Colombian defender Jeison Murillo was a guest on InterNos on Inter Channel to answer questions sent on from Inter fans. The Colombian defender, who arrived last summer from Granada started things off by speaking about playing for his native Colombia: “It’s a beautiful thing to play for the national team, singing the national anthem is a fantastic feeling and closing your eyes to live the moment at its fullest. When you wear this shirt you feel strong emotions, it’s strange too because you’re not used to it. It’s great. Ever since I was a child I wanted to arrive at this point, I wanted to make it in football, they have always expected this from me. Now I’m working to be the best in the world. In Colombia they called me La Muralla [the wall], which says a lot. I want to continue working like I am doing to repay the faith and affection everyone has shown me. My goal against Brazil? It was an exceptional feeling, scoring with your national team against an opponent that we hadn’t beaten in many years, in my debut at the Copa America it was something fantastic.”
The unifying factor between Inter and Colombia is Ivan Ramiro Cordoba and Murillo explains how he approached Milano, always in the shadow of Inter’s historic vice-captain: “When I learned about Inter’s interest I was delighted. I couldn’t wait until I could take this chance, you can’t say no to a club like Inter. I’m not sorry that I stayed another 6 months with Granada because we managed to avoid relegation and it was thanks to these performances in La Liga that i was able to eb called t the Copa America squad, despite coming back from an injury. I couldn’t wait until I would arrive at Inter and so I gave up my holiday to undergo surgery so that I could be available for the coach as soon as possible. When you arrive from a squad like Granada it’s normal that you’re not known, but I have sported this years to the fans. The Inter-fan are fantastic, I have always admired them when I watched Inter on TV to watch Cordoba. Ivan was the captain of the Colombia of Champions, he gifted us so many great experiences. he was an idol for everyone. I’m similar to Cordoba? I would like to do what he has done at Inter, I have to think about improving year after year and then we will see what the future old in store for me. I have 5 years on my contract with Inter and so I’m only thinking about Inter, then we will see. I keep working to always improve and to give satisfaction to the team. I would like to end my career at Deportivo Cali, but there’s a lot left until I get there ans so I’m not thinking about when I will retire.”
The fans wanted Jeison to explain more how he started his career in Europe: “I started with Cadiz in Spain and played to be promoted to the Segundo Division and despite being the youngest player in the team I became the best player in it too, after which I went to Las Palmas where I was shown a lot of confidence. We played like Barcelona because the coach came from their youth set up. Then i went straight to Granada and the rest everyone knows. I belive that during the growth of a young player, it’s necessary for him to take one step at a time to develop gradually. Every single one fo those coaches have given me a lot, especially Sergi Lobera at Las Palmas. Arriving in Europe when you’re that young is difficult, you miss your family a lot but then things become normal because you are living your dream and you have to continue. Without a doubt beginning in Spain gave me a huge advantage because I could focus entirely on the pitch as I already spoke the langauge.”
In conclusion the former Granada defender spoke about his relationship with the team, with Mancini and about the end of this season: “Mancini is a very calm person. I always respect his decisions and I learn a lot from his training sessions. Miranda is a fantastic person, he has a lot of experience and I’m learning a lot from him. Obviously I have to profit from this experience in order to understand every detail to make it mine. Another who inspires me is Thiago Silva, despite having played for Milan, I really like how he plays. Joao knows this too [laughs]. I don’t have a friend here with whom I get along with the best, I enjoy everyone’s company. During our trainign sessions I share room with Medel, ever since the beginning of the season. My goal agaisnt Frosinone? A very beautiful moment, I’ve always like scroing goals, but the first one will always remain in my heart also because I dedicated it to my girlfriend and for the feeling of having scored with such an important shirt. On Saturday we play them again, but it will be difficult. They’re very compact at home, but we have to be attentive and concentrated in order not to find ourselves in difficulty. The third spot is not impossible, we have lost our grip on it but we can’t be beat ourselves up and we have to remain concentrated because through hard work everything can be achieved. Now we are working to finish the season in the best way possible. Surely, we will arrive to this match after having played a very strange match against Torino. It’s difficult to make sense of it but despite this we have to raise our heads and continue to work to bring things back to normal. It was a match that slipped out of our hands, but these things are resolved through work.”
The final question was who Murillo thought was the most difficult striker to mark in Italy: “Higuain without a doubt. This year he has really been unplayeable. He surprised me a lot because despite his physique he manages to do things which you think he shouldn’t be able to do.”
