Due to little use at Bruno Lage’s Benfica, Tiago Gouveia chose to leave in this last summer market and was loaned to Nice until the end of the season, with an option to buy for 8 million euros, but in the meantime, his former coach also left and José Mourinho arrived, considering that he would have given him more minutes than his predecessor.
«I have to answer the question directly, whether or not I would have made the same decision… I am originally a vertical winger, manager José Mourinho seems to like more vertical wingers. Lukebakio had a lot of playing time before the injury, Rodrigo Rêgo himself is a winger with whom I even identify a little in the way he plays, he has some similarities with me and he was a player that the manager debuted”, said the Portuguese, in an interview with Sport TV, implying that he regrets the decision to leave.
«Ivan Lima is also a vertical winger, that is, looking at the characteristics of the players that the manager has used in that position and looking at my characteristics, perhaps he could have more minutes than I would have with manager Bruno Lage», he explained, as he has not yet scored or assisted this season, for either club, in 17 games.
The 24-year-old winger’s team is going through a very bad time and has suffered 9 consecutive defeats in all competitions, and, in addition to being 13th in Ligue 1, fighting for maintenance, it has also been eliminated from the league stage of the UEFA Europa League, in which it lost to FC Porto and SC Braga and has zero points. After another defeat against Lens (0-2) in the league, the frustrated fans welcomed the players and insulted them at the entrance to the training center.
«The situation was a little tough, because no one was waiting. We were waiting because we were told when we arrived at the airport that they would be here waiting for us. They warned us that there were 100 or 200 here, I think there were a little more, and as time passed, the scenario changed a little, they forced us to get off the bus and pass between them, because they blocked the entrance to the training center”, he said, stating that the situation went beyond the limits.
«We had to leave the training center and walk to the training center, in the middle of them. And then we went practically one by one, we didn’t even go in a group, and I walked, I didn’t even look back, I kept going forward. I was a little insulted, I think they got a little out of control, they crossed the line, but that’s in the past. Of course this is marked, it leaves a scar on the group, but we have our work to do, we are confident and that is the most important thing», he guaranteed.
