Bruno Langa: "Atlético de Madrid's visit motivates me more than intimidates me"

Between Spain and Mozambique, there is much more than 8,000km that Bruno Langa had to travel based on tons of effort. The UD Almería defender, recently signed in the January transfer window, began his journey with some second-hand football boots, bought by his mother with the money saved by his 5 siblings in Maputo: 'There, we lived in a very humble neighborhood, in a cabin where there was no electricity or running water. We had to go very far to carry many bottles of water. My mother would take care of me and my 5 siblings. I remember that with the money they chipped in, my mum was able to buy me some second-hand football boots with which to fight to become a footballer.'

The 26-year-old player did his bit but he does not forget those people who did not let him give up: 'In that neighborhood, we were humble but we always helped each other. I'm here, in the Spanish league, thanks to many people and especially because of my brothers and mother,' he says excitedly during the interview conducted by UDA Radio, the Club's official radio station. 

After his first two games with UD Almería, opponents, who this week are playing the Champions League round of 16, are coming to the South coast: 'If you ask me if they intimidate me or motivate me, I'd say the second; we're a great team and this is a game that we all want to play to show our strengths. It's a dream,' he explained. 

We learned in this interview about the beginnings of the Mozambican defender: 'I've played in a lot of positions, even as a left-footed centre-back; also in the midfield but in Portugal I started as a winger until they placed me on the wing and there, I stayed as such.' On that note, he stated: 'I love going high up the pitch on the wing and I'm sure that as I feel better, I'll go more offensively, however, in the Spanish league, the level is high and you always have to defend well before going on the attack.'