- A year has passed since you signed for Real Madrid. What do you remember from the day of your presentation?
- It was a great day; 15,000 people came to the Bernabéu just to see me, madness. That would not happen at any other club. For me, signing for the club was a very special day.
- You also won the World Cup exactly a year ago. What are your memories of that experience?
- That wasn’t bad either (laughs). It was also a great day. Our aim in that competition was to lift the World Cup and we achieved it. We were the best side in the competition; something amazing. When you start playing football you always dream of being a world champion and that day we did that. It was fantastic.
- Have you got any favourite memories from last year?
- Of course, quite a few. The first game in the Santiago Bernabéu, which we won; my first goal for real Madrid, also in the Santiago Bernabéu. Our fans are great, and I think they like the way I play, I can feel it. It was a good first season but now, of course, we have to focus on the new campaign to win trophies.
-You’ve only been working with Rafa Benítez for a few days, what are your first impressions?
- Very good. I think he speaks to everyone a lot. He wants to build a good squad, a good team for this season, and I think we have a good chance of winning trophies with him. Hopefully it will be a good year.
- This is your first trip to Australia with Real Madrid. What do you think?
- For the moment we’ve only seen the hotel and the training ground. Until now we haven’t seen much more than the stadium, but we’ve got two games here, in Australia, to raise our performance level. We’ll see more things, for sure. It’s still only our fourth day here and, as I’ve said, we’ve only seen the hotel and the training ground.
- The new season is almost upon us, what are your expectations?
- The aim at Real Madrid is always the same: to win every competition you are involved in. We’re going to try to win the league, of course. That’s the goal, to win every competition, the Copa and the Champions League. We saw how difficult that was last season; we came really close to winning trophies but our aim is to improve and try to win the La Liga and the Champions League. The Champions League is complicated because there are always four or five teams in the running, but we’ve got a great team and we’re going to go for it.