Bruno Fernandes - The Football Interview

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1:17It's been a difficult few years for Manchester United, but one player who never shies away from fronting up to the media is Bruno Fernandes. Often he's seen fielding questions about Manchester United's battle to get back to the top, of both English and European football. So today I came along to find out a little bit more about the man behind the player.

1:40Bruno, describe to me a young Bruno. What were you like as a child? A dreamer, someone very passionate about everything he would do. A kid with a ball under his arm all the time. A kid that would love to be outside of his house with his cousins, with his friends, to play, to not only to play football but to do anything that I could to enjoy my childhood. I was a very happy child. What's your first specific football memory then? I would say the best one I have in my memory, more fresh, is the 2004 Euro in Portugal. So first time that we had Euros in Portugal, I was around 10 years old. So that's my biggest first memory in football.

2:29What do you remember of that tournament? No, everything. But the main one for me was going with my mum from my small town to the centre of the town because they had a big screen there to watch Portugal play. And, you know, everyone with their flags, you know, I had my flag under my neck. I have some paint on my face, everything. And I was just a happy kid going and seeing a lot of people going by my side just to support Portugal. Do you remember the first team you played for? Yes, obviously I started, I went to my first team, it's called Infesta, so I went to play there as a futsal player first, but I only got into one training session and they wanted me straight away into the older ones when I ended up playing with people two years older than me because I was still very young to get into the leagues, so I had to play with the ones two years older than me, and to be honest, it was a very good moment for me because I learned in adversity, you know, being smaller, being less strong than them, and made me more strong mentally to understand that you're going to have this kind of challenge through your life, and you just have to get through them.

3:47How old were you at that point? I think I would be around five or six. So in Portugal, I think you start playing between seven and eight. Because we have leagues since the first thing you can play, I think it's under eight, around that age. You can start playing already a league. Like it's a local league, but basically you have a league. So to play that league, or either I would do that, or either I would do just like the training sessions on the weekends and stuff like that. and I was lucky enough to get straight into the league and straight into the challenge. When you look back on what's already been an incredible career, can you pinpoint one turning point, one moment, that if that hadn't happened you wouldn't be here now?

4:33No, my change to Italy, probably. I think that made my career have a starting point because obviously I was in Portugal, I was in Boa Vista where I had basically my full youth and I was very happy there playing and everything but the the club was struggling a lot. We're in third division at the time, not giving many chances to the youth players to go through and that was something that we always had in the club, young players coming through the club and through the academy to make their way from the first team. At that time that was very difficult to happen, I still had two more years in academy me but then I went to Italy and everything happened very quick because I arrived there in July I had to wait for September because I was only making 18 in September so I couldn't play before that because I was underage and I had I don't know like a month two months with the under 21s and then I went straight into the first team and then from there on start training with them trainings with the youth coming back and forward.

5:42At my first game when the team was very, very struggling play outs position. Did very well but the manager at the time said I don't want to burn you out and I think that was the thing. The way he took care of myself and my progress as a player was very good because the team was struggling a lot. He said like it's not the moment for you to go through. I know you can do it, but if something goes wrong, you're not going to play anymore for the first team. Then I was there, in and out, a new manager came in and he said, I like what I see, but I want you to train with us, play with the under-21s. And then I was lucky.

6:19My turning point started in around January, where right midfielder got suspended. I played in his position. In the same game, left midfielder got suspended. So right midfielder came on, I went to left side. and then number six got suspended and from there on in three games I played in three different positions but I got my position I played very well in that three games and the manager never took me off again. Wow the perfect storm then. It was very good and then also as a team we went from the playouts to the playoffs we reached the semi-finals but unfortunately we couldn't get into the Serie A.

6:56Who would you say has had the biggest impact on your career? Obviously my family in a hole obviously my my parents growing up was where they never let me think that I wouldn't be able to do something and at the same time they always kept myself on the floor like don't don't think too high and and never think too low so just just put a line there put your dreams above that and then go for that. And then obviously when I joined with my wife, girlfriend at the time, she had a little bit of the same as my mom and my dad, you know, she always kept me very low, she was always very supportive of me but always like just be aware that things can go wrong so just don't think too much ahead, just think about the moment and what you want for the future but make that at the moment will help you to achieve that in the future.

