Arrigo Sacchi gave his opinion on the progress of this Serie A league, he praised Gasperini’s Atalanta and Pioli’s Milan, the Scudetto fight and much more. This is what he said to ilgiornale.it:
Milan’s defeat against Atalanta caused a lot of noise. What do you think of this unexpected stop?
“When we talk about Milan we must not forget that no one would ever have expected to see them first in the standings at mid-season. They are doing something extraordinary. AC Milan, against Atalanta, was like a student who is passing from middle school to high school who met teachers on the other side. Certainly the absences and recoveries at the last minute did not favor Pioli’s team but it was not easy either because in front of them they met a team that makes strategy. Atalanta is one of the few Italian teams that has a strategy that goes beyond our sporting culture, based on tactics.”
Is Atalanta the only one in Italy to have taken the right path in terms of mentality or are there others who are trying?
“Atalanta have been trying for the longest since they have become an important element in our football for four years. Then there are also Milan, Sassuolo, Spezia. Some teams are trying to break the mold of tactics by trying to play football with newer ideas, quality and strategy. When a strategist meets a tactician, the strategist always wins.”
Will the heavy defeat suffered by Milan have repercussions on the Rossoneri environment?
“I can’t say this but the most important thing to safeguard is the dressing room. The balances to be kept are always delicate and I would not want the signing of some players in this winter transfer market to destabilize the team, leading to disturbances. Someone from the initial squad could lose some certainty with the arrival of new players and I hope that’s not the case. Milan must continue on the path undertaken made of research into collective football based on enthusiasm, team play, quality: everything must not become individuality and tactics because the magic would be lost and the results would begin to fail.”
Who do you give credit to for this amazing AC Milan season?
“Pioli and the club managers are making a masterpiece and they continue to take the young people since the two or three older ones who already have them. I repeat, continue on this path. Milan was lucky enough to find Ibrahimovic and Kjaer who have given security to these youngsters who are paying them back by following them step by step. Against Atalanta, they met the masters, but the merits are to be divided equally between the management, the coach and the players, it has always been like this. The club must always be in first place and then everything else.”
Who will win the Scudetto this year?
“I don’t know, I hope that the team that has more fun, that has more courage, that excites, that has no debts, that plays football better and that allows us to evolve and update ourselves and to no longer be the ones who in the last 20 years they have only won three titles in Europe.”
