Fulham forward Rodrigo Muniz is one of the featured interviews on this weekend’s Football Focus.
The Brazilian striker, who has scored eight goals in nine games since returning to the starting line-up at the beginning of February, credits his remarkable recent form with the confidence gained from visiting a psychologist.
“I think I score goals now because my physiologist helped me a lot. I have one guy who helped me. I spoke with him a lot. I spoke with him after the Tottenham game because I had one chance and I missed the chance. I said to him, ‘I think six months ago, if this happened – done, the game’s finished. But after this, I said, ‘Okay, I’ll just score next time’ – and from the next ball, I scored.”
The strength of Muniz’s bond with Marco Silva also shines through.
“Since I arrived in Fulham, he speaks every day with me. I think now he gives me more confidence – and my team-mates as well. I set my target before the season: eight goals. Now I need ten”.
The 22 year-old reveals that he bases his game on the goalscoring exploits of Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“Ibrahmovic scored a lot of goals. He’s big, tall, strong. His movement in the box … unbelievable!”
Perhaps the most interesting element of the cosy conversation at Motspur Park was the news that Muniz has spent his spare time visiting British safari parks.
“I like a lot animals. I went to Birmingham safari. It was unbelievable. In my holidays now, I go to Pantanal to fish, in the amazon. God, football, fishing. Ooh! There’s nothing better.”
There’s also a hilarious moment where Muniz, who says the best tourist attraction in London has to be Madame Tussauds, discloses that the real Mo Salah looks a lot like the waxwork figure he’d seen in the capital – and marvels at the idea of his own likeness appearing at the landmark in the future.