8:00So she was always very supportive on that. She was always, she always kept me very humble on the way I have to work, on the way I have to do things, on the way that I had to behave. And as a family, we always had that from my childhood. And then going to pass that to my young kids now, it's amazing because the way I and my wife think is very similar. So the together that was very good. And then I think Dolin was the one that changed my career in Udinese because it was another one that he made me play. He made me think about everything I had to do. He made me think, you're playing now, I'm going to rest you.

8:39You're going to have to put your head in place. You're going to play next game. You might not play two games, you might play again. And he made me learn that to get into the top level, you will have to suffer. Which retired player would you love to play against? Against? I would say two. Zidane and Ronaldinho. Just because Ronaldinho was my first love in football, basically. He just made everyone enjoy football, love football. It was so fun to watch him play, always with a smile on his face, in everything he would do. So it was just pure joy, you know, as a young player, that's what most of the times you wanted to see, you know, like him getting on the ball and being so effective on everything he would do, even at the same time being so nice, like a lot of flair and everything.

9:34but he could do that and being effective at the same time so it was he had everything you know like and unfortunately for I think for most of my generation he didn't play as long as we wanted to have him playing because he was he was something special. What's the hardest thing to do on a football pitch? Being consistent I think because I think during 90 minutes let's say we're talking about the football pitch during 90 minutes you have to be so consistent in everything you do that as sometimes it goes and slips away from you it can change everything so I think consistency in the first thing is consistent of doing whatever you think is the best for the team because that has to come first of everything that you can't do anything without thinking on the team first because that has to in football is what has to come above everything because there's nothing more important than the team and then it comes yourself to put yourself in the best position to help the team and when I'm on the pitch that's the thing that I had most in my head that the consistency I had to do my things will help the team to become better so I have to be the most consistent and accurate player I can be in any moment of the game not with the ball but also without the ball but also in some things that you have to say to your teammates when you want to change something in position wise changing set pieces has to be accurate because if a little thing changes you can go against you.

11:10That must be something you're immensely proud of then the consistent levels that you've reached for Manchester United even during some of the difficult times at this club. No obviously you know like when you come to this club you know that level has to be really high. You can't drop yourself. And as I said, I think my youth and the way I behave myself and my family always put myself in that position of not relaxing, always being in the highest as you can be. Because it's not about what you have done, it's about what you're going to do and what you want to do. Because what you have done is in the past and people will forget it very quick.

11:43And even more at this club, you play every three days, so you need to be very quick into changing your mind already into the next game and the next thing you have to do to improve yourself, improve the team and help the team to win games. What are you most proud of from your career so far? Everything because I was a young kid full of dreams that never thought that I would achieve as much I have achieved because you don't think about that. You think about playing football, you think about enjoying yourself, you think about playing as much as you can because when When you're young, you just think about playing football.

12:20Obviously, you see the television, you see the professionals, you say, like, this is where I want to be. But my thought, at least, was just, like, I just enjoy playing football. I just want to do this for the rest of my life. There's nothing else that I know how to do. Obviously, you know to do different things, but there's nothing else that I want to do different than this. And I would say that for me, football was always the main thing and will still always be my main thing until the end of my days, not my career. I want to try and find out a little bit more about Bruno, the person. How would your best friend describe you?

12:57I don't know. You should ask him. I didn't have his phone number, sadly. Very passionate about everything he does. In everything, I include myself, I just like to go with myself at full because I don't like to do things at half. I don't think you get results when you do something and you're not very into that. If you want to do something, it has to be something that you really want. And that's the thing. My football experience, probably my friend will, if any friend of me or even my best friend, if you ask him, you will always tell him that for me, going full in everything I do, it's the main thing.

13:41and football was the main thing. I always wanted to go full for it and I didn't stop until I could achieve every dream I had and I won't stop until I achieve all the dreams I still have. So you're like that in every walk of life, not just with football? In everything. What you see on the pitch is what Bruno is like. The passion I put on everything and then obviously much more calm out of the pitch. I don't have the emotions on the skin as much as I have it on the pitch but still very passionate in everything he does. And you would say like even friendly games when I play with my friends and stuff, they will tell you that I still want to win them.

14:20And that's just the way I put myself in that. You know, like I've changed a little bit because obviously when I go to play with some of my friends, they haven't played football for so long. That is more a joy moment than a proper game to win, you know. but if you put me in something that has a challenge that I want to beat that challenge. You said that you're a bit calmer off the pitch. When were you last nervous? Last nervous? Did you get nervous? Yeah, a lot of times. I think the game against Wolves, I was on the bench but I think I get more nervous on being on the bench. It's a different feeling for you being on the bench.

