According to Dutch media outlet VoetbalPrimeur, 24-year-old Lazio midfielder Teun Koopmeiners discussed his life and playing experience since joining the club around nine months ago in an interview. He expressed his enjoyment of living in Italy and revealed that dining out together with Roma players is nearly impossible due to the fierce rivalry between Lazio and Roma. He explained that teammates at Roma would never allow such a thing.

Koopmeiners left Ajax in January this year after nearly 16 years with the Dutch club and transferred to Lazio. He played under Maurizio Sarri and has been under the management of Daniele De Rossi since June this year.

Regarding his adaptation to Italy and the language, Koopmeiners said: "They don't speak much English here, so learning the language was very important. I have a private Italian tutor who comes to my home to teach me one-on-one lessons."

Koopmeiners has no regrets about leaving the Netherlands and joining Lazio. "Leaving the Netherlands and arriving in a completely new environment has been good for me. Both personally and in football, I want to develop myself further, and that's very exciting," he said.

However, since Koopmeiners hasn't fully explored Rome yet, he admitted he cannot recommend the best restaurants to his friends and family. "Many times we just eat at the club. But honestly, everywhere I've been has had great food," he said.

"My family visits occasionally. It's not always easy to arrange, but whenever they come, I enjoy spending time with them," he added.

Regarding his tactical transition, Koopmeiners believes he has matured since arriving at Lazio. "Serie A is a more mature league to play in, and I've developed there. Under De Rossi, we focus more on ball possession and control, and we press higher up the pitch," he explained.

Koopmeiners also described his specific tactical responsibilities under De Rossi's system. "He wants me to lead the transition from defense to attack. We use a double pivot system, and he wants me to be the team's first connection point when we transition to the attacking phase. We have many individual competitions, and he wants me to have a strong mentality. These competitions are very important," he said.

When asked if this style of play requires a lot of running, Koopmeiners replied: "Yes, but I enjoy playing this way."

The statistics reflect his evolution as well. "My running distance has increased significantly, especially high-intensity running," Koopmeiners noted.

Regarding his goal-scoring record at Lazio, Koopmeiners explained: "I haven't scored many goals in Serie A yet. In the first few matches, we won 1-0, 1-0, and 2-1, so there weren't many scoring opportunities. However, this season we've created more chances and performed better than last season," he said.

While Koopmeiners was previously known as a strong penalty taker, he is not Lazio's penalty specialist. "No, our captain Mattia Zaccagni is the first penalty taker, and I'm second. I've taken two penalties, but both were in penalty shootouts, not during the regular 90 minutes," he clarified.

Despite leaving Ajax, Koopmeiners continues to follow his former club. "Ajax will always have a special place in my heart, both as a player and as a fan. I try to watch their matches whenever I can," he said.

However, his close teammates from Ajax have become fewer. "I still keep in touch with some of them, but many players have left. Wout Weghorst is still there, and Kian Fitz-Jim was there before, but he's gone now," he noted.

Currently, there are many Dutch-speaking players at Roma. Koopmeiners, Teun Rijps, and Danilo Cataldi play for Lazio, while Daniëlle Malen and Devyn Ranches play for the city rivals Roma. Koopmeiners added that "Albert Gudmundsson also speaks Dutch," and said that everyone gets along well personally.

However, due to the rivalry between Roma and Lazio, it's difficult for them to dine together publicly.

Koopmeiners laughed and said: "Going out and eating together is basically impossible. If we were spotted in public, the fans wouldn't accept it. When I first arrived, Devyn told me this was basically not something we could do."

When asked if he could invite these friends over and cook for them at home, Koopmeiners laughed and replied: "No, no, I don't cook!"

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