AC Milan star Hakan Calhanoglu opened up about the difficulties of his first months at the club in an interview with Forza Milan.
The Turkish international struggled to express himself at the beginning of the season after joining the Rossoneri from Bayer Leverkusen for 22 million euros. However with the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso on the bench things have changed and Hakan is one of the pillars of the squad.
“The start of the season was tough, after a suspension of four months I needed to play as much games as possible. It’s difficult if you can’t communicate though and Montella could only speak Italian. He doesn’t speak English and it was difficult to talk to him. Gattuso is different, he trusts me and talks a lot with me.
He has always told me to focus on myself and my idea of football. That’s what I did and results were a consequence of that. Obviously I know football, I know what position I have to take up on the pitch and how to behave during the game, but I need to feel the support of a Coach who talks to me”.
“I was very excited when I joined the club. I was thinking about this new situation. AC Milan are a top club with an amazing history. It’s great in Milanello where many legends have played before me. The idea that Paolo Maldini and Gennaro Gattuso trained there couldn’t get out of my mind.”
“I was living in a hotel at the beginning so it was difficult to settle in well. Now it’s much better, I can understand my teammates, I know the Italian culture and people are very nice here. Somehow it’s similar to Turkey.”