14:58No, I think I get more nervous on being on the bench. obviously luckily for me and I hope not many times I will be on the bench but I get more nervous watching the game I get because you know like I basically I'm basically suffering for my teammates when you see something going against them and they trying to make something different and it doesn't come I get very nervous I'm very like I can't be steady on the bench or or even at home if I have stay at home and see the game at home I can't be like not loud I need to be loud I need to be active it's like I'm in the game but I think every game in every game I'm nervous nervous on the sense of getting that good nervous like that I want to be involved in the game like mentally I need to be my head needs to be working I guess the balance that you learn as a footballer is the right side of nerves, using the nerves positively.

15:56Yeah, you need to use it energy-wise, you know, you need to put that nervousness in energy-wise. Like, I would say the game against Lyon was probably the game where I was the most nervous until now, also because we knew how much it meant for us. So even before the game I was very nervous in the sense I couldn't wait for the game. I was like, why we... I even spoke with Masrawi, we were speaking two days before the game, and I was like, why the game is not today? We wanted to play that game so quick because we wanted so much to give something to the fans, you know, like to give ourselves the chance to be in the semi-final, to be closer, one step closer to the final where we can win a trophy.

16:37So it's that good, nervous of like we want things to come quick because we want to show that we're able to get into things, get to do something good for us. And that's the good thing of being nervous in a good way.

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17:42Welcome to the brand new podcast series, Rugby League Top 10 with me, Mark Chapman. It's where John Wilkin, Brian Noble and Jamie Peacock will discuss, debate and argue over lists of the best players, games, finals, iconic moments and plenty of other categories that will no doubt leave you screaming at your device. The most entertaining parts of that sport are these, the jeopardy, the moments. You've made Rugby League look cool. Yeah. I mean, that's a difficult thing to do, I think. It is really. Yeah, no. Well, I think we've all managed to carry that back. Rugby League Top 10. Listen on BBC Sounds.

18:16The Football Interview on the Football Daily Podcast. You mentioned that game in particular. How are you feeling during the game then? Because obviously it didn't go to plan to start with. Did you get nervous at that point? Did you get nervous in-game? No, never. During the game, no. Before the games, I could get nervous. During the game, I just think about the goal we have for the game. That is win the game. what we have to do. I remember every step that we've trained. I remember every step that my teammates have to do. I remember every position, what they have to do. Like when I go to the training session, I focus not just on what I have to do, but what's around me, because it could change that I have to play in a different position.

19:03It could change that we change something and a teammate is not very aware of where he has to be or in which position he should stay on set pieces, everything. I know exactly where everyone has to be. so that's that's the the only nervous thing is that it's getting everything into my memory so I can remember in the game every step that also when I'm on the ball I know every movement that my teammates have to do so to be aware of like I'm I'm on the ball here so what we trained is this but obviously you have to think that in a split second so but it gets automatically because I have to think about that during the week until the game so when you think so many times about something your muscle memory muscle memory works by itself so I think that's that's the main thing unsurprisingly so far you've related everything back to football you're probably still going to do that with these next questions but I'll try and get you away from it what's your favorite song my favorite song I don't I don't have one but I would say like the type one of the type of songs that I really like to hear and that's not very common is Fado it's a type of Portuguese song that we have it's part of our history part of what Portugal has brought into the world you know like it's something where people that really like songs they if they go to Portugal they should go to some restaurants where we have live live songs of people basically with the chalets you know like black and they sing like basically with big amazing voices and someone with the guitar just behind them something very very typical in In Portugal we have some restaurants, like old school restaurants, all in hood or stone, you know, like you get in, it's like a cavern and it's a place just like to enjoy the food, typical Portuguese food and enjoy the moment and the thing that they do is basically a massive show, but instead of being on a big place, it's in a place where you have probably around 10 tables and around 20 people just watching that, enjoying the moment, no phones, know nothing it's unbelievable and the voices we have in portugal for to sing that are it's it get it get me goosebumps every time i hear it if you could wear an invisibility cloak for a day so no one could see you what would you do and where would you go i would i would go i would go with my kids wherever they wanted to go because obviously sometimes it's very tough to to go with my kids in certain points even if now they aren't they very they're very aware of like people asking for photos and stuff and they already know like when someone asks me for photos it's just like they just go apart the older one gets a small one she grabs him she's they basically stand at me looking at me like okay take the photo now we go but probably was like was that I would go I would like to go to like to places where I was going when I was a young kid I would like to go with them there again like without without them them like needed to stop every time something they want to do to to enjoy the time with them i would go to a beach in portugal to to try to enjoy as much i can with them but i still do it to be honest i i'm i'm not a person that gets very uh annoyed by people taking photos with you i get more annoyed when people are trying to take photos of you while you're doing something with your kids i don't mind people asking for photos that that's that's one of the good things of our work get recognized in in a few years time we won't get recognized that much so we will be fine So I don't mind people asking for it or kids asking for it.

