Kevin, let's go back to this summer of 2018. At the time, you came out of a six-month loan at Olympiacos and returned first to Everton where you had been since 2012.
“Yes. First of all, you should know that Fiorentina had already been interested in me before I went to Olympiacos. But I had already given my consent. The end of the 2017/18 season is coming. I went on vacation, there were still touches with Fiorentina. Everton's new coach Marcos Silva told me: 'Listen, you're going to do the preparation with us and then we'll see.' It didn't change anything for me because I had decided to do the pre-season with Everton before making a decision about my future: either I had served my time at Everton, or I continued because I still had two years on my contract. . The preseason went very well, I played everything. And a week before the start of the championship, the coach told me that I was not going to start, that I was not sure of having my place. Which wasn't a problem for me. Except that the next day, he called me again to tell me that it was going to be complicated given my salary was so high, that it was better that I go on loan. And from there, it was activated with Fiorentina.”
Why this choice ?
”At the time, there were two ideas running through my mind: returning to Olympiacos and not coming back but coming to Belgium. But it wasn't possible because for Greece, Everton wanted 12 million and in Belgium, no one was going to pay 12 million. Fiorentina offered this loan with a purchase option for 8 million euros. I also left there with a lot of desire because my wife is of Italian origin, her whole family is in Sardinia. The living environment, living in Florence, playing in a club like Fiorentina, in a championship that Ronaldo had just joined and which wanted to become dominant again like in the 90s: there were many more positive points in the end and almost no negative.”
Pioli yelled at us because we spoke French.
You arrive in a team which, a few months before, lost its captain Davide Astoridied suddenly.
“Yes. We still talked a lot about him. Even I, who didn't know him, had the impression that he was always there every day, whether in training or in matches. We were caught up in the situation, it wasn't always easy. But it was also a strength for those who knew him. The pre-match speeches were all about him. We had to deal with it, these are the things in life. But it was super easy to get into this locker room. Speaking Italian and Spanish helped me. And there were a lot of French speakers. I also remember that Pioli yelled at us because we spoke French (laughs). But with so many French speakers in the locker room, he knew it could happen. And besides, I still have him every month and a half, two months on the phone. I also kept in touch with Biraghi, who is captain now, and others who left, like Simeone, Chiesa. Even though I only stayed one year, it was an exceptional year.”
Why should I be the example?
You were also the oldest member of the group after the departure of Cyril Théréau during the winter.
“Yes. This was new. When you're 31, you're not normally the oldest like during my last year in Cyprus when I was 34 and it was different. At 31, I didn't necessarily realize it. Why should I be the example? It was a bit special and difficult at first. But as the season progressed, I understood the coach's requests and I also freed myself off the field. It helped me a lot.”
Italy is often compared to its intense physical preparation. By signing only at the beginning of August, did you escape it?
”(Smile). I arrived two weeks before the start of the championship. The first three, four days, I found that it was simpler, it was even a little slow compared to the team and what I had experienced in England. So I told myself it wasn't going to be a problem. Except that the week before the first championship match, they send me the program and I see one training session on Monday, two on Tuesday, two on Wednesday, one on Thursday, one on Friday and a match on Saturday. And I say to myself 'but what's that, there's no day off in the week?' In fact, you work like crazy. It was totally different from England where the intensity is greater on the weekends while it is calmer during the week. It was a new workload with a lot of leg strength training. It wasn't necessarily what I needed at 31 years old. I had physical problems the first two weeks because I wasn't used to working like that. I really had to adapt. It took me until October because there was the physical load but also the adaptation to the team, to what the coach asked, to a whole pleasant environment but which I had not experienced. It’s the first time I arrived in a championship where I had to adapt so much.”
With your two goals which came in quick succession in December at Sassuolo then against Empoli.
“Yes. At that time, coach Pioli, who initially lined me up as a right winger but with somewhat special requests, made me play as a second striker in December and it went very well. Then when he left (replaced by Vincenzo Montella in April), we changed tactics to a 3-4-3 where I was a right player. Gradually, I adapted, telling myself that it was also positive because it was the selection system. I had more of a defensive role, first defending then attacking. It’s been a learning experience to see this for 31 years. It remains a great experience.”
Which was also quite strange in the end: on the one hand, there is this beautiful Cup run completed in the semi-final, but there is this return phase in Serie A where you only win twice to finish in a series of 14 games without a victory in the league…
”It was the first time I experienced this. Especially since in January, we were in the fight for the first four or five places and there was a chance to play for the second round. We recruited very good players to have a thunderous second round but the opposite happened. We eliminated AS Roma quite easily 7-1 and this match should have launched us. But that was not the case. We focused on the Cup and when you are eliminated afterwards, it’s complicated to refocus on the championship where you have nothing left to play.”
The people of Bruges can do it.
What memories do you have of the Artemio Franchi stadium where Bruges will play this Thursday evening?
”It’s a pleasant atmosphere. It's always full but it's still OK. I really liked it, my wife and my children loved coming to the stadium. It's totally different from Greece and what the people of Bruges experienced at PAOK. It’s much calmer even if at PAOK, the Greek supporters are 200 times hotter in the league than in the European Cup where they know they can get big fines.”
Do you think Bruges can qualify?
”They can do it. Especially when we see the Bruges of today. But on the contrary, Fiorentina has had this consistency for two or three years. They lost in the final to West Ham last season. They have the advantage of being able to manage this type of meeting and have this experience that Bruges does not yet have.”
