Bruno Ribeiro may not have had many chances to play for Blackburn Rovers, but he certainly misses his time at the club.
The right-back made only five competitive appearances for the Rovers between 2011 and 2012, and told his story to ESPN Brasil this week.
The player joined Blackburn in 2011 on a free transfer. He had a trial period at the club before signing a contract, and he was so impressive his former manager Steve Kean said he was the new ‘Denis Irwin’.
“Bruno, or Denis after Denis Irwin the boys call him because he never gives the ball away, will fill in that position and that is great for us,” Kean told the Lancashire Telegraph (via Daily Mail).
The player was brought to the club on a three-year deal, with an option of a further one. However, he failed to impress during his second season, when Blackburn were relegated to the Championship.
“I had the opportunity to play with Michel Salgado, who played at Real Madrid for a long time,” Ribeiro told ESPN Brasil.
“I was a right-back at the time, so I had to fight for a position against him. He was a guy who didn’t have much technical quality, but he had strength in training, an incredible desire, even in training, he wanted to win any kind of training.
“Another guy who impressed me a bit was the striker Nuno Gomes, from the Portuguese national team. I met him at 37, and he still had an incredible easiness to score goals.”
The player also remembers playing against boys who are now stars: “Sterling, who’s now at Manchester City, and Pogba, they were players who I played against for the B teams of their respective clubs.
“They were seventeen, Pogba at Manchester United and Sterling at Liverpool. So I had the chance to play against these boys, even in the B teams, and today I carry this as a learning point and can tell everyone I’ve played against Pogba, against Sterling.”
He stayed at the club until December 2012, when he was sent to Brazilian small side Linense on a loan, which later became a permanent transfer.
“If I had an offer from the second division, which is the Championship, which I had the opportunity to live; it’s very organised, it’s very good to play. You know that there are very good teams, which is the case of Newcastle United, who if I’m not mistaken, were relegated. So I’d go with my eyes closed.”
Ribeiro is currently fighting against relegation for the Brazilian Second Division side Joinville.
