Interview: Pepe talks about RM, the NT, being called a murderer and teammates saying he's boring
What made a bigger impression on you in 2012?
It was a very special year for me, both personally and professionally. I won La Liga, I represented Portugal well in the Euro and 3 months ago I became a father. For all these reasons, it’s not hard to guess it was a very important year.
Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the last La Liga. Do you think Barcelona has been stopping you from winning even more competitions
It’s part of football and I even think it’s good to have an opponent as strong as them. In the past years, Barcelona has been performing very well because they have a good team foundation. Real Madrid has struggled, but since Mourinho arrived we’ve been capable of standing up to them. And this is a very important project for the club.
The same idea can be used for the NT. That is, did the existence of such a strong Spanish NT in Euro 2012 stop Portugal from winning the title?
Indeed. In that match against Spain, in the semi-finals, we were missing a little luck on the penalties. We played well for 90 minutes and we deserved to go through. In fact, I’ve talked many times with my teammates from Real Madrid about that match and they also thought Portugal should’ve reached the final. But unfortunately this happens in football. Spain was lucky when we weren’t and that way they were champions.
What was more important for Portugal’s good performance in the Euro?
For the players, it was undoubtedly the support of the Portuguese people. We felt a lot of affection from them and that was an extra incentive because we wanted to return that on the field.
What was your best match in 2012?
It’s hard to choose one. I was a very consistent player throughout the year and that meant that I could perform well in all the matches.
You had a great season for RM and you were still in great shape in the Euro. How was that possible
With a lot of work. Even by the end of the season, me, Cristiano Ronaldo and Fábio Centrão tried to be the last ones to leave team practice here at Real Madrid so we could be in great shape for the NT and do our best. We knew we would be in a very difficult group and so we wanted to work in the club so we could be physically well in the Euros. And maybe that was why we had a great tournament.
Back to La Liga, did it feel even better to win the title in Camp Nou?
Definitely. Both teams were very consistent, but truth is we arrived at Camp Nou five points ahead. It was a life or death match for them but even so we were able to win and have a great match. We left feeling the title was practically won.
That was one of the most important matches of the season. Do you have any special memories from that match?
There’s something I’ll never forget. At half time, we were up 1-0 and Mourinho had a different speech, warning us that what he had to say might sound odd. He said we were playing very well, but Barcelona would tie the match and we’d score right after that. He assured us victory was ours and that we could play calmly. And that’s exactly what happened! These things leave a mark on us.
In Santiago Bernabéu, the supporters ask a lot from the team, but sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a lot of warmth around the team. Is this true?
I have no complaints because people love me for the game style and for the way I leave it all on the pitch. Sometimes, yes, there’s some warmth and support missing. However, that’s normal in such a big club. It’s not always the same supporters in the stadium; especially for the Champions League a lot of supporters come from outside Madrid. They are different situations and the players have to adapt to those situations.
And what about Portuguese players, do you feel some dislike from Spanish supporters? At least, it feels that way to us…
We’re foreigners. And you can see that, even by the media’s preferences. If they have to choose between a Spanish player and a Portuguese one, they don’t even think twice. I think that happens because Spain never had a player winning the Ballon D’Or . We had Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo and they can’t deal with that very well. And we feel that especially in away matches. They’re worse to Portuguese players. But we have to get used to it and be ready to deal with it.
Was it difficult to get Real Madrid’s supporters to like you?
There were some fears from the supporters when I was hired. But I always felt that I could make it here. I assured my agent, Jorge Mendes, that he could be calm because I’d make it. In fact, before coming here I already watched most of the team’s games and I was aware of it all. I knew perfectly well who were the great centerbacks to have played for RM and I identified with the club by my playing style. When I arrived, I always tried to do my best and every day I try to evolve in order to help the team. And I think people recognize that dedication, so there’s some special affection from the supporters.
Have you ever felt like leaving the club?
