Dzeko: I said to Mourinho I will give you everything in the Champions League against Liverpool to defend well

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Inter striker Dzeko talked about how it feels to leave Roma and join Inter, while expressing his views on the upcoming Champions League knockout match with Liverpool.

Talk about leaving Rome

Dzeko: "Last summer I said to myself for the first time: 'I'm not going anywhere. 'Juventus wanted to sign me the year before that, and Inter almost signed me two years ago. I didn't think I would leave Roma after Jose Mourinho came to the team. I talked to him when he came to the team and he knew I had a year left on my contract. It is an honour for such a great coach to come to the club. I said to him: 'I'm here and I'm going to give everything for you and the club.' But since this is the last year of my contract, if something happens to the team, can we evaluate those? A few days later the team signed Tammy Abraham from Chelsea and Inter found me. ”

Talk about joining Inter

Dzeko: "Conte has done a very good job in Inter's two years and no one would have thought that Inter is now such a result. I'm not afraid to come here, I know what my own abilities are, there are a lot of good players here. I'm just going to do everything well, we're doing well, and hopefully we can continue like this. ”

"We regained the Italian Super Cup after 10 years and we reached the round of 16 of the Champions League for the first time in 10 years. We are currently at the top of the league table and we want to continue to do so. ”

Talk about the Champions League knockout rounds

Dzeko: "This Champions League draw is weird, it's something that has never happened before. It wasn't a lucky draw for us, Liverpool was a team that could beat any opponent. But this is the Champions League, the best event in the world. ”

"Everybody loves Liverpool and we understand that. But you can't say that a team wins 100% in a game. Inter also have great teams, we are all attacking teams and can score a lot of goals. We're not a typical Italian team, but in a game like the Champions League, you have to defend well. ”

Talk about Salah, Alisson, Milner

Dzeko: "I'll talk to Salah and Alisson before the game, and of course don't forget Milner, the first goal I scored for City is due to him. At the same time, I would also like to say that, in a way, I helped Salah to be what he is now, and we had a good experience in Rome. ”

"He likes to look for space on the pitch, I go deep into the opponent's 'hinterland' on the pitch (pulling the defence to help him create space) and I've given him a number of assists. I'm happy for him, he's a great player, he deserves what he's achieved, and so is Alisson. ”

"We reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in '17-18 and a big part of what we were able to achieve was thanks to Alisson, whose saves were so good. In order to be able to win trophies in major tournaments, you need such players. ”

"I don't know who Liverpool's scouts are, I would say Liverpool do an amazing job. The transfer fee for signing Salah and Alisson is incredible, and they went there was the right choice. ”

Talk about how to stay in shape

Dzeko: "I'm going to work harder than I used to, and I'm going to do a good job of preventing injuries before and after training, which is really important. At the age of 36, I had to protect myself from injuries. At the same time, you must eat healthy in your diet. ”

Talk about what it's like to retire

Dzeko: "There will be a little bit of worry, a feeling of fear. I've talked to teammates who retired early and they retired to enjoy a vacation with their families. But within six months, they were saying to me, 'Don't stop playing. 'I've made playing football my profession, that's my biggest motivation, I haven't thought about getting into team management or being a coach, let's see what options we'll have after we retire. I don't have time to think about that now, I want to keep playing. ”

Looking back on the days at Manchester City

Dzeko: "That goal in the FA Cup against Notts County in 11 years was important not only for me, but also for the club. City have gradually won more games since then and now I look back at how that team achieved those accolades and how many great players they had. Starting with the FA Cup that season, and the Premier League titles that followed, we've also won other cups. I had signed a new contract before leaving Manchester City in 2015, and it was still three years away and I had no intention of leaving. ”

"But you know it's football and everything gets very fast. I've been in Italy for almost 7 years and I'm very happy. ”

（Thomas）