FIVE THINGS WE LEARNED FROM DIOGO DALOT'S PODCAST

Have you listened to Diogo Dalot’s UTD Podcast yet?

The Manchester United full-back is the latest member of the squad to sit down with our team, in an episode released on Deezer and a range of other podcast platforms today (Tuesday).

On the menu for discussion are Dalot’s early days in Portugal, his experiences working with Jose Mourinho and playing as himself on football computer games.

It’s a 45-minute listen, during which we learned the following… and much, much more!

HIS NAME ISN’T ACTUALLY DIOGO…

It’s Jose, or, to give him his full moniker, Jose Diogo Dalot Teixeira. The full-back sheds some light on the reason he goes by Diogo right at the beginning of the podcast.

“My father loves football,” Diogo (or should we say Jose?) stresses. “He wanted to be a player but he didn’t because my grandma obligated him to go study and no football because, back in the day, it was difficult to be a football player.

“He had a vision for me in the future. He knew those names [Diogo Dalot] would be catchier. You can catch more those names, instead of Jose or Teixeira!”

HE MANAGES HIS OWN SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

Since joining United in 2018, Diogo has become used to the demands of playing for one of the world’s most famous clubs. As well as practising his signature and adapting to the differences between fans in Portugal and England, Dalot also has to navigate the often-tricky world of social media, as previously discussed on the podcast with Jesse Lingard.

While players usually have professionals to manage their accounts for them, Dalot looks after his own.

“Everything I post, it’s from myself, my point of view,” he says. “Of course, you have advice from other, older people and more experienced people. Even if you’re 30 years old, you’re still growing up. The older guys from the team, this technology is newer for them than the younger lads.

“They’re not more used to that but they need to be used to it, because that’s the world now.”

WHY HE CHOSE THE NO. 20 SHIRT

As a right-back, it was only natural that Diogo would have liked to choose the no. 2 when he signed from Porto. Unfortunately, Victor Lindelof, a previous subject of the pod, is the current incumbent of that shirt, so the Portuguese had to opt for the number made famous by United’s manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

“As soon as I got the deal done, I was searching for numbers,” Dalot revealed. “Of course, I was sad because Victor had the no. 2 but the rest, you see the availability and you just choose.

“I was between 22 and 20. Sergio Romero wanted the 22 and, of course, I had the 20. I was 20 years old at that time, it had the number two and then the famous song of ’20 times, Man United’. So little things like that made me choose the number and it’s a legendary number with [Robin] van Persie and Ole.”

INJURIES HAVE ONLY MADE HIM STRONGER

After moving to United, Dalot’s debut was delayed until September due to a knee injury. He has also missed large parts of this campaign, with hip and groin problems, but insists the whole experience of playing for United and overcoming his fitness issues have only strengthened his resolve to establish himself at the club.

“I think, when you're not playing regularly, when things are difficult, the easiest way is to run away from them, but, for me, I don't like that. It's been a really tough challenge for me, but I’m willing to fight for it because I think that I can play here for many years, play as much as I can. I just need that chance, that time. Sometimes you just need that click, to have the opportunities, and to grab that.

“Some people might think that's been terrifying for me or terrible for my career but it's been fantastic in terms of knowledge, in terms of growing up, in terms of playing as well, but I didn't change this for another thing. I don't regret any of the decisions that I made to come here. I’m very proud to be a Man United player and I just want to make part of the history of the club as well. I think I have everything to do that but I just need the opportunity and the time for that.”

THE BEST SHOT HE EVER TOOK… DIDN’T GO IN!

Dalot played a key role in our historic Champions League comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain, helping win the injury-time penalty Marcus Rashford eventually converted. Even though he admits the long-range effort which hit the arm of Presnel Kimpembe was, most likely, not heading towards goal, he’s still thankful he made the decision which ultimately helped complete one of the most amazing continental nights in Reds’ history.

“When you dream about being successful in football and you want to win things, those moments are when you really feel like that,” the full-back recalls.

“The shot was going into the stands though! In my mind, when I shoot, I was like this is going to be an amazing goal. But it’s like that, if I passed the ball to the side, maybe we wouldn’t be talking about this? It’s unbelievable when you think, in those moments.”