Exclusive:'I enjoy fighting' - exclusive interview with Wolves' South American battler

In many ways he is a modern athlete with impressive physicality and technical ability, but on the other hand he is a maverick - a member of the old school that loves a firm tackle.

In typical South American style, the defender cannot help himself but get embroiled in skirmishes during games and last season clips were widely shared of the Colombian’s antics winding up opposition players.

But Mosquera does not regret a moment of it, nor would he change how he plays.

He relishes the fighting, enjoys those moments of confrontation and wholeheartedly believes it makes him a better player.

“I enjoy fighting because it's football,” Mosquera said in an exclusive pre-season interview with the Express & Star.

“Football is really good and you need to stay strong. I know sometimes I have to be careful because the referee doesn't like it or the coaches don't like it, but I enjoy when I play like that because it's me.

“I enjoy playing like that, it makes me better.

“I battle and fight with them but I always try to put my focus on the game because this is really important.

“I try to fight, I try to put the game out but when I see I'm going down the wrong road with them, I try to stop and put my focus again on the game.

“In South America we fight for every ball, we fight for everything.

“You can see Argentina, every national team from South America, Paraguay as well. Everyone fights.

“It's normal for us to fight against South American players and they understand.

“Some people don't understand when you fight against South American players but they understand what happens and after the game, when the game is finished, everyone tries to say ‘hello, all the best, good luck’ because we know we always play like that.

“If you see the national teams, imagine Brazil, Argentina or Colombia, we always do it like that. We always fight to kill some players.”

In particular, Mosquera has had a few altercations with Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus that did the rounds online.

However, the 25-year-old has also strayed from the humorous to the idiotic on occasion.

Last season, he was one yellow card away from a two-game suspension and had managed to go two Premier League games without a booking, but in the 4-0 defeat at West Ham he won a free-kick before gesturing to the referee to give the Hammers’ player a yellow card.

As a result, as per the rules, Mosquera himself was needlessly booked and picked up a suspension.

It was a crazy decision that infuriated then-head coach Rob Edwards at the time and showed the naivety that Mosquera sometimes still plays with.

But the player also acknowledges he has to find the balance.

“We have to be careful because right now it's more difficult with everything and football has changed,” he added.

“But I think I don't want to change myself for how I play because that's how I am.

“I have to continue to play like that and to be careful for sure and don't do the idiotic things because this will affect the team.”

Mosquera was far from the problem last season, however, as a poor squad was badly managed in the boardroom and the dugout and was ultimately embarrassed with relegation.

The Colombian, who initially joined Wolves in 2021 for just £4.5million before suffering injury nightmares and then being sent on loan, still wears his heart on his sleeve.

A big personality on and off the pitch, and well-liked by his team-mates, the defender was hurting when the club dropped out of the top flight.

But he has now called for togetherness ahead of a Championship campaign.

“This was really hard for me because I’ve been at the club a long time,” he said.

“It's really hard because you want to play in the Premier League.

“We have a good team as well. We know we can push before but we don't try and when I see we are relegated I just feel sad because I just want to play in the Premier League.

“But now I have the chance to start again, to continue, to prepare for everything.

“I think we can do better when we start the season.

“We missed this point and we have to be careful of this again. We have to stay ready to play this season and to start better.

“Every point, every game, every match is really important.

“This season is more important than the other one. We are relegated but we have to think about this one. We have to stay ready for this season.

“We have to work more and then we have to run more and then we have to fight, we have to stay together, we have to enjoy ourselves.

“That's the most important thing, enjoy it like a kid. It's my thing always because if you don't stay together, you don't fight together, you never will see the result.”

Whether Mosquera is a Wolves player in the Championship is another matter, however.

The club are keen to keep him, but also face decisions on their centre-back options as they aim to build a balanced squad.

Mosquera remained coy about his own future when asked directly if he will stay at Wolves this summer.

“It's a difficult question because I'm happy here at the moment,” Mosquera said.

“I did the pre-season with the team, I'm prepared for everything.

“I don't know what can happen in the short term or the long term because it's football, everything can change.

“I'm happy here, I'm good but I don't know what can happen in the future as well.”

As a player he has the ability to amaze and entertain, but sometimes frustrate.

He may be a maverick, but he could be a hero in fans’ eyes if he can help the club get back to the Premier League.

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