OCAMPOS: "THE MALLORCA MATCH IS LIKE A FINAL"

Lucas Ocampos was the star of 'A Balón Parado' on Sevilla FC Television. The Argentinian, who returned to Sevilla in the winter transfer window, said that he is fully settled in: "I'm settling in and getting to know Sampaoli's philosophy. The situation is not easy, I had the chance to stay in Holland, but I never moved for the money, but rather for what football means to me."

"I knew that the situation was complicated, but I believed that by returning with the players and with the new coach's ideas I was sure that things would change, and that's how it is. We had a big setback against Barcelona, that much is true, but you also have to look at the previous results."

Regarding this new adjustment, he highlighted what it meant to make his return to playing at the Sánchez-Pizjuán: "I didn't feel like a real player four months ago... then you arrive, train for two days and have the chance to play at the Sánchez-Pizjuán and it was a great moment and the chance to get the win rounded off that perfect day. A lot of things pop into your head, like feeling competitive again and feeling comfortable like I always have."

In this sense, he assured that he has been working even with double sessions in order to help him get used to Sampaoli's concept: "I'm already feeling good, I've been training with the coach for several days, even in double shifts, on days off.... Jorge was simple in explaining it to me and I quickly grasped the idea. He asks me to be open, to break into space... things that I always do but positioned in a certain way that he wants. I didn't know Sampaoli at all, I followed Marseille, but I didn't know him."

As for the team's situation, he acknowledged that the Camp Nou game was painful, but he was confident about what's to come: "The Barcelona game hurt because we were at a decent standard and were feeling good, but since Monday we've had our minds set on Mallorca. We know that it's like a final, that it's at home and that these are points that we need and we'll face them like we faced Cádiz and Elche."

He also spoke about Bono's nomination for FIFA's The Best award: "Bono is very mentally focused. He has his own inner peace... if En-Nesyri is very calm, Bono is 10 times more so. He sees everything positively and there are times when he makes me feel hopeless. He has a good philosophy, great psychological approach." Another name he mentioned was Loïc Badé: "he's a phenomenon, physically he's a beast and he adapted very quickly... he's strong, big and speaks Spanish very well."

Afterwards, the conversation came back to his Argentinian coach, highlighting their closeness: "Sampaoli seems like a person that lives each day at a million miles per hour, but in his day to day demeanor he conveys calmness. Its true that he's a different beast on a matchday."