Video: Lukaku on football heroes, Napoli advice and ‘overwhelmed’ by fans | OneFootball

Romelu Lukaku reveals how Vincent Kompany inspired his playing career, meeting his football heroes, asking Dries Mertens for Napoli advice and being ‘overwhelmed’ by his welcome.

Lukaku speaks several languages fluently, including Italian, and sat down with the Napoli YouTube Channel to talk about his life.

He confessed to always supporting RSC Anderlecht and the most emotional moment was his debut for them, something he had been “dreaming of since I was six years old.

“When I saw Vincent Kompany make his debut, I thought if he can do it, then so can I. Like me, he has Congolese origins, his father is from Brussels, he was in the youth academy. When he debuted, it gave me the extra push to do it too.

“When I made my first appearance, my next thought was all about scoring goals, which I did in my second game.”

Lukaku’s father was a player at the lower level of Belgian football and that meant his family moved around a lot.

“I was very timid as a child, I didn’t talk much to people, as I was so focused on football and quite distant. When I see you are open with me, I will give you my soul, but if I see something else, I am stand-offish.

“Football is my work, but also my passion, I try to watch as much as I can.”

Icons who inspired Lukaku

Lukaku was asked who were his heroes in football growing up and rattled off a list of great names.

“Didier Drogba was my idol as a kid, then Thierry Henry, Ronaldo, Anelka and Eto’o. I have been fortunate enough to meet four of those five in my career.”

The striker made the transfer from Chelsea over the summer for €30m, confirming that Serie A is his spiritual home after experiences at Inter and Roma.

It is also a reunion with his former Inter boss Antonio Conte, who got the best out of him during his career when winning the Scudetto, and he knew Belgium international Mertens would have valuable advice.

“When it first hit the internet that there was contact, straight away I saw the Instagram messages pour in from Napoli fans! I spoke to Dries, who I have known since I was 17 years old, and already had a trusted friend who could prepare me for life here.

“You can sense that you represent an entire city and its population. It’s a fantastic feeling. It gives you energy every day. When I see players, physiotherapists, waiters, all those who work here, they are all true Neapolitans and love the club. This makes you feel good, but is also a big responsibility.”

When he first arrived, Lukaku was presented to the fans at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona ahead of his debut goal in the comeback win over Parma.

“It was overwhelmed by my presentation. It was incredible, I was like: wow! I felt such a different atmosphere and a truly positive energy. I scored, but we won, which was the most important thing.”