Baptista eyes Real return
19 Apr 2007 - 09:47:27
On-loan Arsenal forward Julio Baptista looks set to return to Real Madrid in the summer after admitting he and his family are finding it hard to adjust to life in England.
The Brazil international has found the net in the league on just two occasions since swapping La Liga for the Premiership last summer.
Baptista, who cost Real Madrid £13million when they signed him from Sevilla in 2005, was allowed to leave the Bernabeu in an exchange deal which saw Jose Antonio Reyes head in the opposite direction on a season-long loan.
But the former Sao Paulo frotman's days at the Emirates Stadium appear to be numbered after he revealed his dislike for the style of football played in the Premiership.
"I could stay at Arsenal, but right now I can't see myself anywhere for definite," he told The Times.
"But it's clear in my mind that I would tackle my second chance with Real with far more strength and maturity than I did in my first spell."
Referring to life in England, he added: "The teams from the north of England are terrible.
"When we play them I have counted their centre-backs booting up to 30 long balls upfield per game.
"The weather over here is killing me. We'll get one day of sunshine for every 30 days of rain, and it is driving me to despair.
"My girlfriend and my mother are frightened about not seeing the sun in England. They miss being in Madrid.
"Premiership football is very hard. I am Brazilian and I enjoy playing the ball, making clever touches and taking bicycle kicks.
"(Arsenal manager) Arsene Wenger does not forbid me from doing them, but the game is so fast I don't even have time to think about them.
"The moment you stop to think, someone has taken the ball off you and knocked you to the ground.
"Over here they value a corner kick more than a fancy flick. I am lucky to be with Arsenal, as they are a team that likes to play proper football."