Christian Kouame Presentation in blue: "Choosing to come to Empoli was easy"

EMPOLI A fresh and spontaneous smile, a lot of positivity and a crazy desire to show how much he is worth. While waiting for the one on the pitch, the impact of Christian Kouame in the Empoli environment he has certainly been excellent. "I'm happy to be here, I've found a great group - the former Viola striker began -. And if the group is strong we can win against anyone. I arrive with great humility, without thinking that because I was at Fiorentina I'm better than the others, absolutely. In fact it will be up to me to try to be involved as much as possible to fit in as best as possible and thus be able to give a hand to my teammates". The 27-year-old Ivorian, who has in the speed his best quality, he tells how the decision to come to Empoli matured. "At the beginning of the market many people called me, but in the end I chose Empoli who had already looked for me in the past not only because I stay close to home and my family, with the children going to school it would have been difficult to move - he adds -, but also because I spoke with the coach and he explained his project to me and how he saw me. So I didn't hesitate to come here".

In his career he has shown himself to be an offensive wildcard covering multiple roles, but as he himself admitted he is like second striker who is more comfortable (in Genoa together with Piatek he probably showed his best things). "When I played in the two up front it's the role I liked the most, but I also really like the way mister plays D'Aversa because the attackers rotate and I like to move so as not to give reference points". Many of the Azzurri's fortunes will also depend on his speed of insertion into D'Aversa's chessboard and above all on his ability to find himself with his teammates in the department Esposito e Columbo. "Esposito has a lot of quality, with his goals he has given a lot to the team, but Colombo is also strong and now that I have arrived too, it is up to the three of us to help the team – he specifies – It will be up to me above all to understand what their style of play is and at the same time to make them understand what I like on the pitch, so that we can move together with ease. If we can all three play? He will decide".

Among other things, in Empoli Kouame also finds a person to whom he is particularly attached, the secretary of the Youth Sector Alessio Vignoli, who practically acted as a second father to him during his time at Prato when he arrived in Italy from the Ivory Coast at the age of sixteen. "He gave me so much, he made me feel part of his family - he explains -. I lived with him for three years and he is a person I carry in my heart". Finally, Kouame then presented the challenge with Milan. "I arrived after the defeat against Juve and found a group that had already forgotten that match and was focused on the future. I saw the first half of the match and the team played very well, then the incidents changed the match. Tomorrow we have a difficult match because Milan is a great team, but we have to try to do what the boys have always done so far, with the right attitude".

Simone Cioni