Former Hull City player praises Marco Silva, but says his current manager is ‘well ahead’

Despite having never been a regular starter at Hull City, Brazilian midfielder Evandro is very grateful for his time at the club.

The 33-year-old has been interviewed by UOL this week, and has shown a lot of pride for having represented the Tigers in the Premier League and in the Championship.

First speaking of Marco Silva, who was his first manager at the club, Evandro said: “He called me many times for me to go to Sporting, but Porto’s conditions were better and I wanted to play there. At Olympiacos too. Working with him was fantastic, I have contact with him to this day.”

Hull City were relegated to the Championship that season. Still, Evandro takes some positives, especially for having played alongside Harry Maguire and working under Marco Silva.

“About Maguire, it was already clear. Extremely strong, very fast and with a very high technical quality. Playing the Premier League… Look, it was spectacular. It was close [the relegation]. Marco Silva’s work there was so good that he is where he is.”

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On his best memories playing for the club, Evandro recalled the most important matches he was involved in: “I remember that against Chelsea the heart was in the mouth. Especially because I was in team B of Porto and without rythm of play. Intensity was very high and I had to think very fast to play. The league is a show, always crowded stadiums. It was great against Manchester United. On arrival I saw those scarves of Beckham, of Alex Ferguson. It was very cool.”

Evandro left Hull City on a free transfer this summer, having joined Brazilian side Santos on a one-year contract.

Now the player may be a big fan of Marco Silva, but when asked to compare the Portuguese boss with Jorge Sampaoli, his current manager at Santos, he defended his new coach. He’s claimed that the Argentine also is ‘well ahead’ of Julen Lopetegui, who was his manager at Porto.

“No doubt Sampaoli is well ahead. Marco Silva is excellent. Lopetegui has a very good track record, but the way he played, I didn’t like it. As a person I have nothing to talk about, but in terms of tactics and training, I didn’t like it. At that time Porto spent a lot of money and had a great team, but we didn’t get anything. This time with Sampaoli I have learned too much, it’s being very pleasant.”