De Winter, rematch with Hojlung in Napoli-Milan, thanks to Allegri

Hojlund’s labyrinthitis. The diagnosis after the Super Cup, for Koni De Winter, was clear: KDW in Riyadh clearly lost the duel with the Napoli center forward and became the symbol of one of the worst Milan of the season. In the Gazzetta’s report cards he got a 3 and many fans concluded: “He’s not like Milan”. No, the opposite: De Winter used Riad as a springboard to climb back up and on Easter Monday evening he will find Hojlund again as a new man, as AC Milan’s starter. Those who know him say that Koni needed a moment like that, a shock to understand what Milan is and how important mistakes are in a great club. He has always been talented, calm, confident. Maybe too much.

how he was reborn

—

De Winter immediately played very well during the Christmas holidays against Verona and Cagliari, giving a signal. The high point in recent months was probably the derby, played with confidence, winning the duel with Pio Esposito and Bonny. “It has always taken Koni a while to settle in – said Andrea Bonatti, his former coach in the Juve Primavera team in March -. When he feels comfortable, however, he shifts into fourth gear and you can’t stop him anymore”. Milan confirms. How he managed to get back there is not so simple to explain. Certainly, much of the credit goes to him, of a calm character, at peace with the world. Then we must give due credit to Tare and especially Allegri, who spoke to him and gave him confidence. With Gabbia’s injury, De Winter had continuity and repaid his coach. He still needs to be 100% convinced by Rudi Garcia, the Belgium coach, who made him start only one game out of two during the break. He is not yet an undisputed starter, but he can become one soon.

hojlund and the opel agila

—

And now, what will he do with Hojlund? De Winter is not the type to make it personal, to build the day before on the desire for revenge. When he finds himself one-on-one with Napoli’s 19, he will prevent the Dane from pivoting on his right leg and running towards goal, as happened in the Super Cup. He will do it calmly, more elegant than aggressive, in his own way as always. In Belgium, during the break, we joked about the cars in which the players showed up for training camp. Many went out of gas with the Ferrari or the Porsche, while Koni went humble, with the family Opel Agila, twenty years of honorable service and a few unrepaired bumps on the left side. “For us it has never been an important thing – explained De Winter -. My dad has an old car in bad condition and I am proud of that car: it has taken me to many places and I am not ashamed of it”. KDW, one of the people.