Brazilian fans really liked Eric Dier’s interview with ESPN last week, when in Portuguese, the player spoke about Tottenham’s future with the new generation of players and a new stadium on its way.
That’s why João Castello Branco went back to the club to speak to the player once again, this time for a longer chat, in which Dier explained the relationship he has with Portugal.
“Portugal is my home,” the midfielder told ESPN Brasil. “Maybe when I finish my career, that’s where I will live and spend a long time. It’s a country I love and a country that is in my heart.”
Asked about what he misses more about the country, he smiled and said: “The weather. The beach.”
Having left England very early, Dier had to readapt to his own country when signed by Tottenham from Sporting back in 2014: “Yes. It was hard to adapt myself once again. To everything, the weather, the food, the people. It’s all very different from Portugal.”
But he claims that playing for the Portuguese national team is not something that has crossed his mind: “I continue to be a bit Portuguese, for everything I’ve been through there, but I’m English. My parents are English, I was born here in England, everything I have, all my family, my family’s history is English, that’s why.
“I’m not like those who can play for another country having lived there for many years, no. I’ve always thought of playing for the English team, it’s always been my dream, and I I was very happy when I achieved it.”
Speaking of the Premier League title race, the player considers it’s important to overcome last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Chelsea: “I think it’s the most important thing. For big clubs, it’s the most important thing.
“When you look at the big clubs, they are capable of turning things around quickly, forget the previous game, go to the next and win. That’s what we have to do.”
He also commented on the Spurs’ next opponents, Crystal Palace, who they are facing tonight at Selhurst Park: “They’re very good. They beat Liverpool and Chelsea, that’s why they will have big confidence against us, which is normal, because of the results they’ve been having.
“But we’ll have confidence too, we’re good in the Premier League and we want to continue like this. We know we have to win all of our games, we want to have the chance to catch Chelsea.”
