João Cancelo (28) raves about FC Bayern and the Bundesliga. In an interview with the Portuguese newspaper ‘O Jogo’, Bayern’s new winter signing explains: “I noticed that football is very physical in Germany and the players are very good tactically. The German teams are very intelligent in the way they play. That’s the impression I got from those first games.”
The polyvalent defender also likes the atmosphere in the German stadiums: “I was impressed. I didn’t follow the German league that much before I came here, but in all the games I’ve played the stadiums have been spectacular. In the last game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, 45,000 people were there. Before I came to Bayern, I played against Dortmund and I could see that they also have a great stadium. We played in the Allianz Arena, which is also spectacular and when you walk in it feels like 75,000 people are cheering you on.”
Nagelsmann “a very demanding coach”
Looking at the different training methods used by Julian Nagelsmann and Pep Guardiola, the Portuguese states: “He (Nagelsmann, editor’s note) is a very demanding coach, as you can see, who does his job with great passion. But there are different working methods. Pep’s style is more of working with the ball a lot, whereas here we have a game with more vertical passes and a lot of crosses into the penalty area. That is different.”
Cancelo explains: “Everyone has their own style but you can see they are two great coaches. I spent three and a half years with Pep and […] I knew what he wanted from me. I’m trying to adapt to Julian as quickly as possible and I hope we can win titles this year. The Bundesliga is very difficult. But it’s about working day by day to absorb as much as possible of the concepts he’s trying to pass on.”
Stay with Bayern?
The record champions have loaned Cancelo from Manchester City for the rest of the season with a purchase option of 70 million euros. The legal footer also talks about this in an interview with the daily newspaper: “Bayern have an option to buy, I don’t know if they will take it or not, but as long as I’m here I’ll do my best.”
Those responsible on Säbener Straße were the first to contact him when a transfer opportunity opened up: “When they found out I was in the market they were the first to reach out and they did everything they could to sign me. This is a great honor for me.”
So far, the 41-time national player has appeared in five games for Bayern, in which he has already contributed two assists. The defensive specialist is currently fighting with Bayern to win the championship, the DFB Cup and the Champions League.
