"It's an honour to be given this opportunity" | OneFootball

Diego will be back at the Weserstadion on Saturday evening for his testimonial match (Photo: W.DE).

Press conference ahead of Diego's testimonial match

The Weserstadion will play host to plenty of familiar faces on Saturday evening for Diego's testimonial match. Countless of the Brazilian's teammates from his time with the Green-Whites will be in attendance, as well as several of his friends and former teammates. During a press conference on Thursday ahead of the match, our former number 10 spoke about…

…the special nature of his testimonial in Bremen: "It's an honour for me to be given this opportunity. It shows how important Werder were, and still are, in my life. Being able to return after 20 years is an honour and Saturday's event is something very special. I was given a testimonial at Flamengo in Rio de Janeiro as well. In Europe, my choice was Werder because the three years I spent here were very special and they rank amongst the best years of my career. The people here did a lot for me and I was able to become a better person and player. I wanted to come full circle here with Werder and wanted to do so with a testimonial match."

…his family's first impressions of Bremen: "I shared a lot of photos with my family to show how proud I was to be part of the Werder family. I've shared a lot about Bremen with my wife and kids and have been able to show them around since we've arrived. I want to share stories with them and show them how proud I am to have been a part of Werder Bremen. Several people recognised me when we were out and about in the city, so I feel very at home and welcome here. Everyone is so friendly."

…his status as a 'popstar' at Werder: "I never felt like I was a popstart at Werder (laughs). I just wanted to play football. I was very young when I arrived in Bremen. Klaus Allofs was the one who brought me to Bremen. He believed in myself and gave me the number 10 shirt. That was very important for me at the time. Being compared to a popstar is funny, but also nice in a way."

"I knew that I would be able to mature here"

Diego played for SV Werder from 2006 to 2009 (Photo: nordphoto).

…selecting players to take part in the match: "I'm really looking forward to seeing some of my old friends and former teammates again. It's a great opportunity to get to play with them again. It wasn't possible for everyone that I invited to attend. It's an honour and I'm looking forward to seeing Baumann, Frings, Borowski, Naldo and everyone else that helped make my career so special again. It's going to be a great party on Saturday."

…his relationship to Torsten Frings during their time at Werder: "He's a leader and we often clashed at the start of my time here (laughs). I was still very young and maybe didn't listen as well at times as I should have. I always wanted to go party afterwards, but always gave it my all on the pitch. Now, we can laugh about it when we look back. I had a lot of respect for him and for Frank Baumann, who were the leaders back then. If you want to win games, then you also had to get together and talk, which was a key factor in our success back then."

…the tough start to life in Bremen: "Of course it's not easy for a young player that doesn't know the language and who also wasn't familiar with winter. But, I knew that this would be a special chapter in my life. I was a challenge and I really wanted to play in Europe and to show what I could do. Thomas Schaaf played a big role in that and was able to teach me a lot. I knew that I would be able to mature here. It ended up going even better than I could have ever imagined."

…Thomas Schaaf: "We met for the first time here at the Weserstadion. We spoke a bit in English and he told me how he'd seen me play for Santos and thought I was talented. He explained a bit of how the team played and what my role would be. It laid it all out very nicely for me. He not only gave me confidence, but also showed me that I could become an important player for Werder and in the Bundesliga. I can still remember going for a run on the beach during training camp in Norderney and how he ran alongside me for 12 kilometres. He didn't take it easy on me and showed me several things that I could do better and really taught me a lot."

…special moments at Werder: "My first day here was very special, as the day on which they welcomed me, followed by my first Bundesliga game against Hannover. I can also remember a defeat we suffered at the start of the season where the fans came up to me afterwards to support and cheer me up, and I was really surprised by this reaction and how it helped strengthen me. The goals against Bayern or Aachen were also very special for me, as well as the 2009 DFB-Pokal final, where I was able to say farewell to the fans."