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brucey

Leo Ulloa interview

By brucey, in Leicester City Forum

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brucey

brucey

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GB: Do you believe that at Leicester City you had your best moments?

LU: Yes certainly. Especially in first year when I was playing a lot more and I felt full of confidence. Unquestionably the best thing that has ever occurred in my career. The two most important years of my life and both of them as important as each other.

 

GB: And when you look back about the season where you avoided relegation and then the title win, how do you see it? As a great achievement or perhaps even a small miracle?

LU: No I consider them to be the two most important years of my footballing life. When you look back at two seasons ago the truth is that just about everyone had us already relegated. We of course knew that it was going to be difficult. [Esteban] Cambiasso must take a lot of the credit for what happened that led to us not going down. He started to analyse what the situation was, who our main rivals were, not just the bottom three but six or seven clubs that could all become involved. He started to work out what we needed in terms of points. It gave us a focus, it created a change of mentality, we knew what we needed to do. We worked out that to survive we would probably need to win about six games and draw one. This was Cambiasso’s plan.

We knew that if we did what we set out to do then it would depend on the other sides doing what they had to. The coach used Cambiasso’s plan without saying where it can from. From that moment we almost subconsciously realised that actually we didn’t have anything to lose and we just set our sights on our objective. The first game we won and from that moment we believed it was possible. The day we went to West Bromwich Albion and won with a Vardy goal in the last minute was when we got that magic click that told us we could not go down. Had we lost that game I think we could well have gone down. In the end we won eight, drew one and lost just once aganst Chelsea. It was actually that period that created the springboard of what occurred the following season.

 

GB: Effectively what you got was the feeling that could actually win any game?

LU: You sensed it with our last game of the season where we beat QPR 5-1 even though we weren’t playing for anythng on the day and then during pre-season you sensed there was a chemistry that was building up among the side. Of course, N'Golo Kante came and that added a huge extra.

 

GB: What players do you think were fundamental to the Leicester success story?

LU: It’s actually a combination of factors. Obviously the three players that set such a hugh standard were in order, Kante, [Jamie] Vardy and [Riyad] Mahrez. Kasper didn’t start particularly well in goal and then became fundamental to the side. Cristian Fuchs and Danny Simpson were amazing in defence. We didn’t concede many goals not even from dead ball movements where I think we gave away 3 or 4 goals all season. Things were going well and with every win there was a build up of even more confidence. From my point of view I think a lot of it had to do with the way we had finished the season before.

 

GB: And what about for you personally? How were things for you both on and off the pitch?

LU: Whenever someone new comes along you start from square one. Claudio decided he wanted to play a certain way and of course for me it was hard for to accept not playing as many games. But that’s how it is. All I could do is stay, continue working and wait for my opportunity whenever it came. I didn’t react by not training well, or moping around the place, I looked to be positive with my team mates and to help the team as much as I could. I fully understood that if a team is winning and winning all the time you don’t start to change it around but in truth my personal feelings were that I wanted to play. Claudio used my situation to make a point of everybody being valuable. That helped.

 

GB: When did it actually dawn of you that you were a Premier League champion?

LU: I’m not really sure it has yet. I think with the passing of the years when we realise that this wasn’t easy and it is going to be enormously difficult for a side similar to Leicester to achieve what we did. Or for a side usually near the bottom to beat those sides consistently in the top five of the table. The truth is that I loved it. As I have said I did not play as much as I would have liked but the dynamic, the dressing room, the positivity, the feeling was tremendous.

 

GB: Do you believe that when a side that is not accustomed to winning does win, they find it harder to cope in the future with the success that this brings and struggle to make the right decisions?

LU: Yes I think so. This is very much a club of the people and with the type of players who identified with the club, who weren’t great superstars and this humble club and everyone in it becomes famous all over the world. Having won the title it became difficult to handle certain situations simply because, in truth, what they set out to do was the very best they could but not ever thinking that they would eventually emerge as champions.

 

GB: The rumours now of course are twofold: firstly that the players are only interested in the Champions League and nothing else, and that Claudio Ranieri was betrayed by the players. How do you see it?

LU: That the players are merely interested in the Champions League simply isn’t true. Of course we have loved taking part in a competition that many of us have never played in before, but we all know that the Premier League is the most important thing for us. Let’s not forget that if the year before we had been relegated there would be no Premier, no Champions League, no anything. Also when people empathize with the coach and then there are problems that arise, logically fans blame the players. But what I can tell you is that just as I have said that two years ago the dynamic and the atmosphere was good, this season we started with an dynamic that was very bad and it was very hard to change it it.

We did try; we spoke among each other, and with Claudio and said that we couldn’t allow ourselves to be in this situation when we were fighting in the Champions league and also against relegation. We, the players, were the first ones that had most to benefit from moving forward. The truth is that dynamic was bad and in the end the club bosses were forced to take a really painful decision which was to fire the coach that had won the title the previous season in order to change things. It was not that the players did not like Claudio, because if they hadn’t liked him then the previous year they would not have been champions.

