MARCÃO: "WE KNOW IT WILL BE A DIFFICULT MATCH, BUT WE'RE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE"

Marcão was the guest on 'A Balón Parado' this Thursday, on Sevilla FC TV. At the start of the programme, the Brazilian centre-back indicated that "I'm very glad to be here. I spoke to the recovery team and it's important to rest, I want to help the team. I know that we are going through some bad times and I want to play my part on Saturday". Focusing on the game against Real Madrid, he said: "They are a great team and we have time to prepare for them. We know it's going to be a very difficult game, but we're up for the challenge."

The defender, who highlighted among other things the reliability of goalkeeper Bono, spoke about his experience of the last game against Valencia at the Sánchez-Pizjuán: "When you're out of the side it's very difficult. I always want to be on the pitch to help and when you're not playing it's very difficult."

"I experienced the Valencia game from the sidelines where it was very intense, the second half was a bit more attacking and it wouldn't have been fair to lose. But in the end, I think the draw was fair." He also assured that every day he wakes up thinking about doing the best job for the team: "I feel like a very professional player, who wakes up every day and wants to do the best for the team and represent the team very well. Every game I will do my best to win."

"When I first played it felt like I'd been here for a long time"

Similarly, he feels grateful for his teammates and a bit emotional after receiving messages from Mariano or Fernando, he acknowledged the difficult moments of the injury: "For me, the injury was very difficult. I was under a bit of pressure, I wanted to play so that they could see who I am, but the club always gave me a lot of reassurance, from the president to the coaches, including Monchi."

I think the support of the Sevilla family has also helped me to have a calmer head to come back stronger...when Sampaoli arrived I was already training well and he said he needed me on a day-to-day basis, coming back bit by bit and I wanted to play as quickly as possible. He's a very energetic coach and that's contagious for the group.

And as for his time on the pitch, as well as talking about resilience as one of his main weapons, he pointed out the great chemistry of the group that has developed since pre-season to now understand each other well in the different situations of each match:

"I think I've been well integrated into the squad. I went to Korea and worked with the group, then also to Portugal... that helps and when it comes to getting on the pitch it went very well knowing everybody's styles. When I played it felt like I had been here for a long time. I feel the love of the fans, who are very passionate about the club, the pre-match anthem against Athletic Club was a very nice moment, the whole game they were singing."