MilanNews.it held an exclusive interview with Sky Sport journalist Marco Nosotti to speak on the recent victory in Turin against Juventus. Pioli and his men took their first victory in Turin since 2010, and the first in their new stadium. A pivotal game in the race for a Champions League qualification bid, and Pioli showed up when he needed to most with a perfectly executed plan of attack. Nosotti spoke exclusively about the performance, the winning choices of the coach, and on the Rossoneri project.
Starting a few days ago when it was apparent that Brahim Diaz would be earning a starting shirt, many were perplexed, but the Spaniard proved Pioli right here:
"In our Saturday night broadcast, we talked about it for a long time with De Grandis, he didn't surprise us too much. Little parenthesis: I really appreciate Pioli because he knows how his players are, he knows what they can give him and he works with his staff. on these things. So I thought that if he made this choice there is a reason, and it concerns both phases. In the possession phase, in attack, he does not offer points of reference and offers the possibility of attacking the two central players. with Ibra you do not position yourself, you stay high, and then you have the possibility of having quality players who dribble between the lines and therefore without giving points you have players who go inside, they do one on one with quality and speed. With Calhanoglu coming in with the strong foot you do density in the middle, with a couple of movements, and we saw it with Rebic, you create a hole there in front because either the two center backs come out or one from the front has to move back, and if you do good movement, you find the man free in the middle and Rebic did it. Diaz's quality could have been a help in that phase and also in the non-possession phase, because there you create density, you disturb the opponent's construction. It immediately seemed appropriate. Then Theo going forward on the inside found Calha, and so if the Turk was there he could go free on the wing one-on-one. So you could attack well behind the opponent's right-back. This time Chiesa played on the left and not on the right as in the first leg ... One plus one plus one makes three, and three are the goals that Juve scored. I liked this idea of Diaz, it seemed the right choice but I had no doubts because Pioli has knowledge. When he joins a team he enters into it, he enters the hearts of his boys and also in the technical-tactical part, he has strategy. It amazed me, but I thought that if it does so there is a reason. How is Rebic, what can Rebic give him? What can Leao give him? It is a complex game, to be interpreted in the round in both phases. In the end he caught us, because it is not only Diaz who played well, it is what he brought about in the game and in the choices of the others; of Calhanoglu, of Saelemaekers and others. When there are open spaces there are always a couple of players who throw themselves into this Milan that has a high re-aggression and a short restart, it can hurt you. In my opinion he did very very well,”.
Since the lockdown up until now, it has been said that several teams, including Milan, were favored with the absence of fans in the stadiums. Yet, after yetserday's victory, all the Rossoneri players focused on the ultras who showed up at the Milanello in the morning to congratulate them:
“Oh sure, because that was missing. I, who live on the sidelines and many situations, tell you that football has changed, it is another type of football and you have to adapt. I don't say more beautiful, easier or more difficult, it has different characteristics and that element of a player's emotionality and psychology is necessary, with and without an audience. And without an audience you have to make another kind of effort, another kind of adaptation; some may be good and some may be bad. I wonder what's going to happen when the audience comes back, it's going to be a big shock. It will need to be reset again. It takes the public, it is missing, especially in the topical moments of a match. Sometimes it can help you but it can also be a double-edged sword. I was talking about it with a psychoanalyst who told me that strangely Milan make record victories away and paradoxically win more away than at home, because at home there is almost a sense of satisfaction, of recognizable space, of tranquility that leads you get comfortable a little, which combined with the skill of the opponent can create a different outcome. The footballer is made of running, of legs, of a heart that beats and pumps, he is also made of emotionality, passion, fears and joys that must be managed, overcome, exasperated: emotions. This part is too important and has been put to the test, and of course I think they had a lot of pleasure to have the fans there. Because you are in an empty field and you think you play for the shirt, for the goal, because you are a professional, because you have fun ... Then sometimes you look around and think that you would also like to play for someone else who until recently he gave his approval and disapproval that it is part of the game, and this part of the game then failed,”.
Prior to yesterday's match, Maldini confirmed Mr. Pioli for next season regardless of the result. Wishing this two year old Rossoneri project, what specific weight does this continuity have for which the managers have fought so much?
