Rafinha slams Magath’s Schalke boot camp

Brazilian Rafinha, freshly-arrived at Sampdoria, on Wednesday told German media he was glad to have left behind former side Schalke, saying disciplinarian coach Felix Magath ran a boot camp.

“It’s tough for a Brazilian to work with him. After the way he treated me I think I could become a general in the Brazilian army,” Rafinha told Sport Bild magazine.

“We Brazilians upset him with the way we are. We have a laugh, we talk a lot whereas he is calm and concentrated and above all he works in a way which is not really synonymous with pleasure. I sometimes had the impression I was in the army,” the defender complained.

Magath, who twice won the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich and then with unfashionable Wolfsburg, is known for his authoritarian methods.

One former player dubbed him “Europe’s last ruling dictator.”

Magath took Schalke to second place last season behind Bayern and now fans will be waiting to see how his methods rub off on new arrival and Spanish legend Raul, who has joined from Real Madrid.