News
VIE 31.07.2015
The Valencia CF player, Shkodran Mustafi, returns to his native country with the LFP World Challenge Tour, an experience which he describes as “fantastic” and “perfect for the team to prepare for the challenges the season will bring”. This was the view he gave in an exclusive interview for LaLiga where, as well as looking to the future, Mustafi also analysed his first year in the city of the River Turia, and the experience of being part of the Spanish league.
“I like the intensity and skill of LaLiga, it’s the perfect mix between the frenzied pace of the Premier League and the methodical style of the Italian Serie A”, said the defender, who is proud to have shared Mestalla with the best fans in the league, which is how they were classified by LaLiga and ‘Aficiones Unidas’ (Supporters United) winning the ‘12th Man Prize’. “Last season, our fans were chosen as the best in LaLiga, so I had a good start in Spain”, he said.
During their stay in Germany, where they’ve been training since last Monday, the Valencia side will play two LaLiga World matches against FC Porto and FC Köln, in the Cologne Cup. “This tournament will be good for us in terms of preparing for the UEFA Champions League, because Porto and Köln are two teams who play good football and they won’t make it easy for us”, he noted.
Valencia will begin la Liga BBVA at the Estadio de Vallecas, against Rayo Vallecano, with the challenge of improving on last season’s stats, when the finished fourth with 77 points. In order to achieve it, the centre-back calls for hard work and team togetherness: “We knew that it would be best to leave individual talent to one side and concentrate on being a well drilled unit.”
© LALIGA - 2015