Mateusz Klich: Leeds Is A Sleeping Giant

Mateusz Klich: Leeds Is A Sleeping Giant

Mateusz Klich answers your questions in Deliveroo's #AskKlichy

As part of Deliveroo's new series #Ask, fans were asked to put forward their questions for Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich. We caught up with the man himself, and he answered as many as possible over 15 minutes.

Read some of his answers below, or watch the full episode now:

Why do you choose the number 43 shirt to wear?

"It was my first number in professional football and I've had it since I was playing at the academy in Cracovia. It's quite a lucky number for me, as I won a cup in Holland whilst wearing it."

Best players you've played alongside and against?

"Alongside, it's got to be Kevin De Bruyne or Robert Lewandowski, but it's a difficult choice. Both are great, but if I had to choose, I'd probably go for Lewandowski.

"Played against... I think Bernardo Silva when we played against Portugal and lost 3-1. He was just unbelievable, you couldn't get near to him, you couldn't get the ball from him."

How did your move to Leeds come about?

"It was quick. To be fair, my agent called me and said he had an offer from Middlesbrough, because Victor Orta was with them at the time. I was at FC Twente and I said if I get an offer from England we should consider it, but then the plan changed.

"I ended up getting an offer from Leeds United [after Victor joined as Director of Football] and I was happier. Obviously they were a Premier League team at the time, but you knew they were going down,   and I don't want to be disrespectful to them, but Leeds is a bigger club. After that, I agreed everything quickly."

Favourite game for Leeds United?

"I think Aston Villa away. It's a great stadium, good team, and it was a great comeback for us. It was a good game, great atmosphere, I didn't play my best game but I liked it very much."

What was it like to score that unbelievable goal against Middlesbrough?

"It was great as I don't score that many goals at Elland Road, maybe Stoke and Middlesbrough (twice), but they've mostly been away. I just picked the ball up from Kalvin, and I did what I like to do, just curl it into the far corner."

Are you a robot? How have you managed such an impressive consecutive game run?

"Haha no, I'm far from being a robot! Luck? I honestly don't know, I have no idea. Not being injured is the big thing, I try to rest and recover as much as possible, whilst also enjoying the training and games. Doing what I can to avoid injuries is the biggest part though, as obviously if you're injured, you can't play, so I just try to maintain that level of fitness."

How do you feel playing for Leeds?

"It's a massive club, the fans are unbelievable, especially when they travel with us in big numbers. I had a friend who was playing in England at the time, and when he knew I was coming here, he told me that I was a lucky guy because Leeds is a sleeping giant. It's a great feeling to play for the club, I would love to get into the Premier League with Leeds, that's why I signed a new contract and I'm happy here."

What is it like playing under Marcelo?

"It's very demanding, very hard, but I enjoy it, you just have to look at the good results. If you're winning games, you don't really think about tiredness and everything, you just keep playing, and we look very good."

What is the best stadium you've played in away from Elland Road?

"It's difficult. I like Wembley, but I also like our national stadium in Poland very much, and the Emirates was a great stadium when we played there in the FA Cup. If I had to choose between them, it'd have to be our national stadium in Warsaw. It's very beautiful, and also new as they built it in 2012 for the Euros."

What tips would give someone wanting to get into football?

"Train! Kick balls and just play all the time. The most difficult thing to learn is your own technique, passing and first touch. Everything else, like running, muscles, gym work,  I think you can learn later on, but once you get to 17 or 18, I don't think you can learn technique. So you just need to keep practicing kicking a ball."

What games are you playing at the moment?

"Yeah I'm playing League of Legends, then the new game Valorant from Riot Games, Counter-Strike a little, and that's it."

Where did you learn to breakdance?

"Haha! You know there was a thing when I was younger in primary school, I wanted to be  graffitiing and breakdancing. I tried skateboarding but it was dangerous for my legs, so I stopped it, but yeah, just in between classes we'd do stupid things, and breakdancing was one of them. It's funny because I can't do it."

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