given permission to interview Jorge Andrade.
I was a little worried about the communication system at Depor, and whilst I had every faith in Xoan's contact with Rafael Carpacho (Depor's Press Officer), I was a little uncertain about the communication between Carpacho and Andrade. Just to be sure that the interview went ahead, I left a letter at reception for Jorge with a brief introduction. Later that night, and quite by chance, we bumped into Andrade with Xisco at the entrance to the Hotel. I introduced myself and we made the arrangements for the following day. If I am honest, I would have to say that I was a bit more nervous than I thought I would be and certainly a lot more nervous than Andrade.
The next morning, I waited with my son armed with my questions, a dictaphone and a pen with paper. Andrade turned up right on time and after a brief handshake, he noticed that there were some Depor fans outside and went to sign a few autographs for them. After a few minutes he came back in and we went and found some chairs in the lounge where we wouldn't be disturbed too much.
I had a list of questions with me but I had no idea how many I'd get asked or how long I'd get with Andrade. My expectations had already been exceeded just by being there but I had hoped to get maybe 15-20 minutes at least.
It seems strange to say this, as I was the person doing the interview but after a few minutes, his whole relaxed manner made me feel much less nervous and rather than just blurt out questions from a list, I was able to incorporate them into what just seemed like a natural conversation.
THE INTERVIEW
by Rik
OK, this looks fine.
As you know, I'm from the International Peña so I'll just tell you a bit about our website. We are Depor Fans from all around the world and have members in Spain, Germany, Holland, UK and other European countries as well as members as far away as India, Australia, Asia, Africa and the Americas. This interview is for all of us and I'm very pleased that you agreed to it.
The first questions are just some general questions about the team and then there are some more personal questions but you can leave some if you would rather not answer.
1. When you're away with the team, apart from eating together and having team meetings; what do you do on a typical away trip?
Some people bring their computers and use the internet, we watch the TV, the football and some like to play on their playstations.
Really? What kind of games do you play on the Playstation?
Yes, football games and cars...racing games and the usual games.
I saw a few players last night outside the hotel, is that normal?
Yes, sometimes we go for a walk and we look around and see the city.
You're allowed to just wander around the city? Don't you ever get bothered by anyone?
No, it is no problem. We always like to walk and see the city. Even in Coru?±a, we can walk around and it is no problem with the people
So here, me and Lee can walk around in our Depor shirts and we will be safe?
Yes, the people are very kind in Spain and Deportivo is a club that is .........
Well respected?
Yes, it is very respected here in Spain by all the other teams and people.
2. Have you got a strict diet as a footballer and what would you eat on the day of a match?
No, it is quite normal, we eat normal foods. We have a doctor that cautions what we can eat but it is very normal.
So, are you allowed to eat sweets and chocolate?
No, not like that. We have a ritual here and we always eat rice and eggs on the night before a game. When we are here, we always eat alot.
And before the match today, what will you eat?
Spaghetti and meat is normal.
Are you allowed to drink any alcohol; a beer or wine perhaps?
Yes, we can have a small wine. Now since I come here, I am getting used to drinking a small cup of wine.
3. Does Depor have any real jokers in the squad or are you all quite serious?
Oh no, in different occassions we can make up jokes. We are young and of course we have an opportunity to make jokes but when the thing is not always alright, we have to be focused.
I remember in the hotel in Santander, you were telling a funny story and all the players were listening and laughing. Would you say that you were one of the jokers?
We are all the same players everyday and we get used to each other, so it is normal for us all to make jokes together but not when we play football. Away from the competition things, we try to take it more softly.
4.Who do you share a room with for away games and do they have any bad habits?
Here at Deportivo, we are lucky because we all have our own room. It is much better because you can rest better. You don't have to think about another player. You can put your own rhythm, so that if you are tired, you can maybe go to sleep at 10 but on another day, if you are not so tired, you can maybe stay up later and watch the TV but it would be sometimes hard to that if you shared with another player.
So if you don't share a room, you probably can't tell me about any other players bad habits, like who snores the loudest
*laughing* Well maybe I snore a little bit, my wife tells me.
So does he (pointing to Lee)
No problem, he's very young so.....
5. Does anyone have any superstitions at the club? Does anyone have to be the last out or put their shirt on at a certain time?
Yes, Latin players, we always have rituals and many of us pray before a game to bring good luck to us and other things, like players; they sometimes enter in the field with the right foot first and make the sign of the cross. It's normal things for the latin people.
6.Who is the person most likely to have an accident or injure himself?
I don't understand....accident or injure himself?
I mean like Canizares before the World Cup. He had an accident when he dropped the aftershave on his foot. Does any body at Depor have accidents at home?
