Kevin De Bruyne gave an interview to Dazn in which he spoke about his decision to come to Napoli, his first impressions, and much more. Below are his words.
On the moment when he decided his future and the choice of Napoli: "I chose my future a couple of days before signing with Napoli. We talked a lot and in the end I couldn't wait for all the paperwork to be sorted out; sometimes sorting out contracts is difficult. I was very calm and relaxed about this situation, the talks were going well, the lawyers were doing a good job and I just had to wait. I felt like coming here, I wanted this. Probably when I was young I would never have expected to come and play in Italy, because I was in England, I loved it and I was very happy. Then I found myself in a situation where I had many options from different parts of the world. I talked to my wife, my children and my family and I had the feeling that this was the best choice for me in every respect. I decided based on my feelings, it's hard to explain. Many teams had good projects and other positive aspects, but I considered this to be the best opportunity for me and I'm happy with my choice."
Regarding expectations: "Do you feel the pressure of expectations? Yes, it's actually a bit strange, but it's also nice! I'm excited to see myself playing, but on the other hand, it's like this: I'm here, two weeks have passed, I'm working hard to get to know the team as well as possible, start playing with the group, and understand its structure. I haven't achieved anything yet, but fortunately we keep training to play well and to try to give the team, the club, and the fans more positive seasons. Let's hope we can keep going like this!"
On dreams: "Do you still have a dream? I don't know, it's hard to say. You always have big dreams when you're a professional footballer. I've always tried to get the most out of myself. This is a new challenge, I have to keep pushing. If I didn't have this drive, I wouldn't be here. I want to prove that I can still play at a good level, and the dream is always to reach the ultimate goal, even if I can't tell you what it is! I think we have a good team, many good players and a good coach. Let's hope we can achieve something great."
On the Champions League: "Champions League objective? Obviously it's ambitious, but all big clubs have the goal of progressing in Europe and in the league. I think it will be a bit different for the team, because last year they didn't play in Europe while this year they do, we have the Champions League and Serie A. We need to find the balance to manage both commitments, but the club is building a good squad, we have two players for each role and this will help us maintain a high intensity throughout the season."
On Conte: "I think he is really very direct, he asks a lot from his players, he trains in a different way compared to what I was used to, he has a different philosophy. I'm working well, I've attended all the training sessions so far and I feel very good even though it's quite tiring for everyone. But it's normal, it's the summer retreat. I think the coach is integrating his systems with the team. Looking from the outside, I see how the team trains, I see his way of working and his systems, and I'll have time to learn everything. At my age you understand that you can take it a bit easier and you don't necessarily have to learn everything in a few days! I think I'm fitting in well with my teammates and I'm very happy about it. No rush, definitely not!".
