According to Dutch media outlet VoetbalPrimeur, Kenneth Taylor, Lazio's 24-year-old midfielder, spoke in an interview about his life and playing experience since joining the team nine months ago. He revealed that he enjoys life in Italy but explained that due to the rivalry between Lazio and Roma, it is nearly impossible for him to dine in public with friends who play for Roma.

In January of this year, Taylor ended his nearly 16-year career at Ajax and joined Lazio. He initially played under Maurizio Sarri and has been coached by Gennaro Gattuso since June.

On adapting to Italy, Taylor said: "They barely speak English, so it's very important for me to learn the language here. I have a tutor who comes to my home and gives me private Italian lessons."

Taylor does not regret leaving the Netherlands to join Lazio: "Leaving the Netherlands and arriving in a completely new environment has been good for me. Both personally and footballistically, I want to improve further, and that's very interesting."

However, Taylor admitted he has not yet fully explored Rome and therefore cannot recommend the best pasta restaurants to his friends and family. "Most of the time, we eat at the club. But honestly, the food has been delicious at every restaurant I've visited."

"My family visits me from time to time. It's not always easy to arrange, but whenever they come, I really enjoy the time with them."

Discussing his footballistic development, Taylor believes he has matured since arriving at Lazio: "Italian football is played very maturely, and I've improved in that aspect. Under Gattuso, we play more with possession and high pressing."

Taylor also described his specific role in Gattuso's tactical system: "He wants me to organize play from the back. We play with a double pivot system, and he also wants me to be the first link in the team's attacking phase. We have a lot of one-on-one duels, and he wants me to have a killer mentality; duels are very crucial."

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

The statistics reflect these changes. Taylor stated: "My running distance has increased significantly, particularly high-intensity running."

Regarding his goal statistics at Lazio, Taylor explained: "In Italy, there are fewer goals in matches. In some of my early games, we won 1-0, 1-0, and 2-1 respectively, so scoring opportunities were relatively limited. However, we've created many more chances this season and are improving compared to last season."

Taylor was previously known for his excellent penalty-taking ability, but he is not currently Lazio's primary penalty taker. "No, the primary penalty taker is our captain, Mattia Zaccagni, and I'm second. I've taken two penalties, but both were in shootouts, not during the 90 minutes of regular time."

Despite leaving Ajax, Taylor said he still follows his former club: "Ajax will always have a place in my heart, both as a player and as a supporter. I always try to watch their matches."

However, fewer of his familiar teammates have remained at Ajax: "I still keep in touch with some of them, but many players have left. Owen Wijndal is still there, but many others have departed."

Currently, Rome has several Dutch-speaking players, with Taylor, Tijani Noslin, and Danilho Doekhi playing for Lazio, while Donyell Malen and Devyne Rensch play for the city rivals Roma. Taylor added: "Albert Gudmundsson also speaks Dutch." He said everyone gets along well in private.

However, due to the rivalry between Lazio and Roma, it is difficult for them to dine together in public.

Taylor laughed and said: "It's almost impossible to go out to eat together. If you do that in public, the fans won't accept it. When I arrived, Devyne told me that such things aren't actually allowed."

When asked if he would consider cooking at home to host these friends, Taylor laughed: "No, no, I can't cook!"

Traduit par IA.

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