Gini Wijnaldum: 'You have to put your feelings to one side'
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder tells us about settling into life in the dressing room and the French capital.
Gini, HOW DID YOU START PLAYING FOOTBALL?
"At the start, I was really into gymnastics, and then when I played football in the street with my friends, I saw that I wasn't too bad at it. So I decided to become a professional player and I announced to my grandmother that it was the sport I'd chosen. She was happy, because she thought gymnastics was too dangerous."
WHICH PLAYERS INSPIRED YOU?
"When I started playing, I wanted to be a midfielder like Clarence Seedorf. My family had always admired him because he comes from the same country as us. Clarence was always thought of as the country's best sportsman, and so when I played, I wanted to do things like him and be him on the pitch."
HOW DO YOU HANDLE YOUR EMOTIONS AROUND A MATCH?
"Even when I was young, I didn't feel too much pressure when I played. That's still the case today. It's rather when I'm not playing that I'm a little nervous. It's the same with a penalty shoot-out, if I have to shoot I'm calm, but it's difficult for me to watch my teammates shoot. When you're on the pitch, you can control your emotions and situations. It's not the case when you're not on the pitch. But I'm a calm person, I manage to control all of that."
IT SEEMS HANDING YOUR EMOTIONS IS CRUCIAL...
"It's crucial, yes. When you're not feeling good, sad, or not quite right, you can take some time to turn things round. But when you're a footballer, it's different, because the next match, the next training session is coming round fast. You have to put your feelings to one side, we play at such a high level that you have to perform every three days. We can't be too disappointed for too long, nor celebrate for too long...it works both ways."
WHAT KIND OF A PERSON ARE YOU?
"I'm a happy person, I smile a lot, I laugh, because I feel good! But like everyone, there are difficult moments. We're all human beings. But when there's something wrong, you can see it on my face immediately."
AND YOU'RE SETTLING IN SOMEWHERE NEW...
"Everything is different for me. I've radically changed my life, the country, and language, and of course it takes time to adapt. I have new teammates, a new coach, I'm still getting to know them on and off the pitch. I'm working hard to do my best and change things. I have taken a risk, but I think you have to be able to go out of your comfort zone, to grow, and always learn more. And I know I've made the right choice, I'm confident."
HOW DO YOU FEEL THE SEASON HAS GONE SO FAR?
"We're working a lot to get good results, and play better than we are right now, but we have real team spirit and are strong mentally. That's essential to win trophies and be a great team. We're on the right track."