FC Bayern Forum

He was laughing and generally seemed very relaxed, but there was no doubting his determination. Thiago Alcántara joined fcbayern.de in the interview room after lunch on Sunday, still in his training kit. The Spaniard with Brazilian roots has pulled on the famous red shirt for two years now, although he had to sit out almost half that time due to a knee injury. “It weighed on me,” Thiago acknowledged. He was unwilling to speak much about the past. Instead, the 24-year-old is keen to look forward: “I'm 100% fit again and plan to achieve a lot with this team.”

Interview: Thiago

fcbayern.de: Thiago, have you been to China before?
Thiago: “No, I'm here for the first time. I can't say much about the country, because I haven't seen a lot apart from the hotel and the stadium in Beijing. But the people are incredibly kind and supportive. You can feel how football touches everybody's heart here.”

fcbayern.de: Both in Beijing and now in Shanghai the reception at the airport was more than incredible...
Thiago: “Yes, both were great moments. I never expected it. After the flights I was exhausted and switched off. You just kind of make your way down and suddenly thousands of celebrating fans stand in front of you. It definitely gave me goose bumps.”

fcbayern.de: Is this China trip a heavy burden while preparing for the new season?
Thiago: “Not at all. Of course it would be more relaxing to stay at home, but we’re a world-renowned club. These trips are part of that. This week might be more tiring than usual, but once we're back in Munich it will be forgotten in a couple of days. We'll manage.”

I'm confident he'll meet the huge expectations we have been placing in him since he joined us.
Vamos Thiago !

that was pretty short for an "interview"