Redknapp interviews the best player in the country
Jamie Redknapp goes into the Sky Sports Match Zone to interview the Premier League’s hottest player
JAMIE REDKNAPP: Kevin, you look like you’re really enjoying your football at the moment.
KEVIN DE BRUYNE: Yes. Since Pep came to the club he plays a style of football that I like, so it makes it easier — but this is a style the whole team like. If everyone buys into a system, it’s easier to get a team playing like we are. There’s a lot of hard work we have to do and there’s a lot of trust we have to have in each other to work with this system.
REDKNAPP: It seems Pep is building a brand of football that is heavily possession-based.
DE BRUYNE: Yes, but it’s possession with a meaning. He hates the word ‘possession’ where you just play it at the back with a goalkeeper. There is always a passing game to get me and David (Silva) into positions where we can create an attack. Then we need to go forward and be decisive. Pep does not like it when you just pass it to pass it. Only at the end to kill games off. For the rest, there is really something behind it.
REDKNAPP: Your goal against Chelsea in September summed up what you are saying. You don’t look like you’re interested, then the ball comes and it’s ‘bang’.
DE BRUYNE: Everybody is in place. That is the trust. Everyone needs to be in position to create the openings we have. We like to play a lot where you pass the ball forward and it comes back because it makes it easier for us to attack because the midfielders have to turn round.
REDKNAPP: You watch City now, with two very wide players and midfield maestros, and it seems reminiscent of Pep’s Barcelona. Is that something he is trying to get you to work on?
DE BRUYNE: Yes, but it changes every game. For the Chelsea game he said to Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling, ‘ You stay wide until we get the ball in the final third. Then you can do whatever you want. In the beginning you need to try to get (Cesar) Azpilicueta and (Marcos) Alonso as deep as possible so we get a man advantage’. It depends every time how the other team set up and that game it was important they stayed wide.
REDKNAPP: How important was the goal against Chelsea? Did it have extra meaning because it was your old club?
DE BRUYNE: Not really. There was a lot of passion in the celebration because it was an important moment for us as a team. Last season we had some big games where we did well but we didn’t get any points and this was a very important moment.
We had a feeling like, ‘now we go on and we’re going to win the game’. Also after the Liverpool game (City’s 5-0 win at the Etihad on September 9).
It is like a sign to everybody else that we are ready to play a role this year, especially in the big games. We are going to win these important matches.
REDKNAPP: I watched you first as a teenager with Genk, playing wide left. Did you play as a No 10 as a kid or out wide?
DE BRUYNE: Mostly as a No 10. When I was really young I played as a striker, but I grew a lot when I was 15 or 16.
I had a big ( growth spurt), became a bit slower, but I always had a feeling when I was younger it was going to be No 10 or where I am now.
REDKNAPP: Where is your favourite position?
DE BRUYNE: Where I am now. These deeper areas, middle of the pitch and to the left. At Genk they asked, ‘ What position are you thinking?’ and I gave three options — on the left in a 4-4-2, at No 10 but I said I think where I’m playing now, this is going to be my best position. I always said the older I get the more I will go backwards and it’s true.
REDKNAPP: That 7-2 win against Stoke last month and in particular the second goal — is that what you really enjoy, getting the ball off the back four and going forward?
DE BRUYNE: Yes, it’s the main thing that’s changed. Before I would wait deeper. Now I’m more creating. Fernandinho takes my place and I take his. You swap, but everybody has to be in position again.
‘I’m a big basketball fan. I love LeBron James. He always tries to make the best play for the team’
REDKNAPP: It suits you? DE BRUYNE: It’s just flowing. You see there are a lot of one-two touches. It creates a flow to the way we’re playing and everybody’s moving gradually. But in the box you can do whatever you want. He ( Guardiola) just likes you to finish, shoot or create something.
REDKNAPP: You’ve had 24 assists in the Premier League since August 2016. Christian Eriksen is next but he is only on 17 in that time. That must bring you enjoyment?
DE BRUYNE: A lot of enjoyment because it means you are doing good things. I always like to assist more than scoring. REDKNAPP: Really? DE BRUYNE: Yes! It gives me another feeling. When you score it’s a great feeling but to give a great pass means it’s something special for me. It’s very under-rated what we do. We cannot have these assists if they don’t score the goals, but…
REDKNAPP: Should more credit be given to assists?
DE BRUYNE: It depends what assist. Sometimes you just square the ball and somebody else shoots, but some assists are so nice and the passing is very important. We creators have a thing with the attackers. If they don’t score you think, ‘Uh! I did such a great job and you’re messing it up’. If we give a bad pass they’re going to say, ‘What are you doing?’
