MY ACCOUNT
Juventus starlet Koni De Winter is bringing fresh legs to the Old Lady after becoming the club’s youngest ever Champions League starter.
The 19-year-old made his senior debut against Chelsea last November and found himself in Max Allegri’s starting XI for Juve’s 1-0 win in Malmo just over a fortnight later.
Having not started playing football until he was 11, the Belgian was a latecomer to the beautiful game. But he quickly went on to catch the eye of the Turin giants, who snapped him up at the age of 16.
And Koni admits he jumped at the chance to join the Serie A side. Speaking exclusively to LiveScore, he said: “While I was with the national team, Juventus saw me. From there on they scouted me and I moved to Turin.
“For me it was an easy decision because I always supported Juventus.”
Following the youngster’s impressive display against Swedish outfit Malmo, Allegri suggested the versatile youngster could fill a number of roles.
And while De Winter agrees with his boss, he believes his future lies at the heart of the defence. He added: “I see myself as a central defender more. I’ve played in midfield and it’s difficult when you don’t always play there.
“I think it’s a position that you have to play when you are little. There are a lot of things you need to be a central midfielder.”
Having already climbed off the bench when Juve lost 4-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, De Winter took facing Malmo in his stride — despite being just 19 years and 179 days old.
He said: “Chelsea was less stressing as I didn’t expect to come on. We were losing 3-0 [at the time] so there was less pressure.
“With Malmo, the stress started to kick in 10 minutes beforehand. But once you touch the first ball, everything goes away and you just play.
“When I was walking towards the bench [after coming off in the 71st minute], the fans were applauding.”
Playing alongside some of the biggest names in football can understandably be daunting for many youngsters.
But De Winter is making the most of learning from the likes of Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. He said: “Playing with them, let alone talking to them, you see how they play and what they see on the field.
“At Juventus, the whole mentality is winning games and winning trophies. That’s a daily motivation because it’s expected from you — and that’s really nice.
“It’s an expectation not a dream. They expect it from you, so it becomes realistic.”
Having made an impact on the biggest stage in European football, De Winter missed several weeks of action with a shoulder injury. But he cannot wait to get back among the first-team squad and test himself in training against star signing Dusan Vlahovic.
He added: “That’s why I want to come back so fast. I really want to see him, feel his presence and defend against him.
“That’s why I can’t wait to come back on the pitch.”
Juventus host Villarreal in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 encounter on Wednesday.
The tie is delicately balanced at 1-1 and De Winter will be pushing hard to be involved.
As you would expect from a player tipped for the top, he would love to emulate the success enjoyed by the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Eden Hazard.
Only time will tell whether he reaches the same heights as his fellow Belgians — but Juve certainly have faith in him to develop into one of the game’s best.
