Not so long ago, Nemanja Vidic was quoted in a few newspapers, speaking of his difficulty acclimatising to life in England. Never mind that the guy was from Serbia and had been playing football in Russia before he joined Manchester United. Now a Blackburn forward has hit the headlines with similar quibbles about life in the grim north of the country, it doesn’t seem like he’s getting much support from his manager either!
The Daily Mail report that Carlos Villanueva may be getting paid thousands of pounds per week, yet seems to be having a reasonably miserable existence in Lancashire at the moment. The Chilean striker is on a season’s loan from Audax Italiano, and it appears as though he’s pining for South America a fair bit if the below is to be believed.
‘Since my arrival two months ago I haven’t spoken much with Paul Ince. But every time I do he annoys me by going on about Ivan Zamorano,’ Villaneuva said.
‘It seems like they got on well during their time together at Inter Milan.’
The Chilean continued: ‘It is really difficult for me to endure the rhythm over here. Players run much more, and the opposition is much tougher than I found back home.
‘My teammates even make me feel the rigour of English football in training. They are not afraid to give me a good kicking, as though I played for a rival club.
‘You don’t get the time to blink here. As a striker I am constantly coming up against opposing defenders, and I have to laugh when I see my legs covered in cuts and bruises.
‘I will need to get used to the pace of this league. The football is very physical, and I have to run a great deal.
‘The fact that I don’t speak English, and can’t communicate with others, limits me in many ways.
‘As a result I spend a lot of time watching TV in my apartment, eating nothing but frozen food. You can’t imagine how much I hunger for the beef pasties and barbecues from back home.
‘I have lunch at the club, but at night it’s deep-frozen pasta for me, pure and simple.”
It’s easy to imagine Paul Ince being annoying, yet surely the pros of being a professional footballer outweigh the cons of getting kicked on the training ground and not being able to eat a beef pasty? We’ve heard similar complaints before from players, who eventually find their feet in the Premier League, do you reckon that Villanueva will do the same at Blackburn?
Discuss the latest transfer gossip at the Brand New COS forum!