Oier Zarraga was a guest on Udinese Tonight, and spoke about a number of matters, including his side’s recent game at San Siro, how things have changed since last season, his relationship with the city of Bilbao and Athletic as well as their commonalities with Friuli and Udinese.
“I think that we deserved at least a point from the game at San Siro. We said during the half-time break that we could win given that we had an extra man, but we found it hard to get forward and string moves together. It’s hard to break through against a low block, but we can improve our final ball. We need to work on this and do better against Cagliari.
“We need to take more shots from outside the box – the only player to do so against Milan was [Jaka] Bijol. We’ve not started well against the big teams but we can improve in this regard.
“I think it was a penalty [against Milan] but it’s the referee’s call. I don’t get why he didn’t call it. We had the chances to draw or even win the match, but we’ve got to look forward, not backwards.
“Last season the first few months were tough, but hard work pays off. I’ve always knuckled down and I always aim to give my all, help the team and improve as much as I can. I’m a positive person as it is but my family have also given me a boost to keep on working my socks off. When you don’t play doubts creep in, but you’ve got to move on. I think that I’m doing well this season and the coach has acknowledged this. Our system this campaign suits me better – we see more of the ball. I like this style of football.
“It was hard to leave Bilbao. I joined Athletic aged nine, and moving on after 14 years at the club was tough for me. That being said, I felt as if I needed to try something new, to join a new team, to test myself in a new league. I’ll never forget Athletic – I’m a fan of the club and Bilbao is my hometown. The place and club made me who I am today. Maybe one day I’ll go back but right now my focus is Udinese.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot in common with the people here because of the fact that the region has its own language and because of the way the football is perceived – it’s just as important as in Bilbao. This drew me to the club.
“I started out playing as a central midfielder. I was more aggressive, but I lost this part of my game. I need to communicate better, get forward more, score more goals and provide more assists. I feel good as a number six, eight or ten – it doesn’t matter to me.
“We’ve now got two big games [against Cagliari and Venezia]. The first is at home and we need to put in a good performance. If we win these two games we’ll be sitting pretty in the table.”