Inter midfielder Felipe Melo has been talking to Ogolobo about his future with the nerazzurri. The 33-year-old, never afraid to voice his opinion, was first asked about his lack of playing time this season under new boss Frank de Boer to which he replied; “I still feel important because I can use my experience in many ways. The coach has spoken to me and assured me that he is still counting on me and this has made me feel part of the project”.
 

ON THE NATIONAL TEAM – “I still hope to play but I won’t lose any sleep if I’m not selected. I’ve done my job well for a long time and have been an idol at Galatasaray and I thought I may be useful to Dunga but sadly this has not happened”  

ON COMMENTS ABOUT HIS PHYSICALITY ON THE FIELD – “I have a great desire to win but this does not mean that I’m violent. I have never purposely gone out to injure an opponent and I have always won the respect of my opponents”.
 

ON THE FOUL ON ROBBEN AT THE 2010 WORLD CUP – “I do not speak German or Dutch so we have never spoken. I’ve played against him a couple of times since and we have both shown each other respect”.
 

ON HIS POSSIBLE RETURN TO FLAMENGO – “I’m a fan of the club and I will love them forever however, it’s difficult to speak about the future because my daughters are growing up in Europe and things are difficult in Brazil at the moment. There is a lot of violence. I’m happy at Inter and I’ve turned down big money offers to stay there”.  

ON GABIGOL – “He’s still very young and has only just arrived from Brazil. He needs time but what we have seen in training has made us excited. I’ve spoken to him and told him to pay attention to everything. He’s a smart boy and for this reason I’m convinced he’ll fight for a place in the team”.


Steve Mitchell @barafundler