Charles De Ketelaere, AC Milan's loanee at Atalanta (with an option to buy) has granted an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Let's play a game, it's called seven adjectives: enthusiastic, euphoric, calm, confident, reassessed, reborn, proud. You can choose three...
"I'll start with proud, but above all of the team, in the race for its goals in the league, in the Europa League, and in the Coppa Italia. Confident: Atalanta has been playing well for two months, and so have I, so I like myself. Calm: I try to always be, after good games, but also those less good. To work well, every day."
In the tough moments of the past months, did you ever doubt yourself? De Ketelaere said:
"I would be lying if I said no. But then it's the work that leads me not to doubt and to be serene, as I said before. It helped me not to lose confidence in myself."
Are you giving and getting what you hoped for?
"I give everything I have, and I can give even more. But I feel that I am growing, and it doesn't surprise me: what you give, you almost always receive back."
Let's go back to August: was it difficult to choose Atalanta? De Ketelaere said:
"I thought about it a bit, of course: it wasn't a trivial choice. But not difficult, because everyone, starting from the coach and the director D'Amico, immediately and always gave me the right confidence. And then, watching Atalanta play always pleased me. There were other options, but I never considered them: either Milan or Atalanta."
When did you realize it was the right choice?
"If I make a choice, I don't sit there thinking, 'What if I'm wrong?' I'm already sure that I will put everything into making it right."
It would be nice to be in Atalanta that brings a trophy back to Bergamo after so many years. Meanwhile, with Atalanta, you have won twice out of two against Milan, but you said you didn't see it as revenge: what sensation did you feel then? De Ketelaere replied:
"I didn't think 'You didn't understand me,' but certainly when we beat Frosinone, I wasn't as happy, yes. It wasn't a negative feeling, but I know what Milan is, so I know what it means to beat them."
Milan and the future: do you think about it now and then? And have you started thinking seriously about it?
"It's January, there is still time. Today I only think that what will happen will not depend only on me, and I have been taught that I should only think about things I can control: the next training, the next game. And the fact that I am very happy to be here at Atalanta."
READ MORE | AC Milan looking for a striker: Sesko is a strong candidate – 7 more strikers also being followed
