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'I failed to adapt'
Eurosport
Robinho has admitted he failed at Manchester City because he struggled to adapt to the English style of football.

Speaking exclusively to Eurosport, the Brazilian said he did not have a problem with manager Roberto Mancini, despite being sent out on loan shortly after the Italian replaced Mark Hughes.

"English football is difficult," said Robinho, now at Milan.

"It's not easy to adapt to it. In English football it's not the whole team playing, touching the ball in the Brazilian way.

"Mancini is an excellent coach. I never had any problem with him. He was always a good coach, and always respected me, and I always respected him. The problem is that English football is not an easy game for me."

Robinho went on loan to Santos in January, six weeks after Mancini took the manager's job, but the forward said he was motivated by a desire to make Brazil's World Cup squad having fallen down the pecking order at City.

"I had the project to arrive to the World Cup in a good physical condition. And at Manchester City, I was not playing every game. So it was not good for my fitness," he said.

"I know myself physically, and I know that the more I play the better I am physically. That's why I decided to go back to Santos. My goal was really to be on top for the World Cup."

Robinho arrived at City for a British record fee of £32.5 million in September 2008, on the same day the club was bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan.

Despite a largely disappointing time at the club, in which he scored 16 goals in 53 games, Robinho said it was the right move for both him and for City, as he paved the way for other big-name players to join.

"You have to demonstrate your value on the pitch. I don't feel a better or a worse player because I was the most expensive," he said.

"I believe it was good for me and for City, because I opened the doors for other big players to come to City. Maybe if I hadn't signed there, no other big player would have signed there. I was the first of the big players present in this club. So it was good."

Fair enough hes admitting he couldnt handle the Prem League but that last paragraph is bollox.

shawzy wrote:Fair enough hes admitting he couldnt handle the Prem League but that last paragraph is bollox.

This ^^^

still miss him :(

1:55, that's how you celebrate a goal.
[youtube]vQsrTk48tGY&feature=related[/youtube]

I wonder if he banged his head on the door frame (both sides) on his way out.

Maybe it's just me, but I can't see what he's said wrong there.

He was the 1st big name, the loan did help him for the world cup and he didn't truly adapt to the English game. What's the problem?

Meh. W've moved on.

Agree with the pretty one. Ex-player doesn't slag us off in the press, gibbon response will be- let's lynch him anyway...

Not often I agree with PBL and JF but I don't have any issue with what he said, bit of a pussy excuse if one asks the question "why didn't you work harder to adapt" but I agree with him in terms of the fact that him coming did make it easier for us to sit down at the table with the likes of Kaka, Tevez, Balotelli, Yaya when previously even getting in front of them and their advisors would have been a struggle.

I loved watching him play when he was on song but it was the right move for him and us for him to leave. We don't miss him and I don't imagine he misses the rough and tumble of England.

It was smashing whilst it lasted though.

the only reason why top players now sit down at City negotiation table is that we now have a manager with a proven track record of buildiing success.
I admit I am a bit harsh on this but Robinho was already here when Hughesie spent silly money to comply with fast expectations and I do not buy for a moment that he did it because he's daft. The bargains he made of Vinnie and Nige are here to prove it.

the only means of Robinho was:

Chinners wrote: he was an excellent 'statement of intent' by our new owners within 24 hours of buying the club. The whole football world sat up and noticed.

That said I'll have my daily slice of humble pie and I am gonna follow the Socs warning...:-)

I'd almost forgotten he'd played for us his legacy was that thin on the ground.

What he's said is quite respectful and fair enough. As for not adapting, David Silva has a smaller physical frame than Robinho, plays for a Spain team that plays much better stuff than any of the Brazil sides of Robinho's career, and has taken to the Prem like a duck to water.

Obviously a better player by Robinho's own criteria.

ant london wrote:Not often I agree with PBL and JF but I don't have any issue with what he said, bit of a pussy excuse if one asks the question "why didn't you work harder to adapt" but I agree with him in terms of the fact that him coming did make it easier for us to sit down at the table with the likes of Kaka, Tevez, Balotelli, Yaya when previously even getting in front of them and their advisors would have been a struggle.

I loved watching him play when he was on song but it was the right move for him and us for him to leave. We don't miss him and I don't imagine he misses the rough and tumble of England.

It was smashing whilst it lasted though.

I agree too. He gave us mega headlines and raised our profile overnight such as a year's worth of marketing effort couldn't do. Well, his 'signing' did, not him! But he didn't quite phrase the last paragraph to well - or the translator didn't!

