"Killian is the DNA of Anderlecht"

INTERVIEWS After two difficult years, Killian Sardella is coming back to the surface. In today's Het Nieuwsblad, his mother talks about the difficult period. "Killian joined the A core too early," she states. "The many bad things I read about him were a kind of torture."


You would almost forget, but Sardella is still only 20 years old. Barely 17 he was when Vincent Kompany brought him into the A-core. "When Killian told me he was joining the A nucleus, I thought it was a joke," says his mom Cécile Mbamba. "When he had to play against Mbokani, I thought the latter was going to eat him."

According to mother Sardella, it was not the easiest period. "The hardest part was after the game," she says. She describes how Killian often couldn't sleep after west games, but had to go to school as usual the day after. "Fortunately, he is extremely disciplined."

Difficult period
For the first year and a half, Sardella played often. Unfortunately, not always flawlessly. At one point, when Kompany preferred left back Mykhaylichenko to play at right back, something snapped. "He was furious and didn't understand a thing," mother Cécile recalls. She also does say that Killian realized that the Kompany did such a thing for a reason.

Press and public could sometimes be harsh on the young defender. "I read a lot of bad things about him. That was kind of torture for me," Killian's mom says. Although her son told her not to read such things, she couldn't resist.

Because he was out of the A core, Sardella went back to playing with the pledges. "Mentally, that was a very difficult period. I was his private psychologist," Cécile says. She says he Killian called her once before a match. "He was doing really badly. He felt like he was going to that competition for nothing." According to his mother, Killian felt he no longer belonged on the A team."

Confidence again
The arrival of Brian Riemer changed a lot. Last weekend, Sardella already mentioned that he feels a lot of confidence from the coach. Thus, he wanted to leave in January to seek playing minutes elsewhere. "But Anderlecht didn't want to let him go," says his mom. 

With left back Harri Toffolo missing and Moussa N'Diaye performing less, Sardella got his chance at left back a few weeks ago. He is seizing that opportunity with both hands. "Killian is now enjoying every moment on the field again," says his mom. "But he hasn't shown his real level yet."

Leaving through big gate
According to his mother, Sardella possesses an excellent mentality and she is convinced that he will go far as a result. "Killian only has one dream: to break through at Anderlecht. Even if it takes a little longer than anywhere else." Only then does he want to leave the club. Through the big gate.

During the difficult period, Sardella was sometimes criticized for not fitting into the Anderlecht DNA. "These people I want to answer that Killian is the DNA of Anderlecht," he said.