First Team

Torreira: “Fiorentina is an important point in my career”

02 September 2021

Lucas Torreira declared that joining Fiorentina represents a key step in his career as he was unveiled to the media at a news conference on Thursday.

Also in attendance at the press conference on Thursday was Fiorentina General Manager Joe Barone, who spoke in glowing terms about the signing of Torreira.

“Torreira had been constantly linked to Fiorentina, previously too,” he said. “The fans and everyone here are absolutely delighted to finally have him here with us.”

Torreira then answered questions from the media.

On his preferred position…

“First of all, I’m happy to be here and pleased with the comments from the sporting director. I like to play the ball and I think that the playing style here suits my attributes as a player. I’ve played in a similar role for Samp and with the national team. I’m at the disposal of the coach.”

On coming to Florence…

“I think it’s an important point in my career. This is a very good team. It’s too early to talk about targets, but I’m sure that the work the coach is doing and his tactics – which I’ll learn more about this week – are well-suited to my approach to the game.”

On Fiorentina’s interest…

“I went from Samp to Arsenal and then to [Atletico] Madrid, where I didn’t play as much but won the title. It’s true that Fiorentina showed a lot of interest in me, so I want to make the most of this experience. I have to admit that I’ve spoken more to [Daniele] Prade in the last month than I have my own father!”

On working under different coaches...

“[I’ve had] [Unai] Emery, [Diego] Simeone and now [Vincenzo] Italiano. I’ve always watched Serie A. I watched Spezia a lot last season and I’m pleased he’s here at Fiorentina. Right now I’m trying to understand what he wants me to do, so I can help the team to do well.”

On Serie A lagging behind the Premier League and La Liga…

“I don’t think so, because Italy won the Euros. That said, I’ve seen that the standard is very high in English football, while La Liga has quality players too. If I hadn’t spent several years in Italy, though, I wouldn’t have been ready to play abroad. Playing in Italy helps you to learn a lot from a tactical standpoint.”

On scoring goals…

“I don’t play near to the opposition goal, but I like to shoot from outside of the box. I hope to score plenty of goals with this jersey.”

On choosing the No.18 shirt…

“I chose the No.18 shirt because I’m a fan of a team in Uruguay called 18 Julio – my dad is the president. That’s why I chose that number.”

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