No. Like leaving RM, no, but like leaving football, yes. I had a bad moment in my career and I’m still paying for that nowadays. But everyone has the right to make mistakes. I made a mistake, I assumed it and thanks god I had no more problems like that. It’s true that I have a target on my back, not only in Spain but also in the rest of the world. I’m still called a murderer today; it’s a very strong word for a human being. The truth is they’re jealous of a Portuguese player who’s on Real Madrid and is very successful.
Do you feel you’re still paying for the aggression to Casquero [Pepe kicked the Getafe striker after he fell in Real Madrid’s penalty box]?
Yes. For example, in the recent Copa del Rey match vs Celta de Vigo the entire stadium was calling me murderer for 90 minutes. It’s painful. Someday I’ll have to deal with it, but right now all I can do is endure it.
Was it hard for you to get over that situation?
When it happened, I didn’t feel it could affect my career. I knew I’d made a mistake. In fact, right after the match my wife asked me what had happened and I couldn’t answer. Even today I still can’t explain what happened to me. On the field, there are provocations and I can’t answer. Unfortunately, I did, in the worse way possible. But it’s something that’s in the past and nowadays I’m even one of the players with less fouls on the matches and that makes me happy.
But even after the match against Barcelona, this season, some Barcelona club managers suggested the production of a video with all your fouls. That keeps happening. For you, is it becoming unbearable?
I feel that to reach Mourinho, they also have to attack other Portuguese players on the team. And all we do on the field or outside the field is interpreted differently. And when things concern Barcelona they take a higher dimension. Because Barcelona is a team with a good structure and they can always amplify whatever happens to them.
Can you explain that better, give an example?
Cristiano Ronaldo, for example. He said he was sad and the next week all the media reports were that he wanted to renew his contract. And after some time, Barcelona made it well known that Messi and Xavi were going to renew. It’s a bunch of well set-up things and they can do that without calling attention to themselves.
Do you mean you feel chased [by the press]?
Yes, we do.
This season Real Madrid is already 13 points behind Barcelona [the interview took place before the match against Malaga]. Is the fight for the title done?
No, I don’t think so. Real Madrid’s motto is to keep fighting until the end and that’s what we’ll do. It’s hard, even though we’re aware that it’s because of our bad start of season. We had a bad start, we’ve lost unexpected points. Our performances are oscillating a lot between matches but I think we can still turn it around.
It’s a lot of points to take back…
Indeed. But La Liga is very competitive and everything is possible. For now, all we can guarantee is that we’ll fight until the end of the league.
Can these 13 points shift the team’s focus to the Champion’s League?
As long as it’s possible to fight for the 3 competitions, that’s what we’ll do. That has to be the mentality of Real Madrid’s players. We’re in a very big club and we can’t afford to just focus in one competition. Conforming like that isn’t part of the club’s history.
Recently, Iker Casillas said he’d rather finish 25 points behind Barcelona in the League and win the 10th Champions League. Is that what you’re all thinking?
I’d rather win it all, but we have to be realistic and see that we’re in a very complicated situation in the league. But we have to fight, work, if nothing else because if we don’t keep consistency in the league, we won’t play well when we reach the Champions League. It’s difficult for a player to get motivated just for one match. So we have to keep up the performances, to attack the Champions League in the best possible way.
In Madrid there is an obsession with winning La Decima. Are the players aware they can become part of a legend?
For any player, it’s a very important mark to take part in the 10th CL victory. It’d be fantastic for the club and for the players. The supporters feel that but we’re aware it’s not easy. We have to perform consistently in the league and in the cup to face those matches as seriously as possible.
Right now, are you as close to glory as to failure?
We play almost every 3 days and we always have to prove that we deserve to be here. So, we can reach glory just as easily as we can be considered to worst.
Do you have to be mentally strong to deal with that?
A lot… in other clubs, there isn’t as much daily pressure. In fact, recently Casillas said he wanted to end his career more calmly, so he could enjoy football more. Because the club really is huge and all the players ask a lot of themselves.
Does criticism affect you all?