 

GB: There is another school of thought that if anyone had betrayed anyone it was Claudio, as maybe some of his players who had won the tile felt that with the signing of new players they were being told that, despite having won the title, they were not good enough. This, they say, hurt some of the footballers and affected the dynamic of the group. Do you agree?

LU: There were new players and when you bring new, expensive players into a side that have just finished as champions and put them in places filled by some of the previous players it will create the occasional conflict. But that didn’t determine that any one group of players should decide that a coach should not continue. That’s how I see it. What is clear is that many think, Claudio has gone and now they have started winning. That is not the logic I see in the side. The situation became complicated, the coach left, people’s heads and minds were cleared and refreshed, we went back to the old system and the dynamic changed.

 

GB: Isn’t the line between harmony and conflict a fine one?

LU: Absolutely, because if you think about it very little changed under Claudio this season. Small little details changed when we went back a bit to the way we played the previous year and things began to flow again. We change a few things and beat Liverpool and suddenly you see things differently; players with more confidence, morale goes up in the dressing room, players start to train differently, you beat Hull and then things begin to change.

 

GB: And then you had the Sevilla game, with one dynamic in the away leg and a different one for the home match?

LU: Exactly. But if you were to ask me who I think, hand on heart, deserved to go through in to the next round I would tell you Sevilla. But then football isn’t logical and it’s all about the dynamics of the situation.

 

GB: I assume that the analysis is that you have going to have to play much better if you are to beat Atletico Madrid?

LU: Of course and even a good dynamic isn’t enough to go through. We know that Atletico Madrid are a great side with a lot of very fine, quality players and it is going to be a very difficult match. We know we are not favourites but we also know what we can do and what we are capable of. The last few games have been refreshing for us with a few wins and there is a greater confidence about playing. But just imagine if we had been coming into this game with the dynamic that we had previous to the Liverpool game it would have been more difficult for everyone. Now we are more relaxed, confident, calm.

 

GB: And finally. How are you because you went through a complicated time?

LU: In truth I feel frustrated. We have gone back to the old system but the personnel hasn’t changed. I get on the bench but I don’t get minutes of the pitch, and is frustrating. I will still continue training so when my chance comes I can make the most of it. I want to play, feel part of the team and I am always ready to play and I never lose hope that I will play. Then at the end of next season we will see how things are and see what we will do.

brucey

brucey

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Six wins and one defeat with Shakespeare. What has changed?

"We have recovered the essence of this group. Everyone talks about what Ranieri did, but it all started two years ago when we were safe. What we achieved last year proved to us the level which we can play at, but it's hard to keep going. All the teams already knew how we played and at some point the bump in the road was going to arrive. We've had to correct many things and keep working. Shakespeare knows the group, the team, the players and what they can give and that is very important. Everything was easier; the change, transition and reaction was faster with him."

 

How can a club win the Premier League, sink to the depths and get back up again in a few months?

"The dynamic changed when the coach left, and a good result at home helped. Craig gave us confidence to turn everything around. We tried it before Ranieri left and we often had team meetings to talk about the situation and try to change it, but we couldn't."

 

Was Ranieri tired?

"No. We just needed to change. We started the season badly and that was dragging us down. After winning the Premier League, the coaching staff changed some things from day to day, from training ... small circumstances that were added. The things that won us the title were dismissed and that's not normal. The situation was bad and so were the results. The club made a very painful decision dismissing the coach who had made them champions. I only wish the best to Claudio."

 

It's been said that the players gathered in Seville to request his departure.

"We always talk to the owner because he comes down to the dressing room and is in touch with us. There was no meeting in Seville and I don't think players can influence a decision of the owners. That they would ask for the coach's head seems a bit strong. People say we made our bed but going down after being champion isn't great."

 

In winter you publicly asked to leave. Why?

"I wanted to leave so I could get some minutes on the pitch, not because I wasn't comfortable at the club. I have always felt very welcomed by the supporters and with the team, both have treated me phenomenally. Before the season started Ranieri and I knew that I wouldn't play much."

 

Why didn't Ranieri let you go?

"When I was able to go to Swansea or West Brom in the summer he told me that he was going to stay with only four forwards ... and on the last day of the transfer window, he bought another. I have worked hard and tried to always be prepared, but I got no match time ... as I already knew would be the case. That bothered me a lot. In winter I was able to leave and he refused. At that point, I was really at odds with Claudio."

 

Leicester have been irregular in Premier League but brilliant in the Champions League. Why?

"It's a bit weird. I do not know if it was the motivation to debut in the tournament or that the atmosphere was different. We can disconnect from the Premier League, so we try to enjoy it because it's very important for the history of the club."

 

After eliminating Sevilla, now you have Atletico Madrid. Does it benefit you not to be favourites?

"It has always benefited us. Last year, when we were champions, in most of the games we were the underdogs."

 

Is Atletico the favourite for the tie and to win the Champions League?

"A team that has reached two finals without a doubt is favourite ... but first they have to eliminate us. We all work very hard and have got to this stage almost under the radar. Now, we are going to fight for every ball because we want to qualify."

