Inter striker Romelu Lukaku has admitted to being aware of the responsibility that he has within this Inter team and spoke on the need for leaders out on the park.
“I don’t think about numbers. My advantage is that I became a professional at a young age,” he began an interview with Sport Voetabal Magazine.
“Despite my difficult first years with the Belgian national team, I was one hundred percent sure that one day I would become the all-time top scorer because I was surrounded by the best players in the history of the national team.
“If you’ve been on the pitch for 11 years as a professional, it makes sense to beat some records.”
The former Manchester United forward then went on to discuss his goals and how Italian football differs to English football.
“When I go out on the pitch I want to win. In Italy this is worth everything. There is a huge difference from the football approach in England, so I focus on what is asked of me here. Tactically I cannot ever go wrong. Never.”
Lukaku, who has been with Inter since a club record transfer move in 2019, then went on to discuss his personal characteristics out on the pitch.
“I am very dangerous when I play in front of the goal. I am fast, I can dribble past my direct opponent, or go on the left but also the right.
“In the past I often played like this, also because I was in teams that counted on counterattacking but the national team forced me to change my style of play.
“We quickly became the team with the most possession and there is fewer spaces.”
He then praised Belgian national team boss Roberto Martinez, who recently shared his belief that Lukaku is in the best form of his career.
“Roberto Martínez did everything he could to make me feel more comfortable with my back to goal, both with the national team and with Everton back then.
“At 20, I still had a lot to learn, but I soon realised that if I trained on that aspect I could do what I wanted in a match.”
Lukaku then spoke on what he did before moving to Inter and spoke on the role he plays at the club.
“Before arriving here I watched some Inter matches and sometimes I saw Lautaro alone up front. I immediately felt that he could have made a leap forward if they put us together. Sometimes it is his day, other times it is mine.
“If you accept it, everything will be fine. I am aware of the responsibility I have, so I have no right to lower my guard. If I lower my guard, it immediately has a negative impact on the group.
“There is a need for leaders on the field like me, like Arturo Vidal, Nicolò Barella or Alexis Sanchez. Only with such an attitude can you mentally transform the team and overturn a game.”
He then spoke on what he learned from Jose Mourinho when he worked under him: “Mourinho taught me to work better with the team, both in terms of pressing and to position myself better on the pitch. Look what he’s doing with Harry Kane now.”
In conclusion he was asked about whether he thinks he is in the top five in the world: “Over the past five months, yes. I don’t want to give the order one through five but I’m part of it.”
