kondogbia

Geoffrey Kondogbia spoke exclusively with Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s paper edition about a wide variety of subjects ranging from why lasy season didn’t go so well, his objectives for this season as well as his new team-mate Ever Banega.

“This year’s pre-season everything seems much easier. I wasn’t used to this kind of pre-season preparations and so I suffered. I think that last season a lot depended on the pre-season, from a physical aspect. French league vs Italian league? Serie A is definitely much more competetive because the league is much more complete from a physical and tactical point of view. This season, my objective is to play well in all matches, to do so with continuity in order to return to the national team. I’m thinking about the World Cup in 2018, which I want to play in. In order to do so I must play at a high level the entire year with Inter.”

As a Frenchman, Kondogbia was very disappointed with the result in the final of the European Championships: “I watched the match, it’s incredible how the match ended. It’s a shame to have lost such an opportunity like that but this is football and we have to applaud Portugal for knowing what to do. Pogba? We speak often but we don’t talk about football. Everyone has their own path to walk which will bring them to their level given the necessary time needed. You can’t make comparisons between me and Paul…”

“My preferred role on the pitch? I grew up playing as one of two central midfielders in front of the defense, on the left side, but I can also play in a 3-man midfield, always to the left. I like playing in a 4-2-3-1 but in modern football you have to play in many different systems. You need to know how to adapt and how to do so quickly.”

“I didn’t think I would enjoy Milano this quickly, it has become like a mini-Paris for me. In my free time I like to be with my son, Noah. The Scudetto? We have to be realistic regarding the objectives to seek and the objectives that are attainable. To improve means to play in the Champions League which is what the club asks of us and what we want. Which is a correct objective for a club like Inter to have, if you ask me. The we will see what happens during the season, how the championship develops. Last year, after a great start we encountered difficulties which demonstrated our limitations and our shortcomings. The fact that we didn’t score a lot also added to the difficulties we faced in those 40 days after the Christmas break.”

Finally, Kondogbia gave his thoughts on Inter’s new signing Ever Banega: “I really want to get to know him and to play together with him. I’ve seen many of his matches and he’s a great player. I’m always ready to go out on the pitch and play next to players like him.”