'I've been through every stage. It's an advantage!'
Now one of the first names on the Manchester United team sheet, Diogo Dalot feels comfortable in his newly-established status as an influential member of the squad.
In an authoritative interview for Saturday’s edition of United Review, the matchday programme at Old Trafford, our no.20 spoke passionately about his experience as a Red and how he plans to help the team, in whichever position he plays.
Here, you can delve into club reporter Joe Ganley’s full Q&A with Dalot…
Diogo, you were named Players’ Player of the Year last season. How much did that accolade mean to you and did it feel like a milestone in your career here, six years in…
“Yeah, definitely. I would say it was probably one of the proudest moments that I had at this club, especially because it was a recognition from my team-mates, those who I spend the most time with. Apart from my family! They see me every day, they see the work that I put in every day, and that recognition is also a proud moment for me because it makes me feel that I’m doing the right things. It was special.”
It feels like you’ve moved into the category of being a senior player in the last year or two – is that how it feels to you, personally?
“It’s something that’s becoming part of me now. I think it came in a natural way. I don’t force it; I just feel that being here for this long brings me experience at the club. Playing a lot helps me to be in that position as well. I think it’s something that came naturally, and I think it’s helpful for me and for the club. So it’s something that I enjoy.”
Here, you can delve into club reporter Joe Ganley’s full Q&A with Dalot…
Diogo, you were named Players’ Player of the Year last season. How much did that accolade mean to you and did it feel like a milestone in your career here, six years in…
“Yeah, definitely. I would say it was probably one of the proudest moments that I had at this club, especially because it was a recognition from my team-mates, those who I spend the most time with. Apart from my family! They see me every day, they see the work that I put in every day, and that recognition is also a proud moment for me because it makes me feel that I’m doing the right things. It was special.”
It feels like you’ve moved into the category of being a senior player in the last year or two – is that how it feels to you, personally?
“It’s something that’s becoming part of me now. I think it came in a natural way. I don’t force it; I just feel that being here for this long brings me experience at the club. Playing a lot helps me to be in that position as well. I think it’s something that came naturally, and I think it’s helpful for me and for the club. So it’s something that I enjoy.”
Diogo Dalot: Embrace the challenge Video
Diogo Dalot: Embrace the challenge
Diogo Dalot talks about the 'wall' of the team and building connections on the pitch...
When we say ‘a senior player’, what do you think that means? Is it about taking more responsibility, being more vocal in the dressing room? How do you see that?
“I think it comes [with] everything together. Obviously, I don’t see myself as a senior player; I’m still young. But when you’ve been in a place for so long, you start knowing the people around you, the people at the club, really well. [I think it’s about] the way that I like to receive the players, the way that I like for them to feel welcomed when they arrive. Making sure that they know the values and the standards of the club. I think that’s something that I always try to pass on to them, while never letting myself let go of those standards as well. Knowing that I have to be the first one showing them. Obviously then I pass that to my team-mates.”
Fans often talk about your celebrations after goals, or after we win a match. You seem like a player that feels a bit like a fan, even though obviously you’ve got a professional job to do. Is that how you feel sometimes, in great moments on the pitch?
“Yeah. I think it’s something that comes when you’ve been with a club for so long, you start looking at the club a bit more than just as a player; than just something that you’re working for. And that’s the way that I like to approach things. Try to know how the fans would feel, how they feel, what they feel for the club, what they know about the club – these are things that I’ve always tried to know and to feel since I arrived. Obviously, when you spend more time on the pitch and you know the emotions that it brings to the fans, then you start becoming a little more like them. And think that’s the best combination that you can have: when you play for a club and you have that love for the club, I think it’s the perfect match.”
