It was the market negotiation of the summer. A long tug of war that ended only at the final gong: in the end Teun Koopmeiner has chosen Juventus and today the €60 million signing is presented to the Bianconeri world (here is the full press conference): “Everything has been fantastic in these first few days. My expectations have been met. It was nice to have a few days to prepare for matches and training with the team. I am happy and excited about this adventure. I can’t wait to get started”, the Dutch midfielder himself underlined in the press conference.
Has Thiago Motta already given you any indications? How is he different from Gasperini?
“There are similarities: Thiago also likes intense training, he uses pressing in the game. As for the differences, there is definitely the formation, the 4-man defense. But the thing they have in common in my opinion is how intensely they want to play the games, which I really appreciate.”
Did Thiago Motta ask you something? Or did he give you some advice?
“We talked, he welcomed me very well. He is very demanding and I expected it, this makes me happy. I also met all the teammates, so the feelings are very positive. With Thiago Motta we talked about different things, not only in terms of the game but also about the lifestyle he wants from his athletes. I saw that there is hunger and energy, this excites me”.
Where does Thiago Motta see her? And then Tuesday’s Champions League match against PSV, a Dutch team…
“My role is to play a bit further forward behind the strikers, a position I really like. It will certainly be a great match against PSV. I know many of their players, some of whom I have played with, and I can help the team prepare for the match.”
(Read Teun Koopmeiners’ full press conference here)