It was a first taste of Udinese TV for Nehuen Perez on Monday. The defender began by explaining how the team’s preparations are going and how pleased he is to be part of the Udinese family.
“We’ve started up again and we’re training hard with real desire and a feeling of excitement in order to have a great second half of the season. I’m pleased to be at Udinese, which is a very serious club. I feel I’ve really come on here as a player. Serie A is tough and the games are difficult every week, which helps you improve as a player and gain experience.”
While Perez has shown his versatility by playing across the back line, he did discuss his usual preference: “I want to do all I can to help the team. My position is on the right, but I’m always available to do whatever the coach asks and whatever is needed.”
The Argentine then looked back at the best and worst moments of the campaign so far on a personal level. “It was wonderful to score against Atalanta, given both the importance of the match and because my family was there to watch me play. If I could, I’d erase the game against Salernitana. I made a mistake and I believe it led to us not claiming all three points. That can’t happen again and I’ll need that experience in the future. Luckily, my team-mates showed brilliant character.”
There was also time to discuss Argentina’s progress at the World Cup in Qatar and his relationship with former club team-mate Nahuel Molina. “I’m living through it just like all the Argentine fans with so much passion and excitement. I really wanted to be part of this World Cup, but I know I’m young and I’ll work hard to be involved in the next one. I’m just short of experience. I have to look at my international team-mates and work hard in every training session so that I improve from game to game. I’ve improved my tactical game in Italy, while there’s less work on tactics in Spain. We have a WhatsApp group with Molina and Roberto Pereyra and we often speak to our former Argentine team-mates. Molina deserves it. He’s a great person and a top player.
Perez touched upon his first taste of international football and sharing the dressing room with none other than Lionel Messi himself. “It was every child’s dream. It’s the biggest dream for all Argentines, so I managed to fulfil my dream and it was incredible. Messi is an idol for all Argentines. We’ve grown up with him and we want him to keep playing for the national team after the World Cup for us and for football in general. He’s a living legend.”
A certain Spanish defender was touted as the best ever by Perez, who went on to explain why he has it all: “Sergio Ramos is the best of all time for me. He’s a true leader who has the lot. He’s aggressive, good with the ball at his feet and he scores plenty of goals.”
The 22-year-old described some of his strengths before deciding against revealing the areas of possible weakness: “My main attributes are my reading of the game, staying calm on the pitch and playing with the ball at my feet because I can also help my side in the possession phase. I think that’s important for defenders, especially in modern football. As for my weaknesses, it’s better not to say what they are as that would be revealing the secret to our opponents!”