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Koni De Winter is the man of the moment for AC Milan, at least from a defensive perspective, and he has spoken about his recent form.
After signing from Genoa during the summer transfer window to replace Malick Thiaw, the first few games were a struggle for De Winter. He tended to only get the odd start of minutes off the bench, and some errors led to talk that he wasn’t ready to challenge for a starting role.
However, in the past few weeks, the Belgian has showcased his potential with a string of very solid starts. It culminated in him scoring the opening goal against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico – his first for the club – and now it seems that one of the spots in the three-man defence is his.
Allegri, the Scudetto, Leao’s music and more
De Winter spoke to SportMediaset just over 48 hours before Friday night’s Serie A match against Pisa at the Cetilar Arena, commenting on his recent resurgence, his team-mates and some of his idols.
Is ‘De Winter’ coming, like in Game of Thrones?
“Yes, exactly.”
Do you freeze your opponents?
“I’ll try.”
What’s changed in the last few games?
“Nothing’s changed. Sometimes it goes your way, sometimes it doesn’t. For me, nothing’s changed.”
Who is Allegri to you?
“He’s an important figure in my career, in my life, because, as you said, he gave me my debut. Now I have him as my coach at AC Milan, so he’s an important figure for me.”
What’s his relationship with you? You’re his second child?
“I don’t know, you’ll have to ask him, but for me he’s a very balanced person. You always know what to expect from him. It’s not like he’s angry one day and sad the next. He’s always very balanced. It’s nice because you know what to expect from him.”
What was your first goal for Milan like?
“A very important moment, a beautiful one for me. I’ll always remember it because it’s my first goal for AC Milan, but it’s not as great as the one they scored away from home. We try to win games, but then we didn’t have that chance [in Rome], so we had to do more.”
Are some thoughts starting to change in the dressing room, even with the Scudetto in mind?
“The goal is top four, then it’s normal to think about the Scudetto. You play for Milan, all the players want to win, so it’s normal to think about that.”
Will Milan not give up until the end?
“Never give up.”
On a scale of 0 to 10, how much do you believe in the Scudetto?
“I believe in it.”
What shouldn’t you do in this second half of the season?
“Lose and draw. We’ll do everything we can to get the result. In the first leg, we drew against Pisa and Parma, and lost against Cremonese. We have to try to win on Friday and do our best.”
Who do you look up to as a defender?
“I grew up with Kompany, I watched him in the national team. I really like Thiago Silva. In my debut [with Juventus in the Champions League] I was on the bench and I saw him in a Chelsea shirt and I realised in person that he’s a great player.”
What do you do in your free time?
“A bit of everything. I play PlayStation, chess, read…it depends on the day and the moment.”
What do you think of Leao the singer?
“I listen to him sometimes, but I’ve never listened to Leao’s music.”
Do the chants from the Curva Sud during the warm-up pump you up?
“Yes, I’m happy. You feel the match coming, it makes you feel alive.”
What is your goal, in short?
“To grow every day and do my best. To become the best player I can be, that’s my goal.”
English (US) ·