Napoli defender Kevin Malcuit says he is loving life at the San Paolo. “You feel the history when you wear this shirt.”
Malcuit only joined Napoli from Lille last summer but has already broken into their first team, displacing Elseid Hysaj as the club’s first-choice right-back in recent months.
“As soon as I arrived, I felt a huge difference to Ligue 1 on a tactical level,” the 27-year-old told France Football.
Napoli defender Kevin Malcuit says he is loving life at the San Paolo. “You feel the history when you wear this shirt.”
Malcuit only joined Napoli from Lille last summer but has already broken into their first team, displacing Elseid Hysaj as the club’s first-choice right-back in recent months.
“As soon as I arrived, I felt a huge difference to Ligue 1 on a tactical level,” the 27-year-old told France Football.
“The first few days, I was often out of step with my teammates. I needed to adapt and improve positionally. I think I’ve worked well in this sense.
“Ancelotti has mostly worked on the tactical aspect in the defensive phase. Frankly, when you’re lucky enough to have one of the best Coaches in the world as a Coach, you listen to his every word because you know you’ll improve under him.
“More prepared tactically? Yes, of course. Serie A is very different. Here, there’s a lot more attention to detail. We’re paying attention to everything carefully.
“During games you can be quickly punished for relaxing. Now I feel much more careful over 90 minutes, otherwise it can be very risky.
“The atmosphere at Saint-Etienne is incredible and certainly one of the most beautiful in France. But Naples is different.
“People live, eat, breathe and sleep while thinking about football here. Like at Saint-Etienne, you feel the weight of Napoli’s history when you wear this shirt.
“Diego Maradona played here… Football is a religion. It doesn’t matter what you do in your everyday life.
“Everyone is a Napoli fan here and this fervour, this smell… we feel this atmosphere every day.
“Most impressive teammate? I train every day with only internationals. The standards are very high here.
“Defensively speaking, though, I’d say Kalidou Koulibaly because he’s certainly one of the best defenders in the world and we can only improve with him.”
The Frenchman had to pass through Monaco, Niort, Saint-Etienne and Lille before joining Napoli, so what does he make of his trajectory?
“It’s this unusual career, which hasn’t necessarily been linear, that has made me the player I am today,” he explained.
“I’ve experienced lots of things. Nothing’s been easy, but I didn’t let anything stop me from getting to one of the best clubs in Europe.
“I’m optimistic by nature, I want to stretch myself and above all push beyond my limits.
“France? It’s a dream and an objective. That also dictated my decision to come here. I’m at Napoli because I hope to break into the national team by playing for a big club and in big games.
“Obviously the Coach makes his choices but as for myself, I have to keep going like I have been.
“How I’d describe myself? A player who helps in the attacking phase, while trying to maintain defensive balance, because first of all I’m a defender.
“While I’ve been at Napoli I’ve become more rigorous with my defending thanks to the experience I’m gaining game by game.”