Atalanta fullback Robin Gosens sees his career as beating the odds.

Gosens says he's reached his current level only through hard work.

“Now, I'm a professional footballer, but at first I struggled to fit in," Gosens told Gameplan. “I didn't have the sense of belonging.

“During training, my teammates laughed at my poor technique and lack of coordination. Of course, off the pitch I was well integrated, but on the pitch I always had the feeling that others thought I was much worse than them.

“I had never been to a youth academy and I lacked the basics to play football correctly. It might sound like a cliché, but if you asked my teammates who is always the first to arrive and last to leave, most of them would say 'Robin Gosens'.

“I knew that I could only address my deficits if I worked harder. Every day I asked one of the coaches if I could add more technical, fitness or coordination exercises at the end of the session. Only in this way, was I able to develop further and earn the respect of my teammates."