Everton midfielder Allan is featured this week in an interview with ESPN Brasil.
Following a €25m move from Napoli last summer, the midfielder was praised for his quick adaptation to the Premier League, getting 25 appearances this season and only staying out of the team when injured.
The 30-year-old met again with manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had already worked with him at the Italian side. And he only has good things to say about the coach.
“He’s a fantastic guy. He’s a guy who knows the time to be a little tougher and the time to be a father to all players. He’s a guy who’s a pleasure to work with,” Allan told ESPN Brasil.
Asked what’s the main thing that Ancelotti was responsible for this season, Allan mentioned the management of the squad while many players were sidelined.
“This season we had a lot of players with injuries. This team had to change a lot. I think this is very much his face. He gives a lot of confidence to all players.”
Allan was also quizzed about what went wrong for Everton not to meet their expectations for the season, and claimed it was mostly a mindset problem.
“I think a little more continuity, having the mentality of thinking game by game, always the next game is the most important… leaving things behind suddenly. We had moments where we had four victories in a row and it ended up that suddenly there was a moment of relaxation.”
During the season, the Brazilian shaved his head in support of his nine-year old son Miguel, who has alopecia. He now explained why he decided to do it.
“It’s an aesthetic problem where suddenly the person who does not know, who sees from a distance, ends up having a little discrimination. So that people can learn a little more about alopecia, to know that it’s nothing contagious, it’s nothing too much, it’s just an aesthetic fact.
“He didn’t understand much for a while. But for me just shaving my head is a very small gesture of what I can do to see my son’s smile. We can do everything for our children, and I am no different.”