“I think it comes [with] everything together. Obviously, I don’t see myself as a senior player; I’m still young. But when you’ve been in a place for so long, you start knowing the people around you, the people at the club, really well. [I think it’s about] the way that I like to receive the players, the way that I like for them to feel welcomed when they arrive. Making sure that they know the values and the standards of the club. I think that’s something that I always try to pass on to them, while never letting myself let go of those standards as well. Knowing that I have to be the first one showing them. Obviously then I pass that to my team-mates.”
Fans often talk about your celebrations after goals, or after we win a match. You seem like a player that feels a bit like a fan, even though obviously you’ve got a professional job to do. Is that how you feel sometimes, in great moments on the pitch?
“Yeah. I think it’s something that comes when you’ve been with a club for so long, you start looking at the club a bit more than just as a player; than just something that you’re working for. And that’s the way that I like to approach things. Try to know how the fans would feel, how they feel, what they feel for the club, what they know about the club – these are things that I’ve always tried to know and to feel since I arrived. Obviously, when you spend more time on the pitch and you know the emotions that it brings to the fans, then you start becoming a little more like them. And think that’s the best combination that you can have: when you play for a club and you have that love for the club, I think it’s the perfect match.”
As we said, you’ve been here for six years now, and you’ve had to fight for your place in the team throughout that period, before really establishing yourself in the first team over the last couple of years as a regular. Is that something that you enjoy, that challenge of having new players come in and fighting for your place? Is that something you have to love at a big club?
“If you want to be at the highest level of football, you have to be prepared for that. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been through every stage at this club: playing, being injured, not being selected by the manager, playing every game… So I’ve been in every stage possible that a football player can be in this period of time, which brings me these experiences and helps me to know sometimes how some of my team-mates are feeling when things are not going so well. So I think that’s an advantage for a football player: to go through all these processes. I’ve been through them and fought for them and tried to overcome them, and I think I’ve been doing that and I still have to keep doing it. Because the expectations will get higher, the demands will always get higher, especially at this club. So I’ve been trying to do that.”
We’ve seen you spend a lot of time in the midfield areas this season, getting into some really attacking positions. Do you enjoy that part of your role and, if that’s the case, what do you enjoy about it?
“It brought me something different. A little bit of a different perspective on the pitch. As you know, and everybody who likes football knows, the game in midfield is a lot quicker than when you’re in the wide areas of the pitch. You always have someone close, you always have someone pressing you, so that makes me think a little bit faster. And it’s something that I’ve been enjoying doing; something that we found as a solution to our way of play. So as long as things are going well, as long as the manager keeps that trust, I will be open to do it.”
“If you want to be at the highest level of football, you have to be prepared for that. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been through every stage at this club: playing, being injured, not being selected by the manager, playing every game… So I’ve been in every stage possible that a football player can be in this period of time, which brings me these experiences and helps me to know sometimes how some of my team-mates are feeling when things are not going so well. So I think that’s an advantage for a football player: to go through all these processes. I’ve been through them and fought for them and tried to overcome them, and I think I’ve been doing that and I still have to keep doing it. Because the expectations will get higher, the demands will always get higher, especially at this club. So I’ve been trying to do that.”
We’ve seen you spend a lot of time in the midfield areas this season, getting into some really attacking positions. Do you enjoy that part of your role and, if that’s the case, what do you enjoy about it?
“It brought me something different. A little bit of a different perspective on the pitch. As you know, and everybody who likes football knows, the game in midfield is a lot quicker than when you’re in the wide areas of the pitch. You always have someone close, you always have someone pressing you, so that makes me think a little bit faster. And it’s something that I’ve been enjoying doing; something that we found as a solution to our way of play. So as long as things are going well, as long as the manager keeps that trust, I will be open to do it.”
90 in 20: United v Brentford Video
90 in 20: United v Brentford
A longer version of the highlights of our clash with Thomas Frank's side is now available...
We’ve seen several new faces come in to the defence this season. How is that going? Can you build those relationships in training, or is it something that can only really be cemented on the pitch in matches?
