Juventus’ Gleison Bremer and Roma’s Roger Ibanez underlined their excitement and happiness after receiving their first call-ups to the Brazilian national team.
The duo have impressed in Serie A over the last year, with the former earning a high profile move to the Bianconeri and the latter confirming himself as a strong option under Jose Mourinho. The two players will now be hoping to make their Brazil debuts in their upcoming friendlies against Ghana and Tunisia.
Speaking in a press conference, Bremer first discussed his emotions after receiving the call from Brazil.
“I’m very happy for the opportunity to be in the national team, it’s the dream of every athlete, of every child, to be here. I know we’re close to the World Cup, 50 days away, but I came here to get my space. I came here to show Tite that I’m capable and that I can go to the World Cup.
“In the national team we know we’re strong, Ghana and Tunisia I don’t follow them much, I’ll watch the videos, but I want my chance, it doesn’t depend only on the game.
“At every moment of the game there will be a difficulty, which is normal and I hope to be there to respond in the best possible way.”
The Juventus defender then commented on some discussions he had with fellow Bianconeri Brazilians Danilo and Alex Sandro.
“I spoke a lot with Danilo, with Alex Sandro, they helped me with some things. Being my first time, they give me advice, they’re people who helped me at Juventus, they’re always a supporting point for me.”
Ibanez then gave his own thoughts on being called up to the Brazilian national team.
“The way I think, everything happens when God wants it to, I believe a lot. I was part of the whole cycle, I had the opportunity to wear the Under-23 shirt, but I was not part of the Olympics squad.
“I don’t know if it would have been quicker to make it to the senior national team, but I continued with my efforts to be here today and it was still worth it.”
He commented on how it feels to work alongside the various stars in the Brazil squad.
“The first day here is an indescribable feeling, being on the side of so many high-performance athletes, and the feeling for new people is indescribable. Working alongside Thiago Silva, day in, day out, I think I can give some examples of that.”
Finally, Ibanez discussed the importance of learning in Italy and his growth under Jose Mourinho in the Italian capital.
“Regarding the defensive side, Italy is a ‘cradle’ of defence. We get there and they already have professionals to make you learn their way of working as quickly as possible, so that adds a lot for us.
“I did my first year at Atalanta and it was a very important experience for me, I think it added a lot. And for Mourinho to give advice and ideas on how to play in Italy has helped me get here a lot.”