Alioune DVToure wrote:What he's said is quite respectful and fair enough. As for not adapting, David Silva has a smaller physical frame than Robinho, plays for a Spain team that plays much better stuff than any of the Brazil sides of Robinho's career, and has taken to the Prem like a duck to water.Obviously a better player by Robinho's own criteria.

That's my drift too, Robbie is a major star at the peak of his career, it's not acceptable to say "English football is difficult....It's not easy to adapt to it. In English football it's not the whole team playing, touching the ball in the Brazilian way...the problem is that English football is not an easy game for me."
Who said it should be easy? To just pack up and move back to play easy football with his pals in sunny Santos after we paid £34m for him was a kick in the teeth for us.

johnny crossan wrote:

Alioune DVToure wrote:What he's said is quite respectful and fair enough. As for not adapting, David Silva has a smaller physical frame than Robinho, plays for a Spain team that plays much better stuff than any of the Brazil sides of Robinho's career, and has taken to the Prem like a duck to water.Obviously a better player by Robinho's own criteria.

That's my drift too, Robbie is a major star at the peak of his career, it's not acceptable to say "English football is difficult....It's not easy to adapt to it. In English football it's not the whole team playing, touching the ball in the Brazilian way...the problem is that English football is not an easy game for me."
Who said it should be easy? To just pack up and move back to play easy football with his pals in sunny Santos after we paid £34m for him was a kick in the teeth for us.

Luckily enough someone was daft enough to pay £15M 2 years later!

Now't wrong with what he's said and at least he's realised what we all know.

I miss Robinho :(

Socrates wrote:Agree with the pretty one. Ex-player doesn't slag us off in the press, gibbon response will be- let's lynch him anyway...

I've seen players lynched before they've joined us.

Shit, I've even seen the best ones being slated after they joined us mate :)

Socrates wrote:Agree with the pretty one. Ex-player doesn't slag us off in the press, gibbon response will be- let's lynch him anyway...

Aye. I'm in this camp.

When it comes to the perception of our club, the Robinho signing was the turning point for everyone. That includes us fans. I still couldn't believe he'd signed for us even when he was doing his daft celebrations and the whole stadium was partying.

So he couldn't adapt to the Prem and he's man enough to admit it. Well done fella. Best of luck for the future. Shame it didn't work out. I wish it had.

Socrates wrote:Agree with the pretty one. Ex-player doesn't slag us off in the press, gibbon response will be- let's lynch him anyway...

Not lynching him atall m8...I thought he was a cracking Marqee signing at the time and we turned alot of heads when he xame to us.
What im disagreeing on, is when he said.Perhaps other big names wouldnt have come.
Tevez is his own man and so is Kolo and Ade...They didnt sign for us because of Robinho lol.

A post script:
AC Milan star Robinho denies he flopped at Manchester City.

Robinho has rebuilt his career at Milan this season.

He told ESPN Soccernet: "I don't think it is fair to say I was a disaster at City.
"It's important to remember that I scored 14 goals in my first season there and ended up as the club's top scorer. There were not too many more players in the Premier League who scored as often as me, so it was not all bad. For my first year in the Premier League, it went pretty well and I felt the City crowd were on my side.
"The trouble came in the second season. I had injury problems and the new coach [Roberto Mancini] went with other options in attack. I'm not going to blame Mancini for what happened because he had respect for me. He laid out what the situation was, but I did not feel as if I would be a regular part of his team and this was a problem.
"What made me want to leave was that [with] the World Cup in South Africa coming up, there was no way Dunga [the then Brazil manager] would have picked me if I was only playing occasionally for City. Being an impact player was no use to me and I had to go back to my old club Santos before finding a home here in Milan.
"Every experience in life has its good and not-so-good points. I have many warm memories of City. Certain goals, certain matches and, of course, the enthusiasm and passion of the fans. They are real people with the same sort of commitment to their club as a Brazilian supporter."
Robinho further explained why his compatriots fail to settle down in England quickly.
"England is a hard place for a Brazilian to perform," explained Robinho. "I'm an expressive and instinctive player, while the Premier League puts a lot of emphasis on systems and fitting into a certain mould.
"I wasn't helped either by the price on my head. City paid a lot of money and went to a lot of trouble bringing me in. The expectations on me were huge and in a way you become a target and it is also true that I had great difficulty adapting to life in England.
"It was a culture shock for me, the weather was very different, and I became unhappy. I live and play through my emotions and when they aren't right, I'm not right."

so it was the weather in the Barcelona of the North after all