Oh yes, I understand now. No, I don't think we have strange things like that here and I never have heard of that but it's normal that if they have accidents, they would not tell the rest of the players because we would make jokes
7. Over the last year, the club has received a lot of criticism. How much of this do you think was deserved and how much do you think is down to people that have taken Depor' success for granted?
We are a team that is playing every year in Champions League, Spanish league and the cup, all important games at very high level. It is normal that maybe one year you can not always beat everyone. Deportivo is not the big one in Spain but we try to be. It's difficult every year to be always at the top positionsand of course we have not always played some good games. The press of course wants us to be better and they want us to be the same as all the 10 years we have had good results.
As a team, we know this year of the difficulties we have had and this year, we started with a lot of injuries. It is different and difficult to stay at the same level.
How much of an effect did it have on you and the rest of the team when Naybet left for Tottenham?
The loss of big players like Naybet is always difficult. Naybet is a leader and he knows how to organise and say the right things. But in football, we have to be always prepared and to work without the leaders because they will not stay for ever, you know?
Mauro and Fran, this year will go and it is very very very difficult now to lose these players but life must go on and now we have to start to be the leaders ourselves and put the team to work.
Do you think that you personally have become more of a leader, now that Naybet has gone?
I have learned some things. I am not the best leader in football but I will try. I have now learned some things from those players that are natural leaders and I will try to help my colleagues whenever I can. One day, if ever I will be the leader, I don't know but now everyone must be a leader; not just 1 but we need 11 on the field. To try and win everyday, we have to be concentrated and everyone has to talk and be a captain because you can not make mistakes at this high level.
In England, a lot of people think that footballers are not very intelligent and don�t do as much work at school because of their football ambitions. You speak English very well and always come across as a very calm,intelligent man. How important do you think an education is when you�re young with serious ambitions to be a footballer and how hard is it to combine your efforts in both?
Football is a business also and the players have to be alive to see some things and I think to know languages and to have intelligence like at school is good. School is important to learn things. If you don't go to school you don't have the structure to learn and you maybe miss some opportunities later.
I care more about the opportunities I have now then when I was younger. It is important in life, to be a better person also and if you have this kind of structure, this is good.
For the young players, it is sometimes hard because they are at academies and stay out late and many of them play for their young national teams, so they stay far away from home. But it is very important because you have maybe 10/12 or a little more years as a footballer but then you must have a normal life. If you don't learn at school, maybe you have less opportunities when you stop playing football.
Do you ever get nervous before a game or is it something that disappears with experience?
Yes, it is normal for footballers to feel nerves before the game.
Do you get that feeling in your stomach?
Yes, when we are going to play but in my case, it is like 1 minute before and not when we start playing. When I start playing football, it's always the same; the nerves go. All the games are the same, if we play someone like Mallorca or a big game in la liga or Champions League, I am a little nervous but always, the nerves go when we play because we have to be concentrated on the football. We have our rituals and the things that we must do on the pitch, so we can forget the pressure when the game starts.
8. When you are marking a striker, do you prefer to mark a big strong forward or a faster, smaller player?
The central defender will always like to defend the big one because it is easier to always be with him on the field. Small ones; they move a lot.
So, they are harder work because they are more mobile?
Yes, they are very mobile and many times they are technically better and they are a little bit faster.
But you're not slow
No, but for a defender, it is sometimes harder to play against a fast forward. You have to always look for the small forward but the big strong players are not always running away and are easier for us to defend.
9. Who would you say was your toughest opponent?
I always think that the best forward I play against is the next one. It is like a ritual that the next forward is always the better one but I must make sure that he has the worst game of his life. Of course, there are big players that I have played against but I would not like to say only 1 because in every game; I respect my opponent and I will try to do my best.
10. Who would you say was the best player that you have played with?
I have played with players that have many good things and players that have played a long time and I have learned from them.They were the key players for me because I can learn from them.
And were there any players at those clubs that were an influence to you?
Yes, every team that I pass into, they have some player like that. At Amadora it was Revelo, in Porto it was Aloisio and in Deportivo, it was of course Naybet. In my position, it's usual that we learn more from players like that and I had aq big opportunity to learn from these good players.
10. Not long after you came to Depor, you had a bad injury when you broke your foot. Did you ever think that this move was going to be a bad one with bad luck and were you able to stay positive?
No, Of course it was bad luck to get injured in the first game of the league but I am a positive person. It was good because I got to know the people at Deportivo, to know what was expected of me and I was given all the right conditions to recover well. From that moment, I understand more of what Deportivo is and the way that we play. It was bad for me as a player because I can't play but for me it was also very good because I could understand everything that is around the club and I could start to speak Spanish better. It was very good. So I didn't enter in the club, without knowing how we play and when I did enter the field for Deportivo, there were less difficulties than if I went straight to play without learning about the club.