22:37I will do it at any time, any moment, anywhere. I will do it. But obviously for my kids, I would like to go to the beach, do some sandcastles and stuff with them. For example, my wife is more worried about that. I'm a person that does what any other person will do in a normal life. And if someone catches me doing something that, oh, Bruno is doing that and put it in the newspaper or whatever, I won't mind. I was just enjoying the moment and being happy with my kids doing anything on any place and even if I have to do something with my friends or whatever it is, I won't mind people taking photos so they can stop wasting their time taking photos thinking that they're going to make a big new or whatever, that I'm just a normal person living a normal life.

23:22I wish I'd asked you this one before instead, how would your kids describe you? that's more difficult um very tough on them yes because i i am like i think in nowadays we make things much easier for the kids and as a parent now i i obviously do it i and i look back when i when i was a kid and obviously i think most of the things my mom has done to me and my father i was seeing as a punishment and now i see it as a okay it was something to make me understand why is the reason for that and nowadays I think sometimes I make things too easy for them but at the same time I try to make it as tough as I can for them to understand that things in life don't come easily and don't come as often as we want or at any time we want so every time they want something for themselves they have to earn it and I just want to them I don't want like it's not like they want a toy and I will be like no you have to work to get a toy no it's not that because obviously I'm lucky enough to have the possibility to give them toys or whatever they want to do to play or ever but they know there is moments to get things they know that it can be at any time they know that they can go to a shop with me and come out without anything so that's what's the main thing that I want them to learn is like night you go to a shop and you get something it doesn't work that way but if you behave if you do the things rightly if your studies are going well, if you do everything right at school, if anytime we ask you to do something they will do it, they get rewards from that.

25:05So even like these days they were at home and if you ask my daughter like just do the table for us, she would do it without any like getting back to you or everything, she enjoys doing it. She knows why she's doing it as well I guess. If you tell them like yesterday, we were, not two days ago, we were in the sofa, me and my wife, and it was like already, I don't know, 10 a.m. or like around that time, and they were starting to getting like, oh, we know to do something, and I said, okay, have you done your bed? No, so go upstairs and do your bed. And they went, both of them, they did their bed, they know they have to, whenever we ask them to do it, they have to do it.

25:42For example, now when they have school, they wake up so early, we want, like, we just tell them, just push the things up, open the window, we'll get some fresh air and then the bed will be done. But they know certain things that we like them to do. But me, I don't know, as a father, a little bit tough on them, but at the same time, a very soft heart because it's too easy for them to get into my soft side because I'm a very soft person, even if it doesn't look like on the beach. I'm a very soft heart. Finally, what is the one thing that you think people who maybe don't know you as well get wrong about you the most?

26:21Nothing. People have an opinion about me and I can't change that. It's the way people want to judge you about what they see on most of the people, what they see on the pitch. Some of them what they see on the television, some of them what they see on interviews. you know, I can't change that. They have the freedom to think the way they want about me as I have the same freedom to think about them. But what I don't do is, like, I don't judge people until I know them. But you have that a lot. And, you know, like, when you have a teammate that comes from another club, that they think, like, oh, I had a way of thinking about you.

27:01There's nothing to do with what you likely are. and probably sometimes you have the same with some people. So it's very common that we judge the players because what we see on the pitch about them, you know, like, and I don't think it wrong. It's normal. It's part of the job. And at the same time, it's part of life because we judge people in our lives without knowing them sometimes. And not always is the right judge. So I can't be mad or thinking bad about a person that thinks something about me because they can have an opinion about me and that's fine. We all have different opinions. That's why life is so good and so different because if we all think the same way, it will be so boring.

27:48Brilliant. Thank you so much for your time, Bruno. You're welcome. Thank you very much. Thank you.

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