Called up since 2019, Douglas Luiz joined the Brazilian National Team after a great individual and collective season with Aston Villa (ENG), who will return to dispute the Champions League for the first time since 1983. He is one of the midfielders fighting for a starting spot in Dorival Junior’s team, alongside Andreas Pereira, Bruno Guimarães, João Gomes, Éderson and Lucas Paquetá.
In a press conference held on Friday (14), the 26-year-old player praised the healthy competition to be among the starting 11 and reinforced that the goal is always to help the Brazilian National Team.
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“I’m here to give my best for the National Team, of course I really want to start playing. But we know it’s a very healthy competition, a very young midfield. Everyone is here to give their best and help the National Team,” he said.
In the last season, Douglas played 53 matches, with ten goals and ten assists, in addition to 90% passing accuracy. Wearing the Yellow jersey, the player has 14 caps and is still looking for his first goal, but not his first conquest. The most special one was the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Douglas was revealed by Vasco, where he stood out and was bought in 2017 by the City Group, from Manchester City (ENG), but was loaned to Girona (ESP). In Spanish football, he attracted the interest of Aston Villa, being signed in 2019.
Standout in the Birmingham team, fourth place in the last English Premier League, he was called up for the friendlies against England and Spain, in March, and praised the work of Dorival Júnior, highlighting the coach’s willingness to listen to his players on how they prefer to be scaled. Douglas, for example, can play as a defensive or box-to-box midfielder.
“Dorival always calls us to talk. I think this start of a new cycle is being very good, because there is a lot of communication. Dorival, he is the coach, he decides, but he asks where we feel better. This rotation will be normal, sometimes having a defensive midfielder or not. I think it depends a lot on what the game is demanding and what Dorival will understand at the moment,” he explained.
Douglas was among the players called up for the 2021 Copa América, held in Brazil. The competition did not have a positive outcome for the Brazilian National Team, who, in this edition in the United States, are seeking their 10th title in the tournament. Brazil’s debut is scheduled for June 24, against Costa Rica, in Los Angeles (USA).
“Every call-up is a huge responsibility because you are wearing this National Team jersey. It’s a matter of wanting to win and go down in history, I think it’s an extra something. We are very excited to be able to start this Copa América, it’s the beginning of a new trajectory, of a new coach, of a new group. Certainly we want to go down in history with many titles and victories,” he said.
The midfielder also praised Dorival’s work and his coaching staff off the pitch.
“Our off-the-field group is quite integrated. The coaching staff gives us a lot of freedom to do what we want. I think that’s what Dorival has been doing, he’s been earning our trust and our hearts by giving everything for the National Team and the coaching staff,” he highlighted.