11. Earlier in the season, you were very unlucky against Liverpool in the Champions League, when you scored an own goal. How hard is it to carry on playing well when luck has been so cruel?
In this last year, it is the 2nd time that this has happened to me. In the European Cup, the same thing happened against the Netherlands; I scored a goal in my own net. But against the Netherlands, the game was not difficult and we were controlling it. With Liverpool, it was very sad for a player to make an own goal in such an important game and we lost that game and lost all our opportunities to be in the Champions League. Of course, I tried to forget and play normal because we must try and stay concentrated always, but for me, it was very very hard in that match. It was sad but sometimes we have to say that we can not always be one of the best. Life is like that. It is important that we learn from these matches and take the positive things from things like that.
12. OK, I have some questions now and they are like A or B questions, where you can only choose one answer.
Yes OK, no problem.
Would you rather: a) Play in the Intertoto or B) have a longer holiday?
*laughing* I would prefer to win our games to qualify for the UEFA but if that is not possible and I have to choose 1 of these things, then I have to say Intertoto of course. We want to play in UEFA and of course, it is better for the club but the longer vacations... they are good too.
Deportivo is a team that needs to play in Europe every year and if we can do this by playing in the Intertoto, we must try. I am not sure what other players want but I will choose Intertoto.
Would you prefer A) a World Cup Winners medal with Portugal or B) a Champions League winners medal?
Both would be very good but I would choose Champions League. First has to be the club and if I could win a ChampionsLeague medal with Deportivo, that would be very, very good. Of course, I would like to win the World Cup with Portugal but to choose only 1, I say Champions League.
OK, the next one, you don't have to answer if you don't want. A) Chelsea or B) Man.Utd?
Chelsea or Manchester United?? You mean who is the better team?
No, I mean; if both clubs wanted you and offered the same money and Depor accepted the deals, who would you choose?
Ah, OK. Well, Chelsea is now playing very well and now they have the money to buy who they want. They have a very good coach and a big team with some of the best players in the world, so they are a great club. But Manchester United is Manchester United. It is hard to choose 1.
It's OK, I had that down as "not serious" but thanks for trying.
Would you rather win A) the Copa Del Rey and qualify for the UEFA Cup while winning a trophy, or B) finish 3rd or 4th in the league and qualify for Champions League?
We have played Champions League for five consecutive years and that is where Deportivo should play. To win the Copa would be very good but we always must try to play ChampionsLeague and only UEFA if we can not play Champions League.
You're still young but when you have finished playing football, do you think you are more likely to be A) A manager/coach or B) a TV pundit?
In my mind, I don't think I have enough experience for now to think that I will be a manager and I am not a great leader. I have to carry on and put more things in my mind and get experience but for now, I choose the other one because I don't think I will be a manager. But I have to do something when I stop playing football and if someone wants me to work in TV and talk about football, I maybe do that.
13. OK, that's the last of the A/B questions.
What has been your proudest moment so far?
In football or life?
In both. It could be when your sons were born, when you got married or something in football.
Yes of course, I was very happy when my two children were born. In football, when they played the European Cup in Portugal with many successes. I was very proud because all the people were behind us supporting us and we played a good tournament.
And you were one of only a few that played every minute
Yes, I was proud to be playing all these games for Portugal. We were trying to do great things, so it was a recent and a good moment.
14. You missed the Champions League Semi-Final at the Riazor because of that harsh sending off. Was that the biggest dissapointment of your career and what went through your mind when you saw it was a red card.
I joked with my wife about that because when I saw the card, I thought it was yellow, not a typical red card. In pictures, it is clear that it is a red card but in the field that day I think "it's yellow, it's yellow it's RED!!!!!"
For me, I was very,very sad; not for that moment but because I lost the opportunity to play the other game in the Riazor. We knew the second game was very important and I was sad because I could not help Deportivo to win that match.
15. What does Jorge Andrade want to achieve in his career?
Well for me, I want to win a league. I have won cups and super cups but it is not the same and I desire so much a league. To win a league, it means that you are the best team in the country and I have been close in Portugal and Spain but I would really like to win it, especially in a top league like la liga.
15. You have 2 young sons; Tiago and Lucas, are they old enough to cheer on their dad?
No, they don't really understand, they are too young.
Do they recognise you when they see you on TV?
Yes sometimes but today, football is very fast and all the movements, so they don't see me playing. Sometimes, when the game is not playing, they maybe see me on TV and they say "Papá" but they are very young and don't understand if I am playing on TV.
When they grow older, will you encourage them to play football or will you let them do what they want?
