Four goals against Lecce in Coppa Italia to make his new fans remember the name: 9 goals in the first 7 games in Serie A to get him to the top of the goalscorer table. He now hasn't scored in a month though, his last one was the 1-3 at home against Parma: Krzysztof Piatek remains the biggest surprise in this Serie A 2018-2019 despite his current difficulties. Growth, objectives, mentality: through an interview to Il Corriere della Sera, the Polish striker has talked about his drought.
"There are no players in Europe that can score during every single game: the goals will come back. I'm not playing in one of the strongest Italian clubs. It's easier to score at Real Madrid or Juve, you have a team that helps you scoring. A big impact over Serie A? I couldn't imagine to be capocannoniere. The season's long though, I can't be please with what I've done so far. Goals are needed and I'm hungry, I want to score. Here at 23 and not before? I haven't lost time. You have to grow in the right time, I've respected that. You don't have to take big risks. I didn't want to leave Poland without the certainty of doing well and then having to come back".
"I wanted to become a bomber. I've started playing football at 2 years old. There wasn't a lot to do where I was living, in Dzierzoniow. My first coach was my father, he's helped me to become a footballer without putting any pressure on me. We could say I'm a player that grew at home and on the streets. I'm not afraid to use my talent, if I don't grow it will my fault. Nobody knew me among my teammates and I hoped so. I told myself "If they don't know you've scored 21 goals and that I almost score at every game, maybe the defenders I'll face don't know either". Being someone people didn't know gave me an advantage. I didn't know my Genoa teammates either. After I signed my contract, I've turned the Playstation on and I've looked for them there".
He presented himself with 4 goals against Lecce in Coppa Italia: something special? Not for Piatek, for whom that was.. "Another day at the office. Let's just say that in Poland, that wouldn't be anything special. Four goals in 38 minutes, everything seemed easy, natural and normal to me. Am I cold? No, I'm just calm and not the type to keep articles and pictures. I feel a bit like Colombus: I travel with goals in my luggage. The dream of someone coming to Genova as a young player is to make it to a big club. If I continue like this, I could get in a top club".
"Goals? I'm thinking to go up to the double figures. At this point, I'm hoping I'll score more than 20 goals. I love to challenge the defenders. The comparison with Lewandowski? I think I can reach his level. When you play in Serie A you have to remain focuses, always using your mind to score goals. It's wrong to think that "you've scored 5 goals, you're now a football god". You're no one. It's a long journey. The objective is to make it to the Champions League. I want to thank president Preziosi who's given me this chance, there's an only way to repay him for the investment and the trust he gave me: score a lot of goals. I won't disappoint him nor myself".