 

What result at the Calderon would leave Leicester happy?

"It's important to get an away goal because it would put us in a great position, as it proved against Sevilla. The tie would be wide open and we can do damage at home."

 

Does it help or hurt the Leicester style to be like Atletico?

"We would have preferred another team because Atleti have a very similar philosophy and Leicester play better against teams with a different style."

 

What is the biggest danger from Atletico?

"Their defence, their fighting spirit, their work, their counterattack ... They have many strengths and it is very difficult to overcome them. They are a team that nobody wants to face but Leicester also has its virtues and we will exploit them."

 

Atletico has changed a lot since you were in LaLiga. How do you value Simeone's work?

"El Cholo has not stopped growing year after year. He has made his players better and the club has grown a lot. But, above all, he has returned them to the level where they have always had to be. That's a plus. He is a spectacular trainer for how he trains, works, motivates and makes his players believe in the day to day, in every moment."

Ulloa already knows what it's like to play in Spain.

The Argentine striker played at Castellon (2008-2010) and Almeria (2010-2013) scoring 79 goals before his move to Brighton.

 

LaLiga is a tournament that clearly attracts you...

"I always feel like I know Spanish football very well and I'm at the best point of my career. My agents know that I would love to return, but I won't close the door to any league."

StanSP

StanSP

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5 minutes ago, brucey said:

It's been said that the players gathered in Seville to request his departure.

"We always talk to the owner because he comes down to the dressing room and is in touch with us. There was no meeting in Seville and I don't think players can influence a decision of the owners. That they would ask for the coach's head seems a bit strong. People say we made our bed but going down after being champion isn't great."

another that says it wasn't a player revolt lol 

bovril

bovril

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Bloody hell every day it's a new theory. Claudio won us the title, no it was Pearson, now it looks like Shakey was the mastermind, perhaps Walsh, now apparently Cambiasso is the man. Soon they'll be claiming 'the culture introduced by Craig Levein was instrumental in our Champions League run'.

Better than JFK and the grassy knoll, this.

StanSP

StanSP

Posted
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1 minute ago, bovril said:

Bloody hell every day it's a new theory. Claudio won us the title, no it was Pearson, now it looks like Shakey was the mastermind, perhaps Walsh, now apparently Cambiasso is the man. Soon they'll be claiming 'the culture introduced by Craig Levein was instrumental in our Champions League run'.

Better than JFK and the grassy knoll, this.

to be fair to Leo, he's always gonna mention his compatriot as a big influence. Argentine friends and all that. 

Babylon

Babylon

Posted
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11 minutes ago, StanSP said:

to be fair to Leo, he's always gonna mention his compatriot as a big influence. Argentine friends and all that. 

Puts to bed the bollocks about him picking the team and formation I hope. His words echo what anyone with a brain worked out previously. They sat down and worked out where they would/could win points, nothing more.

Webbo

Webbo

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It's strange how Fuch's article and this interview have come out at the same time. Maybe a media campaign by the club?

brucey

brucey

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6 minutes ago, Webbo said:

It's strange how Fuch's article and this interview have come out at the same time. Maybe a media campaign by the club?

And Simpson's interview about 3 days ago. Don't think it's been posted here yet actually?

bovril

bovril

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22 minutes ago, foxhateram said:

Another player who puts our winning season down to previous form not Claudio. The plot thickens.

 

All hale king Nige. ;)

He also credits Cambiasso with 'analysing what was wrong' when we were bottom.

 

We'll never know. Basically it was a whole combination of things, a perfect storm that led to us staying up and winning the league. People are picking out quotes and 'facts' to fit their point of view.

 

Honestly I'm bored of it now. Talk about overkill. The only thing I care about is that we won the league. I can go to my grave saying we won the league. Thanks to a team mostly assembled by Pearson and brilliantly managed (for a season) by Ranieri.

Foxhateram

Foxhateram

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Just now, bovril said:

He also credits Cambiasso with 'analysing what was wrong' when we were bottom.

 

We'll never know. Basically it was a whole combination of things, a perfect storm that led to us staying up and winning the league. People are picking out quotes and 'facts' to fit their point of view.

3 players all allude to the same point. I think that's pretty concrete evidence to be honest. :)

bovril

bovril

Posted
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Just now, foxhateram said:

3 players all allude to the same point. I think that's pretty concrete evidence to be honest. :)

Concrete evidence of what? Pearson was the reason we won the league? I think you're kind of proving my point.

Foxhateram

Foxhateram

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Just now, bovril said:

Concrete evidence of what? Pearson was the reason we won the league? I think you're kind of proving my point.

That is opinion. But concrete evidence that it was momentum and form that led to our special season. Not any one person. (Like some are purring all over)

 

My Pearson comment was tongue in cheek. Hence the emoji after the comment. But of course my respect for the man is already known well on this board.

sdb

sdb

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18 minutes ago, SydenhamFox said:

Fantastic interview. So much in there.

 

Yep. And I suspect very little manufactured. It feels very genuine to me. 

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