In the summer of 2022, Juventus snatched the services of Gleison Bremer from under Inter’s nose, overtaking their rivals at the eleventh hour.
The Brazilian had already cemented himself as one of the best defenders in Serie A during his time with the Old Lady’s crosstown rivals Torino.
Nevertheless, the 26-year-old reveals that he was willing to quit at one point during his early days with the Granata.
However, it was then-Torino coach Walter Mazzarri who gave him the motivation to stay and fight for a spot.
Therefore, Bremer still considers the returning Napoli manager as a father figure.
“Mazzarri was like a father figure to me,” said Bremer in an interview with Telegraph Sport.
“I had a really rough first year at Torino as I didn’t have a lot of opportunities and it got to the time where I wanted to leave.
“But Mazzarri had a speech, letting me know that he counted on me and telling me to have patience and to learn the tactical aspects of football.
“I came from football where defence was approached differently to Italy so he told me to learn the game and when there was a time when I got the opportunity. It was exactly how it went. After a year I got my opportunity and never stopped playing.”
On another note, the Juventus stalwart revealed two former Premier League defenders as his role models.
The first is his compatriot David Luiz who represented Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, while the other is former Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany. He also reveals his desire to play in England one day.
“I have a couple of role models in England playing at centre-back. I watched David Luiz at Chelsea, a Premier League winner and a Champions League winner. But also Vincent Kompany in all the years he played at Manchester City.
“I like La Liga and the Premier League which is a very exciting championship and I watch a lot of matches and they are very entertaining.
“One day I would like to play in the Premier League but right now I am focused on Juventus and winning trophies with them, we are one of the best teams in the world.”
