AC Milan defender Koni De Winter spoke to SportMediaset just over 48 hours before Friday night’s match at the Cetilar Arena against Pisa, valid for the 24th round of the Serie A Enilive season. Below are the Rossoneri player’s statements.
"De Winter” is coming, like in Game of Thrones?
"Yes, exactly."
Do you freeze your opponents?
"I try."
What has changed in the last few matches?
"Nothing has changed. Sometimes things go the way you want, sometimes they don’t. For me, nothing has changed," said De Winter.
Who is Allegri to you?
"He’s an important figure in my career and in my life, because, as you said, he gave me my debut. Now I have him as my coach at Milan, so he’s an important person for me."
What kind of relationship do you have with him? Are you like his second son?
"I don’t know, you’d have to ask him. But for me, he’s someone who is very balanced. You always know what to expect from him, he’s not angry one day and sad the next. He’s always very steady. It’s nice because you know what to expect from him."
What was behind your first goal in a Milan shirt?
"A very important and beautiful moment for me. I’ll always remember it because it was my first goal for Milan. But it’s not as big as people make it out to be. We try to win matches, and in that case (in Rome, ed.) we didn’t, so we had to do more."
In the dressing room, are you starting to think differently, maybe even about the Scudetto?
"The objective is fourth place, but of course you think about the Scudetto. You play for Milan, all the players want to win, so yes, it’s normal to think about it."
From 0 to 10, how much do you believe in the Scudetto?
"I believe in it."
What must you avoid doing in this second half of the season?
"Losing and drawing. We’ll do everything to bring home the result. In the first half of the season we drew against Pisa and Parma and lost to Cremonese. We need to try to win on Friday and do the best we can."
Which defender do you look up to?
"I grew up watching Kompany in the national team. I really like Thiago Silva. On my debut (with Juventus in the Champions League, ed.) I was on the bench and saw him playing for Chelsea, and seeing him live I realized he’s a great player."
What does De Winter do in his free time?
"A bit of everything. I play PlayStation, chess, I read… it depends on the day and the moment."
What do you think of Leão as a singer?
"I hear him sometimes, but I’ve never actually listened to his music."
Do the Curva Sud chants during the warm-up fire you up? De Winter replied:
"Yes, I like it. You can feel the match approaching, it makes you feel alive."
Your short-term goal?
"To grow every day and do the best I possibly can for myself. To become the strongest player I can be, that’s my goal."
