Real Madrid right back Daniel Carvajal has said he improved as a player in his season in Germany.
The 21-year-old grew up in the Los Blancos youth teams but spent a year with Bayer Leverkusen before rejoining his boyhood club last summer. And now with the nine-time European Cup winners set to take on German opposition in the shape of Borussia Dortmund in the next stage of the Champions League, Carvajal spoke to UEFA.com about his time in the Bundesliga.
“I improved a lot defensively, because there was almost no transitional play in the Bundesliga and I had to close things down a lot,” he said. And he added: “As well as that, we were a team that always had to take the initiative in every game and as a wide player I had to cover a lot of ground. That helped me develop physically in order to remain fresh in the final few minutes of matches.”
He admitted he was happy to be back at the Santiago Bernabeu and enjoying the trust of manager Carlo Ancelotti. “I have always been ambitious and have wanted to train and play more, but I am very happy with things at the moment. Especially because of the amount of trust the manager has placed in me from day one,” he commented.
When asked to give his advice to any youngster looking to follow in his footsteps and make it to the top, Carvajal said the key to success is patience. “It’s the training. It’s a marathon that starts at a young age and sacrifice is the base of it. You have to arrive home with the sensation of having given your all at training or in the game and having done the best you can. Also I think genetics help.”
