Real Betis forward, Antony, has praised ex-Manchester United manager, Erik ten Hag for helping him a lot in the Netherlands and in England. The Brazilian recently revealed that he is grateful to the Dutchman for their quality conversations.
Speaking during an interview with ESPN, Antony said that Erik ten Hag will always be a coach he is thankful for because he is a manager who will always be in his story when he is done with football. He disclosed that even if he was not starting many games when Erik was MUFC manager, he still respected the coach’s decision.
According to him, he holds no grudge for not featuring more under his ex-Ajax boss, because while the opportunities to change matches for MUFC weren’t coming his way like he had hoped, he was always ready to help from the bench.
“Erik ten Hag is a coach I’m very grateful to. He helped me a lot in the Netherlands, and in England too, even though the opportunities didn’t come the way I wanted to. But that’s the coach’s choice, I don’t hold any grudges or anything. On the contrary, I’m very grateful for everything he’s done with me, for all the conversations too. He’s a coach who will certainly be in this story because he helped me a lot,” he said.
Antony said he was never under pressure at Manchester United because he had already faced and conquered real pressure while growing up on the streets of Brazil. Revealing that he played against drug traffickers and thieves as a young boy, the forward emphasised how sticking to football despite the difficult moments he faced in the dungeons of his country made him numb to the pressure of playing for a big club.
His words, “When I’m asked about pressure, I say ‘what pressure?’ I faced pressure in the favela when I didn’t have shoes to play, I played against drug traffickers and everything. That was real pressure.
In the favela, you become kind of numb to these things. There was no other way to go, and I had to get to school. So I just closed my eyes and jumped over the dead body. I am not saying this to sound tough. It was just my reality. In fact, I always say that I was very lucky as a child, because despite all of our struggles, I was given a gift from heaven.”
Antony maintained that he now feels no fear with a ball at his feet since he has always regarded football as his saviour.
“The ball was my saviour. My love from the cradle. In Inferninho, we don’t care about toys for Christmas. Any ball that rolls is perfect to us. I refused to bow my head to anyone. I would elastico the drug dealers. Rainbow the bus drivers. Nutmeg the thieves. I really did not give a f*ck. With a ball at my feet, I had no fear,” he added.