It shouldn’t, because sometimes a lot of things being said aren’t even the truth. I don’t read as many sports newspapers as I used to. We have so many games that I can’t be affected or deluded by what’s written. So, I try to do the best I can on the field.
This year, the team has been criticized a lot because of the goals they’ve suffered from set pieces. As the defense’s leader, how can you explain this?
Most of the goals we’ve suffered have been in the first 20 minutes and that only shows we haven’t started matches fully concentrated. These are the kinds of mistakes we can’t make. Mourinho asks a lot of us when it comes to defending set pieces, but it’s important to notice that it isn’t just the work of the defense. We all have to pay attention to set pieces. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened.
You’re an undisputed starter for Real Madrid and you’d quite probably be a starter for the Brazil NT. By becoming a Portuguese citizen and playing for Portugal, didn’t you lose the chance to win a World Cup?
I think I can win the World Cup with Portugal.
But it’s hard…
It’s hard for all NTs. All we need is to be lucky in a way that we weren’t for the Euro. We were the best NT in the Euro! The Poles and the Ukrainians loved us! The players felt that even with some pieces missing, we had a very strong team. All we needed was luck. And when it comes to playing for Portugal, I couldn’t be happier. I feel much more Portuguese, I identify much more with Portugal that with Brazil. In fact, I haven’t been to Brazil in two years and I won’t be back this Christmas either because I’ll be in Porto, where my family is. Portugal as a country gave me everything and the way I found to pay them back was to play for the Portuguese NT. I feel Portuguese.
When Deco joined the NT it was hard for some players to deal with it. [Translator's Note: Reportedly, Figo and Rui Costa were very out-spoken about being against it, though other players have called bs on this.] It was different for you. Wasn’t there any trouble?
I came to Portugal very young, I played for Marítimo’s youth teams and through the years I faced several players that I went on to find in the NT. I already knew them, because even playing in opposing teams, a connection is formed. Playing for Sporting [Pepe played for Sporting on trial for 3 months and ended up not staying] also allowed me to meet Cristiano Ronaldo, to play with Paulo Bento. Things happened naturally. I wanted to help the NT because I felt the country, and nothing else. At the time, Scolari called me and luckily I’m still serving the team today.
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João Pinto [TN: former player for Sporting and the NT, current FA vice-president], one of the people to speak out against playing foreign-born players several times, has made it quite clear that you’re one of us.
Exactly. But let me give an example. I have a daughter who was born in Madrid, but me and her mother both wanted her to be Portuguese. What I’m going to say may sound strange: I was born in Brazil, my parents are Brazilian but I identify more with Portugal. It’s what I feel and I can’t do anything against that.
How did your parents react when you decided to become a Portuguese citizen?
My father was sad. But he also told me immediately: if you’re doing it from the heart, I’ll support you unconditionally. In Portugal everyone treats me well and I want to make the people happy with what I can do best: play football. I spent my teens in Portugal, that’s where I started going to coffeehouses [TN: Hanging out in coffeehouses with friends, a lot of the time to watch football matches, is a very Portuguese thing to do. Think Starbucks meets your best friend’s living room meets your grandma’s kitchen], that’s where I understood life better. I was in Brazil until I was 17 but I never left the house. I went from home to school and then to practice.
Do you remember the first time you arrived in Portugal?
Perfectly. It was very hard, I even arrived with a broken foot. I went to Marítimo’s home for young players, where Jaime Bragança also was, who went on to become a great friend. He’s someone who’s always helped me. In fact, when I couldn’t afford to go to Brazil for Christmas, he always took me to his home in Lisbon so I wouldn’t be alone. That kind of things captivated me. [TN: There is a cute anecdote on the side about Jaime scaring him by saying Madeira was full of flying cockroaches.]
So the future of your family is in Portugal?
In Oporto.
How did you happen to come to Portugal?