Well, I will encourage them at school and I will leave the sports part to them and let them choose. If they are good at tennis, they will play tennis and if they are good at football, they will play football but if they are not good at school; forget football and forget tennis.
*laughing* I agree definitely, I agree. Did you hear that Lee?
Yes. *frowns*
16. Which is harder; being a father or being a footballer?
To be a father, for me, it is very easy because I have the mornings to play football and the afternoons to be a dad; so which moment do I enjoy? I like the two things.
I used to find it hard when the children were very young and couldn't speak because when they were ill, it was sometimes hard to understand what was wrong.
Yes, those things are sometimes hard.
17. I think you kind of answered this question already but can you walk around the parks and streets in Coruña without being hassled?
Yes, it is no problem in Coruña. We can go around Coruña, look at things or we can go and buy the shopping. It is no problem.
18. The Portuguese border isn't too far away from Coruña, do you go back there often and have your family settled well in Coruña?
Often, like in the beginning, sometimes I went to Portugal to see family or to go shopping but not now. My family, they all like Coruña very much. Now I have my life and my focus in Coruña and just when I have a big opportunity is when I go back to Portugal.
19. Obviously, when you're with Portugal, you'll see Nuno Gomes. Do you ever speak with him?
Yes, of course.
I have a friend, a girl-friend, who absolutely loves Nuno Gomes. She said "Ask Andrade if you speak to him, if Nuno is happily married?". I think he is, isn't he?
Happily what?
Happily married. Does he have a wife?
Ohhhh, no, no . I think he has a girlfriend now but he does not have a wife now.
Oh he doesn't? I was sure he was married.
I think he has small children but he is divorced now.
That will make her very happy. On the computer, she has a big picture of Nuno.
*laughing* I will tell him he has a good offer if he go to England and maybe she will have her opportunity.
*laughing*Yes, I'll see if I can find her number later for you to give him.
20. You're friends with Deco. Do you ever joke with him about the Champions League Semi-Final or do you try and forget about it?
No, it was very hard for me, especially because I was the one that got the red card. I didn't talk too much about that because it's a very sad thing. Only time will tell if we are friends enough to forget it. Since now, no problem. We have played for Portugal together and no problem. Life is like that.
21. How hard is it when you know someone with Portugal, a friend, to play against them when your teams meet? Do you try harder, are you worried about hurting your friend or do you completely forget who they are for 90 minutes?
No, when you are moving the ball and doing the normal things on the field, you forget but when there is a moment that the ball goes out; then you say "look, there is my friend" and you try to make a joke. I always try my best and I might talk to my friends in the game but I have to concentrate when we play football.
22. Portugal were very close in EURO2004, how close are Portugal to winning a trophy?
I don't know, we were so close before but it was impossible. We have a good team and I think we are going in the right direction. We have built a team and we are quite strong but I don't know how well we will do.
23. Is there anyone that you spend time with, away from football?
I don't go out for meals often but I speak to some players on the phone sometimes. From the national team, I speak a lot with Luis, Luis Boamorte, he plays for Fulham and to Simao.
24. Who was your footballing hero when you were growing up?
I always look up to my brother because my brother played at Amadora like me and he was always playing at a higher level when we were children because he was older. I was always wanting to play in the same teams as my brother since I was maybe 12 and when he signed a professional contract, I wanted also to sign a professional contract.
Did you ever play with him?
Yes, I played with him in the youth team. It was a bit strange but it was very good. He has played some years in the first division in Portugal and now he is playing in the second but I still respect and look up to my brother very much.
25. Do any of the other players speak English?
No, I don't think so. I think here in Spain, it's more difficult to learn English. Of course, you can learn it at school but Spanish is a big language around the world and I don't know if it is easy to learn English here in Spain. In Portugal, we always learn English in schools.
So you don't think any of the players know about our International Website at www.deportivo-la-coruna.com ?
I don't know for sure but I don't think so if it is in English. My homepage is canaldeportivo.com and I always go there to get news about the club. I don't know if the other players go there also.
OK, Thank You. If I could just get you to sign a few small photos and then my son will take a photo of us, if that's ok. It's been nearly an hour now, so I won't keep you much longer.
No problem
To my surprise, I spent almost an hour with Jorge Andrade and I never felt like he wanted to be somewhere else. He seemed perfectly happy to do the interview and to his credit, he didn't ignore any of the questions. Andrade came across as a totally genuine, thoughtful and down to earth guy and it was a real pleasure and a priviledge to be able to interview him.
There may be footballers out there whose ego's are almost as big as their pay cheques but Jorge Andrade is certainly not one of those players. We already knew he was a great footballer but on this May weekend, I discovered what a great man he was too.