Green: “I promised to tattoo a violet-white heart and I will”

It was him second Italian that landed in the Real Valladolid and the two have something in common, they adapted quickly, they learned the language easily and left their mark at the same time that Valladolid was marked in their hearts, although the two were only a campaign of white and purple, obviously, we talked about Fausto Rosi Y Daniele Green.

Daniele It arrived in the season in which the team debuted category, 2018-19 and its passage was by no means unnoticed, since it left indelible goals, although perhaps in minutes and at stake we have not just seen its best version.

After leaving Valladolid, he ended up in Greek football (AEK of Athens) and now he plays in the series A of Italy in the newly promoted Spezia.

Talking with the young forward, barely 24 years old, is to mention Valladolid and his voice changes and he is immediately filled with joy: “I had an incredible year in Valladolid, unforgettable and I will always carry it in my heart. I owe a debt to the fans, since I promised to get a tattoo with a white and violet heart and soon I'll pay off that debt and get the tattoo, sure, I left my heart there. “

His Greek stage was not so good according to Verde account “I spent a quiet year, but in terms of football it was not the best, but I am not complaining, I was well” and yet now in Italy he has found his best sporting moment: “In Spezia I found my life in football and now I'm very happy here and hopefully I can continue to improve in the team. “

Insisting that year in Athens, Daniele Verde had to live the pandemic and isolation far from home and family: “I couldn't be near my newborn girl which is the most important thing in my life and at that moment it became hard. It is something that fortunately has already happened and I try to forget it to move on. Those days at the beginning were not so complicated because the virus and the problems arrived later in Greece than in Italy or Spain, but then it became the same problem as in the rest. I had to live it stuck at home sharing a flat with a teammate and without playing. I tried to lead a quiet life but without football. “

Italy and Spain lived through the worst moments of the start of the pandemic with figures that are still scary just to remember them and Verde did it with concern for his family: “That was the hardest, I remember it perfectly and what I try to forget, we must continue forward. Right now in Italy we are in a situation similar to that of Spain, a little calmer now with the vaccine and hopefully we can get back to normal soon. “

Daniele already loved Spain before arriving in Valladolid, but after being at Real Valladolid he is just another blanquivioleta: “I am always aware of what the team does and how it plays the games, where it is in the table … I speak with colleagues and I am informed of what is happening in the city and in the club and I will always be aware, that's for sure. I am pucelano and I will be for life“.

The fight to avoid relegation in which the team is involved is not unknown to Daniele Verde “I can see that they are in the same position as when I was, always there, fighting … but we white and violet are like that, we have to fight and I am sure that they will be saved again, I am confident. “Those ties are strong also thanks to the friends he made in the dressing room:” I speak with Nacho, Borja, Kiko and with some who are no longer in the team, Antoñito or Moyano … with almost all of us who make up that team “.

The adaptation was almost immediate and Italian learned the language in an accelerated way and took over the city almost at the same speed and for this reason he continues to miss Valladolid “the people, the city … I was happy there and it is an incredible place for me, I have no words … I feel pucelano“And the emotion when saying this is noticeable in his voice.

Verde never hid that his dream was to play in Spain and when he got it in Valladolid, the mark he left on him, as you can see in his words, is profound: “It's another of the things I miss Valladolid for, always It was my dream since I was a child and I achieved it in ValladolidIt was my first time in Spain playing soccer and that is why I will never forget the city and the team. “

The memories are still fresh and if we talk about goals, Verde left six as Blanquivioleta, some of them pure spectacle like the one that scored Espanyol with a direct free kick and the one that scored a penalty at Eibar when the team was on that streak of failing until five consecutive penalties and the Italian dared to shoot in the discount and mark the tie that Guardiola later turned into victory and almost permanently: “I will never forget that goal against Espanyol that helped us to draw, it is a feeling that I will always carry in my heart because it was my first goal with the Real Valladolid shirt and it also prevented a streak from breaking without losing that we had … I wanted to leave my stamp on Valladolid and I think I did. I always noticed people's affection and I have the same affection for them … I wanted to leave my heart there “.

Valladolid managed to bring Verde on loan from Rome, being an under-21 international, with an option to buy, but after the deadline expired, the situation did not crystallize: “I belonged to Roma and my contract ended the following season .. . the AEK put the money and Roma accepted… football stuff. “

Verde's arrival coincided with that of Ronaldo “My dream came true and I will never forget Ronaldo, above all I was moved by how the president celebrated that goal against Espanyol we were talking about … it was something magical.”

The spectacular goals he has not forgotten and if it is not enough to look for the one he made a few weeks ago to Lazio, from Chile, although his team ended up losing 2-1: “Thank you, it was a good goal too. I'm fine in the team because I have my family, my girl close by and I'm fine … in the end I looked for my football and I found it in Spezia, which is played similar to Spain with this coach and that's why I like it “. Verde explains the differences between the first Italian and the Spanish: “I think the Italian is a little tougher, here it is played more physical, but it is as competitive as in Spain.”

Daniele Verde learned Spanish so quickly because she brought homework with her: “I listened to songs in SpanishBesides, I went on vacation there and I was already talking a little when I went to Valladolid and when I arrived, they put me a teacher and I think I speak it well, I don't forget it “.

To finish, the Italian made this confession that shows that his love for Spain and Valladolid goes beyond mere words: “On vacation safely and I hope I can go live there and to play again. I have always said that I would like to live there and now I am teaching my little girl to speak Spanish, I speak to him in Spanish. “