Hammers defender Angelo Ogbonna returns in the latest edition of his new blog, which delves into the Italian’s life with the Club and outside football.
This week, the former Juventus centre-back discusses the recent international break which saw him team up with the Italy squad and West Ham’s upcoming Premier League London derby against Crystal Palace.
The 28-year-old also revealed why he can’t wait for Christmas to come around this year…
Hello everyone,
I’ve just returned from the international period with Italy, and it was a good break for me. For us, our 1-1 result at home to Spain was a very good result. Spain are huge in world football with a great team so it was a good result. First half maybe wasn’t as good as we’d liked, but in the end, we drew and one point for us is really good.
Then we had Macedonia, and it was the first time I’ve ever been there. It is a nice country. It was quiet and that was good for the squad. We won 3-2 which was also a great result because although we made a few mistakes, after we got back to win.
The team morale around our Italy camp is good. There have been a lot of changes and we have a new generation, and sometimes you can lose games and make mistakes. But you have to be very focused as it can be hard, but it is good around the team at the moment.
For West Ham, I’m not sure if the international break came at a good or bad time for us. But it has been our time to reflect and work on things ahead of the game against Crystal Palace. We tried to win the last game against Middlesbrough and we tried to show our character.
At the moment, of course it is a difficult time for us. We have no excuses to complain; the Stadium or anything – no. We have to work and always prepare for the next game which we are now doing.
The upcoming match is our big London derby so we’re all looking forward to it. I think the most important thing is the performance. If our performance is good, the points will come.
I enjoyed playing with him at the back last season. He can play in many positions on the pitch, so everyone liked to be alongside him. Sometimes when there are a lot of changes, you are disappointed because you have lost your friend or teammate, but this is football. I wish him the best of luck.
Away from football, everything is good for me and my wife, who is currently pregnant. Our baby is due on Christmas Day! It could be a big celebration for us and a really good gift! We are starting to prepare but we are not in a rush, we have time. My wife needs to be relaxed.
We know it is going to be a boy, and maybe he can be a footballer when he is older too! The most important thing is that he is healthy, though.
As I said previously, I have a very good relationship with Matteo Darmian as we played together at Torino. We meet frequently, but I see a lot of footballers who are in London who I also know too!
London and England is great; there is respect. You can walk where you want and people don’t stop you too much and you can live your life.
When you are the training ground, you are focused fully on your next game, as we are for Palace, but outside of football, England allows you to live your life also.
I hope we can get the three points on Saturday at Selhurst Park. Enjoy the game, everybody.