The QUIET MAN
‘Being introvert is not easy. I’ve learnt how to be with people’ – Kevin De Bruyne tells Mike McGrath how his showmanship on the pitch has not always been reflected off it
KEVIN DE BRUYNE is talking about his vision. The football part of that is easy enough for the Premier League’s leader in assists this season, as he describes his passing as almost like seeing the future. Away from the pitch, it is less straightforward. He is looking ahead and there could be a career in coaching. The world of business interests him.
He was a self-confessed introvert in his early twenties but his personality is coming out now, even if it requires a nudge from those closest to him.
“If I would meet you four years ago, I’d say, ‘Hello, how are you?’ then I’d go,” he says. “I learned how to manage myself growing up and being with people. It’s just maturity. Being introverted is not always easy. You think people always think bad or that they want something. But sometimes it is nice to have a chat with people. I’m more open.”
In contrast, De Bruyne has always been extroverted with the ball at his feet. The blond-haired kid from Ghent has gone from teenage star in his homeland to Manchester City’s driving force during their back-to-back titles.
De Bruyne saw his path to the top despite his setback at Chelsea, when he failed to cement a first team place. His career has almost been fuelled by that rejection and this season has brought a new level of excellence. De Bruyne has nine assists, three more than Trent Alexander-Arnold and David Silva.
Broader
There is more depth to him now and his character is broader, even if the priority is staying at his peak at the Etihad Stadium and trying to help City keep pace with Liverpool at the top of the table.
In today’s Manchester derby, all eyes will be on the Belgian to run the game from midfield and find scoring opportunities for his team-mates with his vision. This season, his excellence has been so commonplace that it is now expected every game.
“Sometimes it is instinct,” he says. “Sometimes you know what people are going to do. What I try to master as a player is trying to know what my teammates like and how they want the ball.
“You’re a partnership and you know what my typical passes are and what I can play. If I was playing with Raheem [Sterling] or with Sergio [Aguero], it’s totally different. One guy likes it deep, the other is different.
“As a midfield player, you need to know. Some players like it in front of them. You just try to see the game, what’s going to happen, before it even happens. You try to be ahead of the game and it’s not always easy because the game is so quick, but if I have a couple of moments a game when I can try to be ahead of some people, it helps.”
De Bruyne leads the way with 14 for “big chances created”, to use the league’s terms. He has perfected the cross to the far post, where he sets up team-mates by threading the ball through a corridor that is impossible to defend.
He rates his pass for Silva’s opening goal against Watford as his favourite.
Why? He was on the run, dashing down the right channel before sending his pass between goalkeeper Ben Foster and three defenders. Silva tapped in surrounded by Kiko Femenia, Adrian Mariappa and Craig Dawson.
“That is the most difficult one,” De Bruyne says. “You have just a small space where you can put it. You have to bend it away from the ’keeper and not let it go towards the defender. There is only a small gap. It’s probably that one.”
At 28, that vision is now second nature. Under Pep Guardiola his game has improved, where from game to game he is given different roles. He can create goals but feels equally satisfied if he has controlled the game from a deep position, without the goals or assists.
He is still working on his other side; the perception of Kevin De Bruyne. He credits his wife, Michele, with a huge part in his shift from introverted.
“She helped a lot; massively,” he says. “She is just a really open person and it helped me open up to people and the more you talk, my world is becoming more open. At 21, it was just football, football, football.”
De Bruyne is looking at entering the world of business alongside football.
He is sitting in the new offices of Roc Nation Sports in London. His relationship with a management company owned by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z may appear unlikely at first glance. Central to it all is how he is perceived.
“I’ve got my character on the pitch. People probably think I’m explosive, very strong-willed. But it’s very different in an environment when you are competing. I don’t want to be [seen as] a villain. If I choose a company or get a partnership together it will come across how I want it to be.
“I wanted to think about the future a bit more and maybe find some partnerships that I’m interested in and busi
ness-wise to do later. Obviously, there is life after football. That is something I’m looking for, but I’m not really sure. Maybe it is something in football, maybe it is not. I would like to have the options to choose a little bit, but I think this is an opportunity for me to learn about the business world.”
By the office reception there is a quote of the day from JayZ: “The motivation for me was them telling me what I could not be.” De Bruyne is still assessing what he could be after he hangs up his boots. Roberto Martinez, the Belgium manager, has offered players the chance to start their coaching badges in March during the international break. De Bruyne is among those who have shown interest.
There are other demands in his life now, too, as De Bruyne is a father, to Mason and Rome. “It gives you more responsibility and more maturity,” he says. “I do everything. The walks. With the first one, I woke up more. I had more energy when I was 24! It takes me a little bit longer now after games and I tell that to my missus, also.
“My first son didn’t sleep for two years. I was up every night. Sometimes, the night before the games, we’re in the hotel. It’s tough. My second sleeps incredible. Whatever comes, you adjust to it.”
Fatherhood is now another aspect of his personality, away from being the reliable source of assists and goals for Guardiola. With the ball at his feet, De Bruyne is confident, but parenthood has unearthed a weakness. “With my hands, I’m so bad,” he says. “One wants to draw animals and I can’t do that. They ask and I say, ‘Go to mummy’.”
Something De Bruyne cannot do. And only one part of his vision that he is ruling out. (© Daily Telegraph, London)