We had the opportunity, on Saturday, to have a long chat with Kevin De Bruyne, at the Monrepos castle where the Devils are staying. The captain, very smiley, did not avoid any subject. Quickly, the conversation turned to his strong gesture after Ukraine – Belgium.
Kevin, did this situation bother you personally?
“No, I really wasn’t bothered. I don’t worry about that kind of thing. These are moments that happen in life. It certainly wasn’t pleasant, but I think that goes for both sides. Once it’s happened, for me, it’s over too.”
With all the information you have now… Would you have acted the same way?
“Yeah, that was my honest opinion. I would have acted the same way. I’ve seen and heard things that I couldn’t agree with. And I reacted. People may not agree with that reaction and that’s OK with me. Some people may agree with me. You know, I don’t worry too much about it. You can’t please everyone. I gave an answer that I thought was best for the group at that time. Then you have to stick to your guns.”
Don’t you find it strange that the atmosphere changed so quickly? Before the match, the whole team was still applauding loudly, and so were you.
“Yes, but I don’t think it was directed against me personally. I think it was for the group. And because it was for the group, I made that decision. And it was unanimous.”
“You know, we accept that there is criticism. We also know that we could have played a better game. But there is a difference between criticizing and making inappropriate gestures. If I made these gestures in the street, they would not be accepted either. And I think that some people will also understand that. It was not everyone, but a large part.”
So actually your reaction wasn’t in response to those whistles and boos?
“No, absolutely not. I can live with the whistles. I’m a professional footballer, I’ve been through worse. Other things, I can’t accept them. I understand that everyone would have liked to be first. Me too, more than anything. But it wasn’t enough.”
“I can say that I gave everything to win this match. It’s my job. I can’t guarantee that we will win every match. What I can guarantee is that I will always do my best to sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”
How did Romelu take the whistles directed at him when he was replaced?
“I haven’t spoken about this with Romelu yet. I didn’t hear him during the match, so I can’t say anything about it. I just saw the reaction, when Jan turned to the supporters. And it was based on that. I didn’t hear the whistles during the corners either.
Do you think things will improve against France?
“I don’t feel like there’s a problem on either side. I think everyone will be there on Monday to give their all and try to win this game. I’m not really worried about that.”
Does something like this hurt you personally?
“No, I’m not like that. I don’t carry that inside me.”
Do you know what we think about sometimes? You may soon want to say “I don’t need this anymore, I’m staying with my wife with my children”…
“I’ll be honest. With all these games, it would be nice to have a 7-10 day vacation during these international match periods. But I say: as long as I feel good, I will always be ready to play here. But you know I don’t have 10 years left. However, I have already missed so many games with the national team due to injuries, that I definitely want to play a few more. And then, I just don’t think about stopping.”
