The Belgian lets off steam at the end of his first season with the Azzurri: “The coach has a very different idea of football from mine, too defensive. To stay I want guarantees on the style of play”
Not exactly a heartfelt greeting, nor even a formal one. On the contrary. Kevin De Bruyne does not tell his now former coach, Antonio Conte. Speaking to the Belgian portal nieuwsblad.be, the former Manchester City player does not seem at all satisfied with his first year in blue. The reason? The poor feeling with the Salento coach: “Am I happy that he’s leaving? Yes, for me he shouldn’t have stayed. This year I understood how fundamental the type of football that is played in a team is for me. It must also be fun and I missed this aspect a bit. Last year certain promises were made regarding the style of play which however were disregarded and it’s a real shame.” A disappointment that could also affect the Belgian’s future: “I still have one year left on my contract, but I want to talk to the club first: a lot will depend on what type of strategy is chosen.”
“with different visions”
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De Bruyne also takes things up a notch, attributing his post-injury difficulties to his lack of understanding with Conte: “At the beginning and also when I returned after the injury I was at a good level. Obviously it was difficult for me because the coach has a very different vision of football from mine. I never really played in my role throughout the entire season.” And then: “We played very defensively, with a very low center of gravity. To say: our top scorer only scored 10 goals, so the numbers speak for themselves…”
