Claudio Braga has insisted he is happy at Hearts and is leaving any transfer interest for his agents to deal with, as the Scottish Premiership Player of the Year is linked with an £8 million move to French giants Lyon.
Braga Focused on Champions League Dream
The Jambos' No. 10 is more focused on fulfilling his 'dream' of playing in the Champions League with the Tynecastle club and points out that he still has two years left on his deal in Gorgie. The noises he is making suggest Braga is keen to be part of new boss Wouter Vrancken's squad at least until after the second round qualifying clash against Sturm Graz.
“I have two years left on my contract and I really like where I am,” he told Abola. “Anything regarding interest is handled by my agents. I stay out of it. I’m about to fulfil one of my biggest dreams. Just knowing it’s possible to play in the Champions League is incredible, even if it’s only a qualifier.
“We’re facing a very strong team in Sturm Graz, but at Tynecastle we’re very strong as well. We proved that last season. We’ve lost some players, that’s true, but we’re strengthening the squad. At home, anything can happen. Away from home we’ll give everything, but above all we want to enjoy the opportunity, shine and take this club into the league phase.”
Heartbreak of Near-Perfect Season
Braga has also opened up on the 'horrible' end to what was so close to being a perfect season for him last term. Hearts were three minutes away from clinching a first Premiership title in 66 years before succumbing to late Celtic pressure in a final day shoot-out, when a 3-1 win for the Hoops saw them claim a fifth crown on the bounce.
“It was horrible,” said Braga. “Almost everything about the season was perfect. Every time we lost or drew, we always responded by winning the next match. We never had two draws or two defeats in a row.
“But after coming so close to lifting the trophy and then seeing everything change in the final seconds and Celtic celebrating… the season stopped being historic and incredible because that last piece was the most important.
“We hardly spent any time in Glasgow. We left the pitch straight away because the Celtic fans invaded. So we went straight to the dressing room. There was no team talk, we didn’t even get changed or have a shower. We went straight onto the bus.
“Thousands of people were waiting for us at Tynecastle. That’s when it really hit us. As we got off the bus we all started crying. We felt we’d let people down, even though nobody at the club ever expected us to get that far.
“After coming so close and losing, seeing so many people smiling, supporting us, singing and welcoming us like that… I’m getting goosebumps talking about it. It was incredible. It wasn’t what we wanted, but we made most of the supporters proud.”
Injury and Tactical Decisions
Braga was benched for the final day showdown at Parkhead with manager Derek McInnes revealing that the forward had been carrying an injury. But Braga has now explained that that was not the only reason Landry Kabore got the nod ahead of him.
He added: “It was a mixed bag, for physical and tactical reasons. I’d had some pain for a while, and the coach decided to bring on the other striker and then substitute me when the central defenders were tired, because he thought the other forward could give more physically at the beginning, and then I’d come on fresher.
“It was a bit of both, but at the same time, I felt good and really wanted to play. It was the most important game of my life. But it was the coach’s decision, and everything’s fine. Obviously, being the most important game of my life and after having played almost every game, there was that bitter feeling of not having been able to help the team.”
