Koni De Winter came out bruised from his last duel with Rasmus Hojlund, but he enters the latest one in much better form.
As La Gazzetta dello Sport recall, De Winter clearly lost the duel with the Napoli striker in Riyadh in the Supercoppa Italiana semi-final. In their ratings for that game he got a 3 out of 10, and many fans concluded: “He’s not AC Milan-worthy.”
Instead, De Winter used Riyadh as a springboard to climb back up, and on Easter Monday he’ll face Hojlund as a new man. Those who know him say that Koni needed a moment like that, a shock to understand what Milan is all about and how much mistakes matter at a big club.
De Winter’s rebirth
De Winter immediately played very well against Verona and Cagliari during the Christmas period, sending a message that he was on his way back up. The highlight of recent months was probably the derby, where he played with confidence, winning the duel with Pio Esposito and Bonny.
How he managed to bounce back isn’t easy to explain. Much of the credit certainly goes to him and his calm nature, at peace with the world. Then we must give due credit to Igli Tare and especially Massimiliano Allegri, who spoke to him and re-iterated their faith.
With Matteo Gabbia’s injury, De Winter has maintained consistency and repaid his coach. He still needs to convince Rudi Garcia, the Belgian national team coach, who only started him in one of two games during the international break. He’s not yet an undisputed starter, but could be soon.
And now, what will he do with Hojlund? De Winter isn’t the type to make it personal, to build the pre-match on the desire for revenge. When he finds himself one-on-one with Napoli’s No.19, he’ll prevent the Dane from pivoting on his right leg and running towards goal, as happened in the Supercoppa.
In Belgium, during the break, there was a joke about the cars the players showed up in for training camp. Many revved up in Ferraris or Porsches, while Koni went modestly, in the family Opel Agila which has seen better days.
“It’s never been a big deal for us,” De Winter explained. “My dad has an old car in poor condition, and I’m proud of it: it’s taken me places, and I’m not ashamed of it.” De Winter has nothing to be ashamed about right now.
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