Cagliari wing-back Mauricio Isla admits he may not have been “up to the level” of Juventus.
The Chilean international joined the Bianconeri from Udinese in 2012, but couldn’t hold down a place in the team and joined the Isolani in a €4m move this summer.
“I accepted the move from Juventus to Cagliari with great enthusiasm,” Isla explained to Corriere dello Sport.
Cagliari wing-back Mauricio Isla admits he may not have been “up to the level” of Juventus.
The Chilean international joined the Bianconeri from Udinese in 2012, but couldn’t hold down a place in the team and joined the Isolani in a €4m move this summer.
“I accepted the move from Juventus to Cagliari with great enthusiasm,” Isla explained to Corriere dello Sport.
“I’ve never considered myself world-class or a champion and I don’t want to be seen that way now. I’m just a player looking to give his all and give satisfaction to the fans by reaching this club’s objective [survival] as soon as possible.
“To go and play for the best team in Italy was a dream, but at the same time it was a bit of surprise because I had wonderful years in Udine.
“Then I got injured, and just when things looked bad the offer came from Juventus. Maybe I wasn’t up to the level of a team where there were fantastic champions, but those two years were fantastic for me.
“I had the chance to play with some of the best players in the world.
“Who impressed me most? It’s easy to say [Andrea] Pirlo and [Gianluigi] Buffon, who I talk to my friends about when I go to Chile.
“It’s not so much what they do on the pitch though, because I certainly wasn’t discovering them as players, but despite being over 30 they trained as though they were 15 and behaved as real leaders.
“Then I worked alongside others like [Carlos] Tevez, but I got along well with everyone.”