Former Porto manager reveals how Real Madrid ace achieved stardom – ‘Had quality but…’ | OneFootball

After spending close to a year on the sidelines through an ACL injury, Eder Militao has once again returned as a bonafide starter in Carlo Ancelotti’s plans.

His fitness has not been at its best this term with a few hiccups forcing him out of action for short spells. When fit, however, he is the manager’s first-choice centre-back alongside Antonio Rudiger.

Militao’s early days

Speaking to the media, former FC Porto manager Sergio Conceicao revealed facts on Militao’s early days and training regimen under his command when they coincided at the Portuguese club.

“Militao played in Sao Paolo as a lateral and could be a defensive midfielder. He was a monster physically and had a lot of quality.”

“But from there, nothing more. We had to do a specific job to make it become the business it was,” he added on the work put in to make Militao the defender he is.

More work

Eder Militao played for Porto for one season. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Elaborating on the different aspects he worked on with the Brazilian star, he said,

“The work was on video and the field, of team behaviours that I had no notion of. We did specific training for him. He understood very well because he was intelligent.”

Finally, he praised Militao for his evolution and revealed a fun story about his former Porto days.

“Also off the field because if later he was going to dance the samba, if he ate picanha, it would have been complicated for him to reach this fantastic level that he is at Real Madrid. Militao has evolved a lot.”

The player did not participate in Brazil’s games in the recent international break and is now expected to be fit for Los Blancos’ clash against Celta Vigo this weekend. Needless to say, there will be caution from the management to ensure that he is phased in slowly.

Source: Mundo Deportivo