“Continuity is important, you can't do counter movements every time. I'm leaving, I'm going back, no, it's not good, I'll try again. I tried, it's fine but no, let's do it all again. No. Okay, there is little time, but we also need to change this philosophy, there are some things that need their time, there is a need for continuity in all the aspects that make a high-level professional football reality strong. . The team, the market, the coach, the company, the vision: we need someone who has a medium-term vision, who takes actions that go in that direction, who controls, cuts, cleans up, bevels , stimuli… But then it goes on if it is a project, as it seems in this one, that works. Milan is the youngest team in Italy, among the youngest in Europe, it is a team that has its limits but that has been able to win them through a work of organization and availability. Now we must go on, we must confirm. In the past years we often talked about young people but then we took it all back after six months. The positive aspect is that Paolo Maldini is there, with his presence which is a guarantee, with his way of growing even in his new role. He is credible, he is strong, he has vision, and around him he is coagulating a philosophy and I believe that Pioli is part of it. In all these years, Pioli has also grown and is still growing, is improving, putting himself to the test and raising the bar. The challenge rises and Pioli is not out of place, he proved it. He knows the team well, he knows how to work and I think he can be responsible for next year however things go. Then one thing I like is that you speak clearly,”.
Yesterday, Pioli talked about his young group that is maturing, and actually after the penalty missed by Kessie and Ibra's injury, there was fear that the team could give up and collapse. That was not the case. Are you saying there there has finally been this leap in quality?
"I would say yes but with the caveat that in order to have a turning point, we need to consider several games that show us that this tactical versatility, of adaptation, of reading the situation and of resisting the elements and then coming out again with identity, ideas and quality is continuous. In the short term, that is, the lapse of a match, this team has proved it. He has also shown this in recent times when he has lost a few too many games, he played badly, when he lost because in addition to the skill of the opponents, perhaps something was also missing at the level of the leg, because in this football the leg is important. I would tell you yes, it is a turning point, but let's see what happens in the next games. But this is a performance that came in the match: both because it was Juve and because it was a direct match, this is THE match. A test of great maturity, Juve are not the last to arrive: they will have their problems but they have players of great quality. So I repeat, is it a breakthrough? Probably yes, certainly it is a confirmation that the bar has risen in the face of certain situations and what the game was asking for from a strategic point of view, from an attitude point of view, the answer was right, adequate,".
Among the stars last night, there is obviously Fikayo Tomori, defensive wall and surprising with that header:
“He made a good third time. Chiellini if he can't jump doesn't make you jump, but he was caught in the middle, there was no adequate climb and Tomori had set a notable jump. I really like this guy, I think there is no doubt that he is to be redeemed. Kjaer-Tomori at the moment is a very valid couple, and I don't want Romagnoli but now this couple trust for the Milan game in marking and coverage, for the work they can do in one-on-one, for how the tasks are divided, both under construction and in coverage. In a couple of situations Tomori has lost the man like with Raspadori, who is not easy to deal with anyway and continues to score, but he is there. Work on man is learned, it also grows with the experience that is acquired. He has physicality, race, availability. He knows how to work in the department and in one-on-one, even if he still has something to learn. He's a good guy, then I remember Pioli, beyond the knowledge he gained as a coach, he was an elegant stopper, with vision and anticipation, but when there was a stick to give he gave it to you because he knew when to give it. In any case, I like Tomori, we promote him ”.
Taking into consideration other great performances, not just last night but all season, do you think Davide Calabria deserves a call for the Euro this summer?
"He deserves the call for the national team and he got it. He will be our right-back for the World Cup, he deserves it for the European Championship but he arrived late in the group and there is a lot of competition. People like Florenzi and Di Lorenzo have experience and relationship with the group. Mancini has always said that everything is open, everything is possible. Mancini likes Calabria and has called him, he has also kept him to try to play another role because he can do it in midfield. The CT likes versatility. Now I don't know where he will be in the hierarchies of the next extended call-up: in two years the national team has done a great job with two great protagonists in that role and now there is Davide who is in this form, I don't know ... They may not be upset the things. It is one of those situations in which Mancini reluctantly will have to make some considerations and leave him at home, because so far the hierarchies tell us Florenzi and Di Lorenzo. But what Calabria is doing is evident, and we must not be dazzled only by current events, but we must take into consideration what it has done in the last two years, for how he has grown. Would he deserve the European? Yes. In any case, I believe that a place will be played for the World Cup, while for the European Championship, I believe that there are fairly consolidated hierarchies. But I'm not in Mancini's head yet: I couldn't blame him if he didn't have to call him because he has valid alternatives on the right, but I wouldn't be surprised if he called him because he has already shown that he appreciates his qualities as a person and as a player who knows how to do more things,".