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Robinho: I was no City slacker
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=851428&type=story
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Nick Bidwell
Robinho has admitted he was weighed down by his record-breaking price tag and unsuited to Premier League football as he reflects on his ill-fated move to Manchester City.
At £32.5 million, this Brazilian magician was the 'marquee signing' City's hierarchy needed to make when the club was transformed by the takeover of Sheikh Mansour and his Abu Dhabi investors in September 2008, but the pieces of the jigsaw would not fall into place for the player or a club whose ambitions could not be met as quickly as all concerned wanted.
In the end, Robinho's failure to settle on and off the pitch in England meant a parting of the ways was the only option last summer and he accepted the chance to join a star-studded Milan squad, but the 26-year-old is at pains to argue that his time at Eastlands was not a complete failure.
"I don't think it is fair to say I was a disaster at City," Robinho says. "It's important to remember that I scored 14 goals in my first season there and ended up as the club's top scorer. There were not too many more players in the Premier League who scored as often as me, so it was not all bad. For my first year in the Premier League, it went pretty well and I felt the City crowd were on my side.
"The trouble came in the second season. I had injury problems and the new coach [Roberto Mancini] went with other options in attack. I'm not going to blame Mancini for what happened because he had respect for me. He laid out what the situation was, but I did not feel as if I would be a regular part of his team and this was a problem.
"What made me want to leave was that [with] the World Cup in South Africa coming up, there was no way Dunga [the then Brazil manager] would have picked me if I was only playing occasionally for City. Being an impact player was no use to me and I had to go back to my old club Santos before finding a home here in Milan.
"Every experience in life has its good and not-so-good points. I have many warm memories of City. Certain goals, certain matches and, of course, the enthusiasm and passion of the fans. They are real people with the same sort of commitment to their club as a Brazilian supporter."
Robinho believes his countrymen are not suited to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, with his dislike for the notoriously damp Manchester climate hardly helping this sun-loving samba star win his doomed mission to bring success to the world's richest club.
"England is a hard place for a Brazilian to perform," he believes. "I'm an expressive and instinctive player, while the Premier League puts a lot of emphasis on systems and fitting into a certain mould.
"I wasn't helped either by the price on my head. City paid a lot of money and went to a lot of trouble bringing me in. The expectations on me were huge and in a way you become a target and it is also true that I had great difficulty adapting to life in England. It was a culture shock for me, the weather was very different, and I became unhappy. I live and play through my emotions and when they aren't right, I'm not right."
Barcelona were rumoured to be interested in signing Robinho last summer, but he opted not to join the ranks of players who have played for both of Spain's top two clubs as he plumped to join a an Italian giant that has sparked back into life this season.
"As soon as AC Milan came on the scene, my instincts told me I had to sign on," he continues. "This club is as big as any in the whole world and like me, they have a point to prove. They have not been as successful as they would have liked recently, but they are hungry to get back to a dominant position in Italy and the Champions League and this is why I think we are a good fit.
"The club owner [Silvio Berlusconi] has spent his life encouraging spectacular attacking football and this is my philosophy too. With fellow countrymen like Ronaldinho, Pato and Thiago Silva already here, I knew for sure this would be a home from home for me.
"It was clear from the start that I may not play every week in a squad filled with so much attacking talent, but this was part of the challenge for me. At an incredibly ambitious club like this, you cannot have it any other way. If we are to take Milan back to the top, we need strength in depth in all positions and I don't have a problem with it. We all know the rules of the game. We have to convince the coach we deserve to be selected for any given game. Meeting up with old friends is always good."
With his fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho growing increasingly frustrated by his bench-warming duties this season, Robinho accepts he may have to wave farewell to one of those "old friends" when the transfer window opens next month, though he believes leaving AC Milan right now would be a mistake.
"Dinho isn't playing here as much as he would want and I would understand if he chose to move on, but from a selfish point of view I hope he stays," adds Robinho. "He is someone I feel close to and I can't get enough of his genius on the ball. He's back in the Brazil team and far from finished, so maybe he can find a way back at Milan.
"It would be a bad moment for anyone to leave this team as I feel we are moving in the right direction very quickly. Looking at the quality of the individuals in the squad, our winning mentality and the results so far this season, we have to be in with a good chance of winning Serie A and the Champions League. The days when Milan played second fiddle to Inter are behind us, I'm sure of that."
