:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/ddbcc688-f61d-11ec-aa89-02d2fb1aa1d7.jpg?fit=%2C&ssl=1)
sport">“You know, he only spoke positively about Feyenoord. I hadn’t signed yet at that stage, but I told Steven there was a chance that I would go to Feyenoord. He was really positive and wanted to wish me luck with my move to Rotterdam,” says the 23-year-old Brazilian, who came to Feyenoord transfer-free because he refused an offer from Ajax to stay.
sport">„The other players at Ajax also understood that I wanted to take this step. If you want to make minutes and play a lot more, you have to go to Feyenoord. They were genuinely happy for me,” continues the man who scored the goals especially at FC Twente as a mercenary from Ajax in the 2020-2021 season. He scored 17 goals in 33 matches. He also hopes to get those numbers at Feyenoord.
First striker
sport">When asked whether he has come in as a first striker or feels like he will be the first striker, Sao Paulo native Danilo is remarkably honest in his answer. “That’s a good question. I don’t really expect it. But I just have to make sure I show my qualities from the start and then it’s up to me to become the first striker.”
sport">He has been living in the Netherlands for five years now, has a Dutch girlfriend and can understand a decent word of Dutch. “I prefer to answer in English. I find that just a little easier. But it’s okay to understand.”
Danilo laughs with assistant coach Marino Pusic during Feyenoord’s first training this season.
Ⓒ ANP/HH
—
sport">He thinks the switch from the capital to the Maasstad is perfectly fine. With him, the rivalry between the two clubs is not so much and he already enjoys living in Rotterdam in all respects. But of course it is mainly about the fun on the field that he has to find and that can never go wrong in his eyes. „Because I have looked closely at how Feyenoord plays under this trainer. I have watched many matches under Arne Slot and he uses a playing style that suits me very much. I see the ambition of the team, I see how they want to put pressure in really all games. That’s my style of game!”
’Project’
sport">Danilo, whose full name is Danilo Pereira da Silva and who largely received his football education in his home country of Brazil, was active as a youth player for the clubs Corinthians, Vasco da Gama and Santos before he made the switch to Ajax in 2017. He received a presentation from Feyenoord about the ‘project’ that the Rotterdammers have in mind for the coming years with him.
sport">„I didn’t play much last year and that’s why I didn’t think it was fair with what Ajax came up with. I have to think about my future and seize opportunities. This is a new chapter in my career and I want to do my best to be a success here.” He already has butterflies in his stomach, but that is more because of the helicopter in which he will soon have to take a seat than the fear of not succeeding. “I like flying, but I’ve never been in such a thing. Well, that too is something new. I know it’s great to be here in De Kuip on the field because the first time I stood here and saw all those supporters, I could only say: ‘wow!’ You always see the ambition with these supporters. I think that’s wonderful.”
sport">Ajax opened, as he says himself, the door to Europe for Danilo. Feyenoord must now lead the door to the pinnacle of his career. With his 23 springs, the most important period of his career is now approaching. Danilo: “I have now arrived in Rotterdam, my family also likes it here and I think we will be happy here.”
–
