Atalanta was once again close to a stunt against Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. For a long time, Gian Piero Gasperini’s team held a 2-1 lead, until Cristiano Ronaldo saved a point for the visitors with a volley in the final minute. For Marten de Roon and Teun Koopmeiners, who both played the entire game, that meant a big draw through the bill. Nevertheless, Koopmeiners managed to impress.
“For the neutral spectator it is a fantastic Champions League evening, but for us it is very sour that exactly he hits it twice as perfect again,” the midfielder said. RTL on Ronaldo. “Certainly the last one in stoppage time. We know he has those qualities, everyone knows that. Today we might have deserved to win, because we did very well at times. All in all I think we played a good pot Actually, I can’t live with this draw, because you’re going to hate it so much.”
Koopmeiners feels good at Atalanta and seems to have already won his place in Gasperini’s team. He completed the 90 minutes in the last three matches. “I really like the club, the player group and the trainer,” he continues. “I am happy with the minutes I can make. It is difficult, because the system and the vision of football is completely different here. Something different is demanded from a controlling midfielder, especially from a defensive controller. I was at AZ. more playmaker and I almost had a free role for the defense.”
?? According to Mario Been and Marciano Vink, Teun Koopmeiners is already indispensable for Atalanta: “He is the patron of the team”#football talk pic.twitter.com/51XKCO1QP2
— ESPN NL (@ESPNnl) Nov 2, 2021
The midfielder notices a number of clear differences with football in the Netherlands in his first months in Italian service. “At AZ I could play the balls to the left and right,” says Koopmeiners. “Here you actually have to move the balls forwards and backwards and not even towards the axis, because it has to remain open. Defensively you play more man to man and less in the zone like in the Netherlands. There are a lot of details that are different. It takes time to adapt, but that’s why I’m happy to be able to make so many minutes. I’m very happy here.”
Also with football talk Koopmeiners’ game passed on Tuesday evening. “Koopmeiners played like a patron,” said Marciano Vink. “Really fantastic. I can imagine that you go to a better club for these kinds of matches. He was so comfortable with the ball. He sent balls over forty meters, he didn’t care. And with Duván Zapata he had someone up front. who he could lose the balls. He is sending balls as in his best time at AZ. In Italy you have to play business, Teun can do that. And Teun has something extra. He has a great pass and overview. Those are the key core values to succeed in Italy as a midfielder.”
Mario Been is also positive about the development of Koopmeiners. “He had a difficult start, because he had to get used to the system, but now you notice that the trainer can no longer ignore him. He has a shot from the second line and sees the game just a little faster than others. thought they would have to make a choice again if Marten de Roon returned from the defense, but that has not happened yet. Yes, he (Koopmeiners, ed.) is really the pattern of the team.”