They are words to warm the hearts of all Rossoneri followers and it seems as if the little man who was the subject of so much criticism during his final months at Manchester City is ready to reclaim his place at the top table of the world game.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/print?id=851428&type=story
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nick Bidwell
Robinho has admitted he was weighed down by his record-breaking price tag and unsuited to Premier League football as he reflects on his ill-fated move to Manchester City.
At £32.5 million, this Brazilian magician was the 'marquee signing' City's hierarchy needed to make when the club was transformed by the takeover of Sheikh Mansour and his Abu Dhabi investors in September 2008, but the pieces of the jigsaw would not fall into place for the player or a club whose ambitions could not be met as quickly as all concerned wanted.
In the end, Robinho's failure to settle on and off the pitch in England meant a parting of the ways was the only option last summer and he accepted the chance to join a star-studded Milan squad, but the 26-year-old is at pains to argue that his time at Eastlands was not a complete failure.
"I don't think it is fair to say I was a disaster at City," Robinho says. "It's important to remember that I scored 14 goals in my first season there and ended up as the club's top scorer. There were not too many more players in the Premier League who scored as often as me, so it was not all bad. For my first year in the Premier League, it went pretty well and I felt the City crowd were on my side.
"The trouble came in the second season. I had injury problems and the new coach [Roberto Mancini] went with other options in attack. I'm not going to blame Mancini for what happened because he had respect for me. He laid out what the situation was, but I did not feel as if I would be a regular part of his team and this was a problem.
"What made me want to leave was that [with] the World Cup in South Africa coming up, there was no way Dunga [the then Brazil manager] would have picked me if I was only playing occasionally for City. Being an impact player was no use to me and I had to go back to my old club Santos before finding a home here in Milan.
"Every experience in life has its good and not-so-good points. I have many warm memories of City. Certain goals, certain matches and, of course, the enthusiasm and passion of the fans. They are real people with the same sort of commitment to their club as a Brazilian supporter."
Robinho believes his countrymen are not suited to the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, with his dislike for the notoriously damp Manchester climate hardly helping this sun-loving samba star win his doomed mission to bring success to the world's richest club.
"England is a hard place for a Brazilian to perform," he believes. "I'm an expressive and instinctive player, while the Premier League puts a lot of emphasis on systems and fitting into a certain mould.
"I wasn't helped either by the price on my head. City paid a lot of money and went to a lot of trouble bringing me in. The expectations on me were huge and in a way you become a target and it is also true that I had great difficulty adapting to life in England. It was a culture shock for me, the weather was very different, and I became unhappy. I live and play through my emotions and when they aren't right, I'm not right."
Barcelona were rumoured to be interested in signing Robinho last summer, but he opted not to join the ranks of players who have played for both of Spain's top two clubs as he plumped to join a an Italian giant that has sparked back into life this season.
"As soon as AC Milan came on the scene, my instincts told me I had to sign on," he continues. "This club is as big as any in the whole world and like me, they have a point to prove. They have not been as successful as they would have liked recently, but they are hungry to get back to a dominant position in Italy and the Champions League and this is why I think we are a good fit.
"The club owner [Silvio Berlusconi] has spent his life encouraging spectacular attacking football and this is my philosophy too. With fellow countrymen like Ronaldinho, Pato and Thiago Silva already here, I knew for sure this would be a home from home for me.
"It was clear from the start that I may not play every week in a squad filled with so much attacking talent, but this was part of the challenge for me. At an incredibly ambitious club like this, you cannot have it any other way. If we are to take Milan back to the top, we need strength in depth in all positions and I don't have a problem with it. We all know the rules of the game. We have to convince the coach we deserve to be selected for any given game. Meeting up with old friends is always good."
With his fellow Brazilian Ronaldinho growing increasingly frustrated by his bench-warming duties this season, Robinho accepts he may have to wave farewell to one of those "old friends" when the transfer window opens next month, though he believes leaving AC Milan right now would be a mistake.
"Dinho isn't playing here as much as he would want and I would understand if he chose to move on, but from a selfish point of view I hope he stays," adds Robinho. "He is someone I feel close to and I can't get enough of his genius on the ball. He's back in the Brazil team and far from finished, so maybe he can find a way back at Milan.
"It would be a bad moment for anyone to leave this team as I feel we are moving in the right direction very quickly. Looking at the quality of the individuals in the squad, our winning mentality and the results so far this season, we have to be in with a good chance of winning Serie A and the Champions League. The days when Milan played second fiddle to Inter are behind us, I'm sure of that."
They are words to warm the hearts of all Rossoneri followers and it seems as if the little man who was the subject of so much criticism during his final months at Manchester City is ready to reclaim his place at the top table of the world game.
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