REDKNAPP: Do you have a picture in your mind before you pass?
DE BRUYNE: Before I get the ball I try to look up, even if my head is not moving, to see what’s happening in front. If I think there’s a chance of playing somebody through, I will do it. I’m sometimes very direct, sometimes too direct, but I know what’s happening before because that’s the way we set up. I try to see if they are running and then I trust the team-mates to go. If they don’t go it’s going to look like a silly pass, but if everybody is on it then it looks very, very good.
I’m a big basketball fan. Some players like to play on physicality but I’m a big LeBron (James) fan. He can do whatever he wants but he always tries to make the best play for the team. That’s what I like to do. Sometimes it feels like I just want to go for assists, but it’s about what makes the best play for the team to score a goal.
REDKNAPP: There’s no Englishman in that top five with most assists — Cesc Fabregas, Gylfi Sigurdsson and David Silva complete the list. I heard a rumour you could have played for England?
DE BRUYNE: No. My mother was born in Africa. When she was seven she moved with my grandfather to Ealing, where she went to school. REDKNAPP: We tried, Gareth! DE BRUYNE: (Laughs) I’m still fully Belgian.
REDKNAPP: You scored seven goals in all competitions last season and have scored two this year. Do you want to get more goals?
DE BRUYNE: I try to get more goals, but I’m not particularly looking at that. In my first season at City I scored 16 and I had never done that before. Now it’s more difficult. Last season I had a lot that I
missed — all the posts and crossbars I hit were from long range. Then it’s more like luck. It happens. I try to chip in, but I also know the amount of goals we’re scoring, I don’t really care. REDKNAPP: How far can this City team go?
DE BRUYNE: I like it here. It’s the perfect environment. From the moment I came, there’s always been a lot of trust in me. I like the project they are doing. When I came here there was an older team but there have been a lot of transfers, a lot of young players coming in, they’re building for the future. I’m really happy and I see myself being here for a long time.
REDKNAPP: How important has David Silva been?
DE BRUYNE: He is very under-rated. It’s insane how not a lot of people are really talking about him. He’s played for Spain more than 100 times. He’s won everything he needs to win and gives me the perfect balance.
I learn a lot from him about retaining the ball. When I came here I was more a high-risk player, creating opportunities, taking risks but also losing the ball. Now there are a lot of things I learn from him. When I came here my pass ratio was more like 70 per cent because I know I take risks. REDKNAPP: You still take risks.
DE BRUYNE: I don’t want to lose that. I know I’m like a little puzzle (piece) that fits in. Others in the midfield are good retainers. I’m more like a player who can give a ball in one second and create an opportunity. If it doesn’t work it doesn’t work, but if the ball is high up the pitch I know the team are behind me. I don’t want to lose my cutting edge, which makes me important for the team.
REDKNAPP: You (294) and David Silva (313), the two maestros, are top in the League this season in terms of successful passes in the final third. Guardiola can’t have you on the same side in five-a-side because nobody will get the ball!
DE BRUYNE: We don’t play a lot of five-a-side. We always play ‘boxes’. It’s strange to see a manager be so busy with boxes. I mean 5 v 2 or 6 v 2. For him, that’s like being the master of football. If you can do that well, you can play well in a game because it’s small-based. Normally you just do that when you’re warming up. We are not allowed to do backheels or whatever, it’s simple passes and he wants the guys in the middle to run. He loves it. It’s something that, for him, is very important to put in our game.
REDKNAPP: In 2015-16 you made 29 forward passes per game. In 2016-17 it was 33 and this season it is 46. A huge difference. It must bring you a lot of enjoyment?
DE BRUYNE: Yes, but it also shows I’m playing a bit (deeper) because there are more options to play it forward. It also depends on the system we play.
Everybody has to be in position but you can swap. It’s about keeping possession and stopping counter-attacks. We know the wingers are the most important.
REDKNAPP: It’s a big game against Arsenal. Looking forward to it?
DE BRUYNE: Very important. We’ve got Arsenal, and Manchester United have Chelsea so, if we win, it means somebody else is going to lose points. It’s an advantage. It’s handy to have more points and put pressure on others.
REDKNAPP: It’s a joy to watch you week-in, week-out, and thank you for your time.
DE BRUYNE: Thank you. Manchester City v Arsenal is live tomorrow on Sky Sports Main Event (2.15pm kick-off) followed by Chelsea v Manchester United (4.30).