FC Anyang attacking midfielder Andrigo says he believes in his teammates and that the Violets can finish the job this season and win promotion. The former Brazilian youth international also says that moving to K League has been a long-term objective of his.
FC Anyang's have topped the table and topping the team's goalscoring charts is Brazilian attacking midfielder Andrigo. This season, the 28-year-old has four goals and five assists and is on course to beat his tallies from last year of seven goals and four assists.
The aim for the team, too, is to go one better than last year with the Violets narrowly missing out on promotion to K League 1. After a 0-0 draw at home in the first leg of the Promotion-Relegation Playoff final to Suwon Samsung Bluewings, and with the second leg seemingly heading for a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw, Anyang suffered late heartbreak with Oh Hyeon-gyu finding a 120th-minute winner.
So, can FC Anyang reach the promised land? Andrigo, in an exclusive interview, says they can.
Interview
Q: Who were your footballing heroes growing up?
A: "Actually, I don't have heroes. I always say that my hero is my father because he played, he was a soccer player. He teach me soccer and my brothers also. I don't like watching too much games. I like watching my games and if I did this movement wrong I need to do another movement or another pass."
Q: Was there a certain player you tried to copy their style?
A: "Yeah, I can say Philippe Coutinho or (Edin) Hazard because I like this style, Messi also. I like players that have skills, have power, don't have too much speed but over short speed have explosion."
Q: Have you always been an attacking midfielder?
A: "Yeah, but I played in different positions. So like, I played five games in Brazil at right back. But I played like striker, I played like wing forward here and midfield, attacking midfield, defensive midfield, so I can play in every place."
Q: How has this season gone, do you think?
A: "I'm very happy now. I think we are doing well. Of course, we didn't win two or three games that, for me, in my mind, we can win these games. But I believe in my team, I came back here because I believe in my team, our coach, they are smart and I hope this year we can go to K League 1. It's our objective here."
Q: And for you personally, it's been a great start for you. Four goals and five assists, you must be pleased about that?
A: "Yeah, I start very well. I think it's my best start of a tournament. My friends helped me, the play is a little bit different from last year and I am playing more close to the posts. So for me, it's better. I can shoot more, I can have more opportunities and create more, and I'm doing this but if I need to help in defending or giving assists or, or scoring. I just want to help my team for sure."
Q: Is that the aim, just to be better than last year?
A: "Yeah, I'm almost there and I hope that I can do more than last year but I always say that I want to be better day by day. We don't know about the next day, I just want to give 100% today and I know if I continue doing this, I can be better. So I think 15 or 16 points (combined goals and assists), for me, I need to do and if I can do more I will stay very happy."
Q: What gives you more satisfaction, scoring or assisting? We asked Cesinha this same question a couple of years ago and he said assisting. Does that surprise you?
A: "Yeah, I'm surprised also. For me, it's goals because it's the best moment in the game. So if you score and you can see your fans' celebration, you can do your celebration, it is the best moment."
Q: What attracted you to K League and FC Anyang? And why now?
A: "Because of the country and Asia and Leandro (Daejeon), my friends, Bruno Baio (ex-Jeonnam, Daejeon) also we talk about K League, about the lifestyle, about the country, about the culture. And they said just good words about here. I was in Brazil and I thought maybe I have to go there and I receive a proposal from Anyang. They say if I have an opportunity, I have to go and my wife, she's very happy here. I felt it's the moment I need to change country, I need to have another experience.
"I watched the K League and the style of the soccer and in my mind I have that I can play there, I can play very well. It's one style, a little bit different than Brazilian style. But with my style that I can run, I can defend and give assists and score. I spoke with my wife, my friends. 'What do you think about going to K League?' I showed some videos and I watched Leandro's games and in my mind, I see with good eyes, that this a good moment to change the country."
Q: You came ever so close last year, what was that playoff experience like?
A: "I loved that experience and because we played, of course, against a big club in Korea. We felt the taste of a promotion, you know. It was hard for us because we were confident we will go to K1 because we can do this and we play very well.
"If you look at our two games, we played very well against one big club in Korea. I stayed sad because we lose this game but it's giving me, give me more power for this year, and this year we learn. We know what we need to do."
Q: How long did it take you to overcome that sadness?
A: "I have a good mind. I think always positive so we lose the game and we lose our promotion but life continues. So I need to do something different. I try to think this way, I need to do something different if I want a different result. So in my vacation, I didn't stop training. I trained every day and I know that now I'm doing more than last here and I will try to do this because it's our objective."
Q: Reaching K League 1 is the aim. Can you do it?
A: Yeah, dor me, we can do this. I said we felt the taste of promotion last year and, in my mind, I know what we need to do. We need to play game by game, think game by game but play like it's our last game always, always play like it's our last game. When we have the ball, we try to play and when we don't have the ball, we try to concentrate to the end of the game. For me, we can go to K League 1."
