Question: How has your acclimatisation to Sevilla and LaLiga gone?
Answer: I’m adapting very well to Sevilla. From the first day I came here I saw that I had great teammates, and the coach also helped me a lot. The people here have helped me to feel good and I’m already very well adapted. I love the football here in LaLiga, because all of the teams like to have the ball. I also like to have the ball and you see good football here.
Q: What stands out to you about LaLiga?
A: What I said before: That all of the teams like to have the ball. Teams that are maybe a little lower down the table also like to have the ball, and normally in other leagues the teams at the bottom don’t try and play as attractive football. They wait to score. It’s also a very tough league. In the first half of the season, bar one or two easy games, in every victory we’ve had to fight a lot.
Q: The teams have a style that involves a lot of touches.
A: Yes, here the teams like to fight, they like to play, they like to score, they like to go on the counterattack, I love it, and it’s very difficult for us to play against teams that play so well.
Q: How does it feel to score a hat trick on your debut?
A: That was a very special moment. I took the ball home because it was a very special moment. I hadn’t expected to score a hat-trick, but these things happen and I was very happy. That’s football.
Q: What do you remember about that day?
A: The first thing I remember is that I thought I had to do a good job and comply with what the coach had asked me to do. I was thinking that I was new to the club and that I had to earn the trust of my teammates. I started to get chances, I felt I could score and in the end I scored three times.
Q: Is the game against Real Madrid one of the most special moments in your life?
A: It was very special. I was happy because we won and it was also my mother’s birthday. I had a lot of people watching me at the stadium, I scored two goals and I was very happy.
Q: You scored against Real Madrid and it was also your mother’s birthday.
A: I was very happy, not just because I scored against Real Madrid but because things were going well for me and my family were close by.
Q: You must know what it means for a player to score against Real Madrid.
A: I do. We know that it’s very difficult to score against great teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona or Atlético Madrid, but at the start of every game we want to win and we want to score goals.
Q: Tell me about that atmosphere when you step onto the pitch at the Sánchez-Pizjuán and hear the club anthem
A: It’s very special. I get goosebumps because it’s a very nice moment that I’m not used to, and it’s not the first time I’ve experienced that in Seville. When we play at night, the lights go out and we feel like the whole stadium is singing the anthem. It’s very beautiful.
Q: Is it one of the most beautiful things that have happened to you as a professional player?
A: Yes. It is one of the most beautiful things because it is something special and I feel the affection and the energy of the fans.
Q: Do you feel that affection from the fans?
A: Yes, the impression I get is that they like me. I have to thank everyone and I’ll continue doing my job.
Q: What do you like most about your team?
A: What I like about my team is that we can play against whoever is in front of us. We are a team that work on our style of play. We can both play on the counter and in possession. I think we are a very complete team that, when we need to do something, we do it. Or when we need to do something else, we do that. We aren’t specialists in just one thing, such as possession of the ball.
Q: You’re a very attacking side.
A: If we look at the names on the teamsheet, it looks like an attacking side, but players like Ben Yedder, Mudo Vázquez, Pablo and I are the first to make sure that we also defend. We have a lot of team spirit. On the pitch, when we see that one of us can’t press, we stay back and stick together.
Q: How would you define Pablo Machín?
A: Brave. What surprised me the most about him is that, when I was called about coming here, I felt that the club wanted me here. I felt that I was a player that the coach wanted and that I was special.
Q: Has that trust been something he’s always transmitted to you?
A: Yes, right from the start. He looks after the little details. I don’t know if he wanted to transmit it or not, but I’ve felt it from the beginning.
Q: Tell me about the André Silva-Ben Yedder partnership.
A: Ben Yedder and I get along well. We are scoring goals and we are helping Sevilla to be up at the top. One of us does one thing and the other does another; we are always trying to complement each other to help Sevilla.
Q: Have you set a target for the amount of goals you want to score?
A: I don’t set limits for myself. For me the most important thing is to help Sevilla and if I focus only on goals I won’t work as well.
Q: What is it like to play against Messi?
A: It’s a special moment. We all know Messi, we know who he is. I have already had two chances to play against him and it was very special.
Q: Does it motivate you be labelled as Cristiano Ronaldo’s successor or does it put pressure on you?
A: Cristiano is Cristiano. I can only hope to achieve what he has, but Cristiano is his own player, a great player. I am André Silva and I want to carve my path. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I have a long way ahead.
Q: Has he given you any advice about Spain?
A: Yes. Whenever we go away with the national team we talk and he always tells me things. He has always helped me a lot.
Q: What are your goals for this season at Sevilla?
A: The objective now is to go match by match, and in every game we have to go out there to win.
Q: Is it a dream to qualify for the Champions League?
A: I think everybody knows it. We want to qualify for the Champions League. Sevilla have the quality and in the end I think we will be happy.
Q: Which Sevilla player has surprised you the most?
A: The first surprise I had was with Jesus Navas, because I did not expect him to run so much and I couldn’t believe how much he ran in games.
Q: Which number 9s in LaLiga do you like the most?
A: In our league … André Silva.
Q: Which Spanish team has surprised you?
A: Barcelona. I think they were the team that beat us that created the most difficulty.
Q: What about the less well-known sides?
A: Alavés, because now they are up at the top, and when we played there it was a very difficult ground. It is very small and we found it very hard.
Q: Finally, do you have a dream for this season?
A: To be happy.
