rolando
In a long interview in Gazzetta dello Sport’s Sportweek, the Inter defender Rolando talks about his life, his origins and his habits.

Why did we almost never see you on the pitch when you arrived to Napoli?

“Because I had been out for six months. After five years at Porto I wanted a new experience, I mentioned this to the leaders and in response I found myself on the edge of the team. Until January 31, when I moved to Napoli, I had only played five minutes in the league. I had to redo the preparation and in the meantime the season was over.”

But Mazzarri still wanted you.

“He liked the few times I had played. He told me I have the qualities as a player and as a person, who in the game is able to do what he asks for from a defender, therefore he considered me important and said: ‘I will do everything to bring you with me.’ And so it was.”

At Inter you are one of those who has convinced the most, apart from the slip that allowed Bologna to grab the equalizer at the San Siro on Saturday. 

“I’m not the one to answer to that. I can say that I always feel better, on and off the pitch. I know the language better and this is a big advantage.”

Have you taken lessons?

“No, I’ve learned by talking to friends, listening to the discussions on the street and from my son Rhyan who is five years old and absolutely wants to learn Italian.”

So young, how many children do you have? 

“Raffaella, 11 years old, remained with her maternal grandparents in Cape Verde to study. I see her twice a year, at Christmas and in the summer, or when she is on vacation from school. Here with my wife, I live with Rhyan and Rafael, 3 years old.”

What value has money for you?

“To do what you’ve always wanted you need money. But when it comes to social class you think in a different way from ours: in Cape Verde you work for a living, here you live to work.”

Who received you the the best at Inter? 

“First and foremost Pereira and Guarin, with whom I had already played in Porto. But also Cordoba and everyone from the club.”

Does the calmness that you show on the field, where he picked up just 3 yellow cards in 24 league games, originate from your heritage?

“I certainly have learned to have patience from my grandfather who was a fisherman. Myself and my uncle accompanied him when he went out in a boat, but only on those occasions when he wasn’t out long: he almost always went to sea for days. I liked watching him remain silent while waiting for the fish to bite. A great lesson of patience and life.”

Do you apply that in every situation?

“Maybe. When I have problems at work I come home a bit nervous. And if the kids mess too much I can’t always stay calm. Especially those times that I’m alone with them for two or three days because my wife is away.”

Have you only ever played football?

“No, as a kid I used to play basketball as well. I was a 3, a small forward. I was playing with a friend of mine. Once he said to me: ‘Come and try out for my team, I’m sure you will win a spot.’ I came to the game, but was stopped immediately, ‘First you must come to training,’ I was told. I didn’t understand what happened. I asked for explanations and they insisted: ‘Today you don’t play’. ‘But how come?,’ I said, ‘It was you who invited me. In the end I left.”

And you never returned?

“No. I don’t like lies. If they had told me: ‘You don’t have enough quality to play with us’, I would have accepted. But I wasn’t fine with not even having had the chance to be put to the test in the field. Today I watch the NBA games on television and occasionally I play here in Appiano with Handanovic and Palacio: They’re good…”

But were you better at basketball or football?

“I was equally good at both. But I’ve always liked football more.”

Even more than school?

“I always wanted to be a footballer, but there was a time when I tried to keep the two things together, I wanted to graduate. I was already in Portugan and I played for Belenenses, in Lisbon. I decided, like my cousin, to enroll in Engineering, but the university was in Oporto. It was too far.”

So you left Cape Verde as a youngster…

“I was a little more than a child. The destiny for half the population of our islands is to leave. For us there is little work, there are few opportunities to really become masters of your own destiny. If I know Chiquinho? It’s the most famous novel of one of the greatest writers of my country, Baltasar Lopes da Silva. It tells the story of a boy who comes from Cape Verde to find his fortune elsewhere. It a little like my story. The story of an immigrant in search of a better life. When I read it, it seemed to me as if he spoke to me. And I was moved.”

Europe has given you the job of your dreams and economic welfare. What has it taken away?

“I never thought of that. I lost the way to be the son of my land. I have lost a way of life that was simple and relaxed. More meditative. I’m no longer only Ronaldo, I’m Rolando the footballer.”

Do you feel different than your teammates? You don’t seem a typical member of your category, the one attracted to pretty girls and beautiful cars.

“It’s the wrong idea. People forget that most of us leave our homes as children, children that often are alone and are forced to grow up quickly. Everyone is watching us and we can never do wrong.”

You don’t want to seem like the odd man out, therefore confess: how many times do you go clubbing?

“Zero”.

Luxury cars?

“I have a company car from Inter and I brought mine from Portugal.”

An SUV?

“A sports car.”

The clothing, at least, is true to the standards of fashion,

“It’s my wife that buys stylish clothes all the time, then it depends on the occasion. If it were up to me I would always be in T-shirts. And in Cape Verde I walk around in slippers and shorts.”

What do you talk about with your teammates?

“About some things that I can’t say, if I do I’ll be killed when I come home…”(laughs)

Have you decided what you will do after football?

“I’m going home to watch the sea. When I have problems, just hear the noise is enough to feel good. Especially returning to be Rolando and only that.”

Source: fcinternews.it