Following a €25m move from Napoli last summer, Brazilian midfielder Allan was one of the stars who helped Everton have a great start this season.
The 29-year-old has been interviewed by ESPN Brasil this week, and had a say on how things immediately worked out well for the Toffees, despite their drop in form more recently.
“We know that the Premier League is a very difficult league. At the beginning of the league it was a new team with a lot of players coming in, where other players didn’t know each other that much, and we managed to make great games too. The team fit very well,” Allan told ESPN Brasil.
“But then we had a lot of problems with injuries, we lost Richarlison by suspension. This hindered our plans a little bit, but we know our quality, we know where we can go, we know about work during the week and we can have a great season.”
Asked about the influence that his compatriot Richarlison has on the team, Allan praised his teammate for his actions on and off the pitch.
“Richarlison is a very important player within the club, within the group. He’s a very charismatic guy, who’s always cheerful, always happy to be able to help his teammates on and off the pitch. He’s a guy who really deserves everything he’s been achieving. I hope he can achieve much more with the shirts of Everton and the Brazilian team. That he helps us to have a season here above average. May he continue to score many goals with the shirt of Everton and the shirt of the Brazilian team.
“Yes, he’s a thousand grade guy. He always has a smile on his face, whatever happens, he’s a guy who’s always happy. He’s a guy who cares a lot about helping people. He’s a teammate who I’m very proud of the person he is, where he came from, who values everything that happened in his life. He’s a guy who deserves a lot of good things.”
Allan also spoke about his experience for the national team, for whom he won the Copa America last year and continues to hold his place in the latest squads.
“It’s a great experience, a dream of every player to wear the Brazil shirt. It’s a very disputed shirt. We know that it isn’t easy to reach the Brazilian team. I try to live each moment because we know it’s very difficult to get there. But thank God I’ve had the grace to be enjoying every moment, helping the national team.
“Being able to win the Copa America in the country was a wonderful thing. At the full Maracanã, winning the Copa America was like a dream. So being able to be wearing the national team jersey, representing my country, is the peak of my career.”
Before joining the Toffees, Allan had spent five years at Napoli, and made 212 appearances for the club. He’s obviously familiar with the influence that Diego Maradona had at the club and in the city, and talked a little about the Argentine legend’s death.
“It was a big loss. I still have friends in Naples and the city has gone a little lifeless. Because there, he’s the greatest idol of all time at Napoli, for all generations. Even those who were not born at the time that Maradona played for Napoli, can search on the internet… or even family members, parents, the closest family members tell the stories.
“So it was a huge loss, also for world football, because of the figure that was Maradona. For everything he gave us on the pitch. So a hug to all family members, the closest people.”
