After the match against Inter Milan, the guest on Udinese Tonight was Hassane Kamara. The Juventus number 11 analyzed the San Siro match and his season so far, as well as talking about his relationship with his teammates, his goals for the end of the season, and the differences between Italy, France, and England.

The talk begins with an analysis of the San Siro performance: “As you all saw, we could have scored the second goal at the end, however, we failed to do so. It is important to play two halves, because if you play only one against such strong teams it is impossible to win. It’s good to have shown that we can do well against a big team, but now we have to stay focused to get back to winning ways, because we’ve been missing a win for two games already. We did not give up, against Inter maybe we were a little scared, but then we did everything to recover. We were a little tense, playing at San Siro always has a certain effect, but I can assure you that we are not giving up.” The Bianconeri are also on the ball because they have a goal, now declared, to cut: “The goal is to reach 50 points. We have to work hard, we have some tough games ahead of us, but I think if we play as we have often done recently things will go well.”

On Sunday the shock came between halves, and Kamara confirms that it was also thanks to Coach Runjaic’s words, “The coach told us that we had played poorly, but that in the second half we should have gone hard because by scoring a goal we would have reopened the game.”

Missed against Inter was Kamara’s great friend and Juventus captain Thauvin: “Florian is not ready yet, it still takes some time for his return. We feel his absence, both as a player and as a personality on the field. He gives us confidence, if we are in trouble he carries the team on his shoulders. It is more difficult without him.” The two have been very close since the beginning of last season: “Now we see Florian like this, but two years ago he did not play often, it was a difficult time for him, but he always worked hard. When I arrived I wanted to help him, he is a great player and a great man. I was close to him from the beginning and today I am happy that everything is going well for him.” Kamara and Thauvin also have their own jubilation, which they show off with every goal by either of them: “At the beginning of the year he asked me if I wanted to do this jubilation with him, in the past he did it with Pogba.”

Kamara is happy with what he has done so far, but he knows he can still do more: “I’m happy with my season, but it’s still not enough. I had two difficult months in November and December, I want to be more consistent. I have to keep working, keep believing and keep doing the best I can.” The change of form that came in February has somehow turned the Ivorian’s season around: “I’ve always played at four, it’s more natural for me. At five is different, I like it because I can attack more, but at four is easier.” In both roles, his companion-concurrent is Jordan Zemura: “Jordan and I have a good relationship, we are human beings before footballers, we spend more time with teammates than family. When he plays I help him, of course I want to play all the time, but if it’s not my turn I want to help, he is like a younger brother to me. Between the two, though, I’m faster anyway.”

With Oumar Solet, too, he has formed a good relationship: “We play Switch a lot, but he is not really capable. He is a quiet guy, on and off the field, and that is his strength. Then he has experience, he has already played in the Champions League. It was easy for him to integrate into the team because there are so many of us who speak French, but it’s impressive to see how he seems to have been playing for two years with us.”

Kamara has always performed at a good level during the season, except in the Como defeat. However, the HCL outfielder has a back story to reveal: “I had a fever. I forced to play and then did everything wrong. I told the coach that I was fine, he trusted, but that was not the case.” On that occasion coach Runjaic then replaced him at halftime, frankly acknowledging how he had not played the way he expected: “In the locker room you need to have a sincere relationship, because trust is necessary. It’s good for the team that the coach does that, because if you play badly and you don’t have anyone to put pressure on you, you can’t get a good level.” Then, he stresses the importance of attitude: “If the team enters the field well you can put the players you want, but if the attitude is wrong the game will go badly regardless of who is deployed.”

Before arriving in Udine, Hassane Kamara passed through France and England, always bringing his cats Tipsy and Simba with him. What differences does he see in soccer in the three countries? “In Italy all the teams are difficult to play against, they are all tactically organized. In England there is a lot of intensity and there are more outfielders. In France the league is less difficult than in Italy, but as individual talent we are on par.” And in the kitchen, who wins? “In Italy wherever you go you eat well, but if you go to a starred restaurant in France the level is unbeatable.” Kamara was also able to get a taste of Friulian cuisine: “I have already eaten frico and I can say that I like it.” But he also liked the Friulian affection: “I feel the warmth of the people, then this year the results help. At home I always hear the fans’ choruses and I am pleased.”

Finally, what does Kamara expect from the season finale? “First I will mention two names, Modesto and Pafundi. They in training are very good, they have a good attitude, they can show great things. In general I hope we will have a great end of the season, we don’t have to think about the 50 points but focus on the individual games. We won’t give up and then we’ll do the math at the end. Market rumors can be distracting, but I don’t think it will happen to us. As a player you always want to go higher, and individual goals help the growth of the whole team. We still want to prove ourselves on the field.”