JORGE ANDRADE: “I WOULD LIKE TO FINISH MY CAREER HERE” Portuguese defender Jorge Andrade (26) was signed by Deportivo in 2002 although in his first season at the club an injury prevented him from shining. But this season his qualities have exploded and he was considered the best player of the season by Radio Galega and he’s close to winning the election of magazine Don Balon. No other player has reached the amount of minutes Jorge Andrade played this season, and all combined has made a big team like Manchester United being are after his signing. But the Portuguese international player isn’t thinking about moving. Q: Would you like to finish your career in La Coruna? Every player would like to become a better one and to improve. A: Yes, but at Deportivo extraordinary things are achieved. This year we have met both targets in the Liga and Champions League. We always must try to improve even more, but at the club the working conditions have become better every season. Of course I would like to finish my career here. I started at little Amadora and now am playing in a strong competition and fighting against other big clubs. For a player with ambition it’s very nice to be here. Q: Will you be here next season? A: Yes, I think so. Q: But Deportivo aren’t Real Madrid, Manchester United or Barcelona. A: The city of La Coruna isn’t as big as other cities, but with the team we’re doing pretty well. Personally I only think about playing football. Q: And you have done a good job this season. A: It was important to start the season in a good way because last season I was injured and that postponed my adaptation to Spanish football. This season has been long, but with the help of my colleagues and the coach I have played almost every match. Q: What’s the difference between the Portuguese and Spanish competition? A: It’s different in many aspects, although I had the advantage of meeting very friendly people here with a character resembling the Portuguese people. Besides, the tactical scheme of Deportivo resembles the one of Porto a lot. Q: Both clubs have put their defensive line a bit forward. A: Yes, and that helps me a lot because I am used to playing in this way. Q: But this way of playing is risky. A: The most important thing is to be concentrated. I need to play with a colleague at my side who can give commands because I am not a player like that. Q: Why not? A: I don’t like very much shouting to the defence. It’s great to be playing at the side of players like Cesar, Naybet or Pablo Amo. But it’s difficult to lead a team, therefore help is needed of all the players. It’s an aspect I must be working on. Q: You’re considered the best player of Deportivo this season. But, being a defender, isn’t this a bad signal? A: Well, I don’t think I was the best player. Maybe I have been the most consistent one. I always try to bring the same level and for a defender it’s great to hear about having been the best. We all would love to be Pandiani or Tristan, to score goals. But that’s not possible. Q: Did you always want to be a defender? A: I started in midfield, but my physical appearance and qualities are more suited to play in defence. Q: Can you enjoy playing football by being a defender? A: In some matches. But in some others not because more concentration is required. A striker has the pressure of scoring goals. And by missing some chances but still scoring a goal the job is done. For us the things are different. Q: On occasions you kick balls into the stands. But during training sessions you have shown to have much more technical skills than that. A: In defence the first thing is to provide security. But it’s true that on this aspect also I can improve. Q: How about your election for the Portuguese squad to play the EURO 2004 tournament? A: I am very satisfied about being on this list as it was one of my targets for this season. But there’s still a Liga match left to be played, and only after that one I will start focussing on the national team. Q: What are the targets of Portugal? A: We’re all full of illusion of playing the tournament because it’s something very important. And let’s see if we can accomplish our first target, that is to qualify from the group phase because we couldn’t do it at the World Cup. Q: How about the final Liga match at Racing de Santander? A: We will try to finish at the third position. But our target has already been met by finishing among the first four in Spain. That’s why it won’t be much of a problem if in the end the fourth place is our final position. -- Andrade是拉科本賽季上場時間最長的球員 幾乎每一場都有上場(除了歐冠那一場禁賽) 上場累積時間比主力門將Molina還長! 這賽季Andrade的表現真的很棒 雖然偶爾有小出槌... 相信他下個賽季會更成熟!! 國家隊那邊也加油!!! -- 如果人生最壞只是死亡， 生活怎會有面對不了的困難？ --

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