When he arrived in Rome nobody expected such a return. A dam in midfield, almost impossible to break. Defensive midfielder or regista, Leiva is not limited in breaking the opponent’s game, he starts the action with technique and speed. What has amazed everyone, perhaps even the player himself, is his confidence in the execution phase. He had never scored so much in his career.
At the microphones of his former team, he tried to explain his new quality:
“To be honest, I worked a lot in this area. I remember that at Liverpool, Klopp told me that I could score more, but there was something in my head that was blocking me. I always thought that if I went too far I would have left the team uncovered. At Lazio I started working with more confidence, I tried to move forward with caution, measuring the defensive risk, without leaving the team exposed. In doing so I managed to score four goals and several assists this season, my most since I left Brazil”.
The Brazilian also focused on Luis Alberto’s path, the other Lazio player from Liverpool:
“I am very happy for Luis because he arrived at Liverpool very young and probably could not achieve what he wanted. It was a difficult time for him. Then he went on loan for some clubs in Spain and last year, when he came to Lazio, he did not play very many games, but this season was crucial. He is one of our main players in terms of assists and he has also scored many goals. We hope he can do it again next year”.
