After his 100th competitive game for FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembélé spoke about his time at Blaugrana, his improved fitness and his slightly changed style of play. The Frenchman also spoke about the work under Ronald Koeman and raved about Lionel Messi.
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After his 100th competitive game for FC Barcelona, Ousmane Dembélé gave the club’s internal media an interview about his time in Catalonia so far. The 23-year-old emphasized that he had improved physically at Barça and said: “When I got here, I was very fragile physically. It was the same in Rennes and Dortmund. But here I developed my physique and prepared for the games. I have changed.”
Dembélé: “Under Koeman the players are fit and happy”
The Frenchman praised the work of coach Ronald Koeman and emphasized that the training and preparation for the games have changed a lot since his arrival: “The training is of high quality, the team is fit and the players are very happy. He deals very well with everyone in the team and we have set ourselves the goal of winning titles, ”said the two-footed winger.
Dembélé emphasizes that his understanding of the game and style of play have changed since he played at FC Barcelona: “My positional play in particular is different: when to attack, when to slow down and when to pass. I actually like to dribble and go into one-on-one duels. But I was taught to calm down the game and to wait for my teammates first instead of trying to dribble against three or four opponents. “
In doing so, Dembélé learns a lot from Lionel Messi, who was a role model for him in the past and is still a teammate: “Leo is a genius. He is the best player in the history of football. He was my inspiration as a youth player and still is today. It’s an honor to be on the pitch with him. I’ve been a Barcelona fan since I was a child, and playing for this club with the best player in history is extraordinary because he’s easy to play football with. “
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