I played a practice-match and several Marítimo representatives were there, including the president and the manager, Nelo Vingada, to watch players. I was a U-16 player at the time and my club’s president told me I’d play for the main team so I could show off. Marítimo’s goal was to hire Ezequias, my teammate, but they were also paying attention to other players. Things went well, I had a good match and when it was over, Nelo Vingada asked me if I wanted to go to Portugal. I said yes and things just happened. I came to Marítimo, a little as part of the deal regarding Ezequias.
Did you know what you were about to face?
In Brazil, we only watched matches from Porto, Benfica, Sporting and Boavista, who had won the league that year. I didn’t know Marítimo. And when they talked to me about Madeira, I didn’t know where it was. In fact, I asked if it was in Portugal. But then they explained it was an island…
What were your first months here like?
It was beautiful and said. I missed my family a lot, we were very close. Until I was 16, I slept in my parents’ bedroom. In Madeira, I was alone, I had to do everything and take care of myself. All that responsibility made me grow up.
What failed for Portugal to be in such a complicated situations in the WC’ 14 qualifiers?
We came from such a good Euro we thought it’d be easy. The players have faced some of the easier matches lightly and it was in those games that we messed up the qualifiers. Anyway, there is still time to recover the lost points, starting with us still needing to play Russia at home. We’re fully confident we’ll get a good result.
It’s the only solution now…
Yes, we can’t make any more mistakes. But it’s been like this since I arrived in the NT.
Suffering is part of our history…
Indeed… Like I said, it’s always been like this and, judging by what’s happening now, it’ll keep on being like this. But I don’t believe Portugal won’t be in the WC.
Especially in Brazil, in a WC special for you…
It’s special for me, for the Portuguese and for the Brazilian. It’s special for everyone!
How do you react to criticism about the match versus Gabon? Is it boring to play that kind of match? [TN: There was a lot of bitching from Porto’s president, Pinto da Costa, about how the FA was only doing it for the money and it was awful for players and blablablablabla.]
It’s a commitment. Everyone has them. It’s normal for everyone to fight for their best interests. But we have to agree that it’s hard to play in Gabon, because Porto and RM are in different competitions and they’d rather the players didn’t go. It comes down to the player, to know if he wants to play for the country or not. But if he wants to play for the NT, he needs to be aware that he’ll go through moments like this. As for the club, they must respect each player’s decision.
You played with Paulo Bento in the short time you were at Sporting. Did he surprise you in any way?
He surprised me a lot. Paulo understands a lot about football and, because he stopped playing a short time ago, he knows very well what the players need. Even when someone steps out of line, he always pays attention, as if saying “look, I used to be a footballer and I know very well what you’re doing”.
You’ve renewed your contract with Real until 2015. Will you be there until the end?
I don’t know. I’d like to stay longer. I feel I still have a lot to give to this club. I feel 100% physically, but I’d also like to return to Porto. I learnt a lot there, as a player, it’s a very strong structure.
I’ve read you weren’t very satisfied with Porto when you left for Real Madrid? No hard feelings anymore?
At the time, Jesualdo Ferreira was the manager and I had renewed my contract. We were about to win the league and I was aware that other clubs were interested. So I spoke to him and asked him if he’d let me leave if some club came forward. He said yes. However, when the
proposal came, he said there wouldn’t be time to look for an alternative. I was sad at the time, but it’s over now.
If, eventually, Mourinho, Ronaldo and Coentrão won’t stay in Real Madrid, will it be easier for you to leave as well?
I don’t know. It’s hard when people to ask me that question. Like I said, people here love me. Supporters like me a lot. If Cristiano or Mourinho want to leave, it’s their choice. I won’t make the same choice just because they’re leaving. In the right time, I’ll make my decision.
You’re one of the NT captains and also of RM. Do you feel comfortable with that?
In the NT, Cristiano is the captain. And Bruno [Alves] as well. In Gabon, Paulo [Bento] talked to me and said he’d give me the armband in that match. I reminded him Moutinho was also on the team and he had played more matches than me. Paulo told me to calm down and that that was the choice because I was playing for RM and, after Cristiano, I was the most famous player. Paulo underlined my importance in the team and I accepted.
