Messi, Ocampos' secret, “Helped me squeeze my game”

Lucas Ocampos has become one of the great revelations of LaLiga in this 2019-20. The winger of Sevilla, the top scorer from Nione, already sounds for the most important teams on the continent and talks about some of the secrets of his growth as a player. Among them, the help of Lionel Messi: “I have maximum respect for Messi. I did not know him, we met at Barcelona-Seville this year and the truth is that he spoke to me as if he had always known me. Then he helped me a lot in my first calls with the national team, helped me squeeze my game and made things very easy for me“he told Radio Continental.

Ranieri, in Monaco, was one of the coaches who allowed him to develop the most: “In these last two years I put into practice what some of my coaches told me in the past and that changed my career a lot and for the better. When I got to Monaco, Ranieri told me. There my mentality was totally different from what I have today. I wanted to gamble and my physique did not explode, speed driving, going to space … At 18 years old, it was difficult to listen and attend to everything they told me, but when I realized it, I grew up a lot. It was worth everything I had to put aside to go to another country so young. “

Ocampos has formed a fearsome partnership with Navas on Sevilla's right wing, although Suso's arrival has displaced him to the left: “When I arrived at Sevilla, I was playing on the left; but the coach (Julen Lopetegui) He warned me that he wanted me for the right. At first I had doubts, but you have to be prepared to play and contribute anywhere. One-on-one is easier on the right, because you go with your good leg with your head raised, also looking for the center or a pass to space. On the left it is easier to finish off, orient yourself for the strong leg and score goals. If you ask me eight months ago, I would say that I preferred the left; but nowadays I feel stronger on the right, to face and even to finish off too. I'm playing in both positions. “

“You have to earn respect whenever you go, in every call. With the team you don't play every week, as with the clubs, and there is less margin for error. I was good, I scored in my first game and I was lucky to start fairly well from the first time, “concluded Lucas.