Kevin De Bruyne became a leader on the pitch for the club and his country during his golden age, emerging as one of the best midfielders in the world. When Raheem Sterling was carelessly dropped by Dani Carvajal in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 first leg between Manchester City and Real Madrid, Kevin De Bruyne appeared to take over the situation.
City suffered a crisis of confidence in the penalty execution situation, with Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Ilkay Gundogan and Sergio Aguero both failing to carry out the task in the last four occasions. Wearing the captain’s armband, De Bruyne immediately proposed himself, telling his team-mates that he would be the executor. Then, in a tense atmosphere, he calmly deceived his Belgian compatriot, Thibaut Courtois who escorted the crossbar, when he executed his first penalty kick in the last three and a half years.
It is another signal in the midfielder’s career development, from the beginning which is considered as a young player full of talent but full of emotion, to be a big-hearted and inspiring leader. De Bruyne has sometimes been seen as an emotional player in the past, but those who know the player 28 years more closely say that he has grown maturity on the pitch, which is helped by the presence of his family who also settled in Manchester.