Liverpool winger Maxi Rodriguez has revealed that he is enjoying his life on Merseyside following his January move from Atletico Madrid.
The Argentine is beginning to acclimatise to life in England now and finds that the city of Liverpool reminds him very much of his hometown of Rosario.
"I'm settling into life here very well," the 29-year-old told LFC Weekly.
"It has been a lot easier than I thought. Argentina and Spain are very similar - the language, the lifestyle - and for my whole life it is all I have known.
"I have spent a lot of time walking round the city getting lost. What I realised quite quickly is that Liverpool is quite similar to my home town Rosario.
"There is a lot of focus in Argentina on Buenos Aires because it is the capital, like there is with London in England. But like Liverpool, Rosario is a big city - an important football city - with two clubs and it is a place which has strong working class roots. That has made it easier for me to settle."
Rodriguez also finds the kind of passion which fuels footballing rivalries on Merseyside to be similar to what he has experienced back home.
"The derbies here and Argentina are very similar because there are more fans from both clubs in the stadium and the supporters are more vocal," he added.
"In Spain, there might only be a few hundred tickets available for away supporters, which means there doesn't seem to be as much passion inside the stadium. The derby between Liverpool and Everton last month was one of the best experiences of my career."
The winger is also helped by the fact that there are two fellow Argentines in Benitez's squad in Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua.
"Every player in the squad - not just the Argentinians - gets on really well," Rodriguez explained.
"Each player from Argentina is from a different place in the country and we are different but good friends as well. Emiliano is from Buenos Aires, I am from Rosario and Javier is from San Lorenzo, which is only very small. You could probably fit its entire population inside this room.
"Javier also played for River Plate, and Newell's Old Boys are big rivals with them, so we have a bit of banter."
The Argentine is beginning to acclimatise to life in England now and finds that the city of Liverpool reminds him very much of his hometown of Rosario.
"I'm settling into life here very well," the 29-year-old told LFC Weekly.
"It has been a lot easier than I thought. Argentina and Spain are very similar - the language, the lifestyle - and for my whole life it is all I have known.
"I have spent a lot of time walking round the city getting lost. What I realised quite quickly is that Liverpool is quite similar to my home town Rosario.
"There is a lot of focus in Argentina on Buenos Aires because it is the capital, like there is with London in England. But like Liverpool, Rosario is a big city - an important football city - with two clubs and it is a place which has strong working class roots. That has made it easier for me to settle."
Rodriguez also finds the kind of passion which fuels footballing rivalries on Merseyside to be similar to what he has experienced back home.
"The derbies here and Argentina are very similar because there are more fans from both clubs in the stadium and the supporters are more vocal," he added.
"In Spain, there might only be a few hundred tickets available for away supporters, which means there doesn't seem to be as much passion inside the stadium. The derby between Liverpool and Everton last month was one of the best experiences of my career."
The winger is also helped by the fact that there are two fellow Argentines in Benitez's squad in Javier Mascherano and Emiliano Insua.
"Every player in the squad - not just the Argentinians - gets on really well," Rodriguez explained.
"Each player from Argentina is from a different place in the country and we are different but good friends as well. Emiliano is from Buenos Aires, I am from Rosario and Javier is from San Lorenzo, which is only very small. You could probably fit its entire population inside this room.
"Javier also played for River Plate, and Newell's Old Boys are big rivals with them, so we have a bit of banter."
No comments:
Post a Comment