Udinese Tonight's guest this week was Oier Zarraga, live from the Udinese training camp in Lienz. Pre-season, the upcoming campaign and his objective in his third season at Udinese were the topics of conversation. Here’s some of what he had to say:
“[The training camp] is going well. We’re improving every day. We’ve been working hard and getting into shape, slowly but surely. We had a fun time rafting – sometimes you think it’s purely about the football itself, but these activities help bond the players. We’re all in good spirits and are keen to hit the ground running in our first match of the season.”
“My objectives are to play more and contribute more to the team. At the end of last season I thought I could’ve given more to the team. I want to play more of a leading role. I don’t make the decisions but whether I play 90 or 10 minutes I’ll give my all.”
“I’m a different player compared to when I joined the club. I’ve learnt a lot as a person. I’d never left Bilbao so coming here and meeting players from all over the world has helped me develop. I've also learned a lot as a footballer - I feel that my defending has improved. I want to learn even more, play even more, and improve even more."
“You can see how well the coach knows the players. He knows what he wants from us. I’m happy playing in a 4-3-3 – I played in that formation a lot when I was younger. I think we can achieve good things with this system."
“We need him [Florian Thauvin]. We know what kind of player he is and what qualities he has. He's a leader - it was tough when he was injured, especially because he's a top attacking player. We're happy to have him back in the squad."