Former Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva has opened up about his first year away from the club.
The Lazio man did an interview with the club’s official website, in which he reflected about his first season away from England in a decade.
After making 346 appearances for the Reds, the Brazilian international moved to Serie A and joined up with former Liverpool man Luis Alberto.
It’s safe to say that he’s flourish in Europe. Lucas scored just seven goals during his entire Liverpool career, and he’s already banged in four for Lazio – something he puts down to an increased self-belief and the drive to keep improving.
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According to the midfielder, Jurgen Klopp always encouraged the legend to be more of an attacking force and that has finally paid off.
"“I’ve been working on this,” he said. “I remember Klopp as well, he said a few times to me I could score a few goals. But it was something in my head that was blocking me and I had a different perception.“I always felt that if I went too much forward then maybe I would leave my teammates not protected. So I started to work on this here and with the confidence with games you start to, I wouldn’t say take more risks, but go a bit more forward and measure the risk without leaving the team exposed.”"
Lucas has slotted straight into his new side’s style of play and was a tremendous asset as the club finished fifth in the league – level on points with Inter Milan but with a goal difference that was worse by four.
And while the Premier League is intense, it perhaps lacks the tactical structure of the continent. “I would say the Premier League is more intense in terms of the players,” he continued. “But in Italy I’ve been learning a lot about tactical movements and shape, things like this.”
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With 50 appearances in all competitions, the former Gremio starlet proved to be an excellent investment on his £5.13 million transfer fee.
In fact, the gaps in the squad would have meant Lucas could have played an important role in the squad – although it was probably time for his 10 year involvement at Anfield to come to an end.
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It’s good to see such a well liked man leave Merseyside and flourish in another league – and interviews like this are a welcome window into his post-Liverpool life.