So you were a convenience captain.
It was a special situation. Cristiano will always be our captain. He’s a wonderful person and he’s the right person for the job.
But you are respected.
Yes, of course. My playing style and giving 100% on the field help. Against Celta, I was captain because of the circumstances, but not only that. It makes me happy.
You consider yourself a tough defender. Do you feel your opponents are afraid of you?
I worry about preparing very well before a match. I study the opponents very well and I know their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a very psychological game. For example, I have to get the ball back as quick as possible so I can feel I’m better and the opponent, eventually, can feel that. It’s the kind of thing you have to do in a match, so the striker can’t feel he can come at you, dribble and get past you. So, I prepare very well and I face each moment of the match as if it was the most important. Especially because I know if they get past me, there’ll only be Iker or Rui Patrício to stop them. I can’t fail.
Do you do it alone at home or do you have the support of the technical departments?
In RM, as well as the NT, there are departments to help us. Here, In Madrid, it’s Morais, who gives us images for matches, with the strikers we’re about to play. Besides, we always count on Mourinho, because he also does analysis with pictures and videos. Afterwards, there’s the practical part: we play so much and watch so much games, when we’re on the hotel that we end up knowing very well who we’ll be facing.
Who’s the hardest opponents that you’ve ever had to play?
I was lucky, because the two hardest have been teammates: McCarthy and Cristiano. Benny was a wonderful striker, and so advanced technically he could dribble on his back. He was very hard to stop and I know what I’m saying because I had to face him in a competition.
As for Cristiano, when he gets the ball, takes off and heads for the GK, he’s unstoppable. And it’s as hard as unpredictable: he goes left, he goes right, he kicks with any feet and he’s very strong with his head.
If we ask who’s the best player in the world, you’ll say Ronaldo. But who do you think will win the Ballon D’Or?
Mourinho has said who’s going to win. I’d very much like it to be Cristiano, because I’m his friend, because of what he’s done for football, because he’s been five times in the top three in the last six years, because he won La Liga. But it feels like he won’t be the winner.
Do you people have been unfair to him?
I think so. Cristiano should be treated differently by the press and even some supporters. To me, he’s a unique player, who gives himself to the job fantastically, so he can reach every match in perfect conditions. The joy he’s given people in every club he’s been, the goals he’s scored and the show he promotes, should get more recognition.
Is there a secret to stop Messi?
Like I said, preparing each game to the last detail. When I enter the field, I know precisely what’s the opponent’s best foot, where he usually goes after dribbling, how he usually moves afterwards. Messi is no exception. But in these kinds of confrontations, we also need to be aware of defenders’ quality - we also have our weapons.
This does not, however, take away any credit from Messi’s superior talent.
And what about Falcão?
I’ve played him two times, both for La Liga and both on Calderón. He’s extremely dangerous in the penalty box, where he reminds me of Jardel. Playing with his head, he’s one of the best - he’s just not the best one because there’s Cristiano.
Do you get annoyed with your teammates when things don’t go well?
I’m very demanding. At the level we’re playing, we have to do our best and be aware that our opponents are extremely motivated. They’ll always be with their confidence levels at a peak and we can’t have ours halfway. So, we have to be at least at the same level. Sometimes I feel we aren’t doing what we’re supposed to be doing. Hence, the reactions
Have you made “enemies” in your own team?
I wouldn’t go so far. They can complain and say “Pepe, you’re a bore, you’re always talking!” But I’m just pointing things out and nothing else and they know that. Outside the field I like everyone and everyone likes me.
Source: Portuguese newspaper Record for the interview, me for the translation.
You should probably know that translating things has never been my strong suit because I usually end up either rewriting the whole thing or translating everything literally. However, it feels like I've done a semi-decent job on this one, so in case anything isn't clear just let me know! Also, LJ doesn't like me and keeps messing up the formatting.