“It's an every-day challenge, to build this connection. We look at especially the back line, and probably one of the no.6s, as our wall for the team. So we always try to make sure that that connection is really solid. Ultimately, my view is that if we don’t concede goals, we’re going to be closer to winning games. We know from last season that it was not quite there, from a number of situations that I’m not going to mention again. But this season it’s been better. We know we can be even better, so I think that’s a process will take time, not just because of the new arrivals. It’s always different when you get new players but, as a team, we need to fix it.”
Noussair Mazraoui is one of those new faces. He can play similar positions to you – both right and left-back. So what have you made to his start at United and the way he’s slotted in?
“Really good. He’s showed that he’s a really good player. It’s no coincidence that he played in one of the biggest clubs in the world, so for him to be here I think it’s a privilege for us, as players. That’s why the club bought him; that’s why the club wanted him here. We just have to take advantage of his qualities. When he’s on the pitch I think he’s a really good player that can bring us a lot of different things. As long as he still continues helping the team I think he will be really good for us.”
“It's an every-day challenge, to build this connection. We look at especially the back line, and probably one of the no.6s, as our wall for the team. So we always try to make sure that that connection is really solid. Ultimately, my view is that if we don’t concede goals, we’re going to be closer to winning games. We know from last season that it was not quite there, from a number of situations that I’m not going to mention again. But this season it’s been better. We know we can be even better, so I think that’s a process will take time, not just because of the new arrivals. It’s always different when you get new players but, as a team, we need to fix it.”
Noussair Mazraoui is one of those new faces. He can play similar positions to you – both right and left-back. So what have you made to his start at United and the way he’s slotted in?
“Really good. He’s showed that he’s a really good player. It’s no coincidence that he played in one of the biggest clubs in the world, so for him to be here I think it’s a privilege for us, as players. That’s why the club bought him; that’s why the club wanted him here. We just have to take advantage of his qualities. When he’s on the pitch I think he’s a really good player that can bring us a lot of different things. As long as he still continues helping the team I think he will be really good for us.”
We’re starting to see some other full-backs nearing a return from injury. Tyrell Malacia has been involved more in training – the squad must be really glad to see him getting stronger after so long out?
“Yeah. It was really tough to see him and the struggle that he’s been through. You can’t imagine how difficult it would be to not be able to do what you love, your job, for such a long time. That’s why we celebrated when he came on training with us, even if it was just for the little boxes… to make sure that he feels we are ready to welcome him and to keep helping him, because he’s going to need it. At the end of the day, it was a really long time since he got an injury. We’re really pleased to have him. The team needs him and the club needs him, so we are really happy.”
“Yeah. It was really tough to see him and the struggle that he’s been through. You can’t imagine how difficult it would be to not be able to do what you love, your job, for such a long time. That’s why we celebrated when he came on training with us, even if it was just for the little boxes… to make sure that he feels we are ready to welcome him and to keep helping him, because he’s going to need it. At the end of the day, it was a really long time since he got an injury. We’re really pleased to have him. The team needs him and the club needs him, so we are really happy.”
And just a word on Andre Onana’s form. How do you assess his development over the last year?
“I think it’s been more of a change mentally than footballistic attributes. I think he’s the same player. The only thing that he changed is that he is I think more balanced mentally, and really prepared for the highs and lows. At this club, because of the demands and the expectations we have here, it can be really easy for you to fall mentally and to feel really bad. Even when things are going well for you, for you to feel over-hyped. So I think he found this balance of being really calm and really confident, and I think it shows on the pitch that he is really good.”
“I think it’s been more of a change mentally than footballistic attributes. I think he’s the same player. The only thing that he changed is that he is I think more balanced mentally, and really prepared for the highs and lows. At this club, because of the demands and the expectations we have here, it can be really easy for you to fall mentally and to feel really bad. Even when things are going well for you, for you to feel over-hyped. So I think he found this balance of being really calm and really confident, and I think it shows on the pitch that he is really good.”
Back to Top