Jaïro Riedewald spent seven years at Crystal Palace before leaving them as a free agent at the end of last season.
The Eagles signed him in 2017 from Ajax, where he mainly operated as a centre-back. At Crystal Palace, he made 96 appearances in all competitions and three of them were as a centre-back.
Riedewald was moved to the defensive midfield role at Crystal Palace and has continued to operate in the same position at Royal Antwerp.
Friday’s edition of Gazet van Antwerpen has published an interview with the Dutchman, where he reviews his playing career so far.
When discussing Crystal Palace, the focus was on their former manager, Roy Hodgson. The versatile player made 79 appearances for the Eagles under the Englishman, mainly in midfield.
Riedewald revealed he initially had differences with Hodgson at Crystal Palace and explained how he managed to win over the manager.
“Look, what I liked about Hodgson was that he was so honest. He was of the old English school and explained that he preferred big, strong central defenders,” he said.
“For the first six months we clashed in terms of vision, because I preferred to tap the ball around and he wanted fighting football, but I took it as a challenge to convince him.
“That I ended up being in the starting line-up for the whole season in 2020-21, as a midfielder, was really a victory for me. As was the fact that I was able to sign another new contract.”
During his time at Crystal Palace, he played alongside Christian Benteke, with whom he shared a close bond.
“Oh yes, also a friend of mine. A big player! Literally [laughs] I thought it was quite strange that I was suddenly in the dressing room with him, because he had just played for the great Liverpool,” Riedewald explained.
“But we got along right away. Not because of the language, because his wife spoke better Dutch than he did, but mainly because we think about football in the same way.
“For example, we liked each other during position games and rondos, because we both preferred to play at the same time. Like me, he also occasionally played indoor football in his spare time, so we liked to focus on technique. It’s great that we were able to spend five seasons together.”
