AC Milan star central defender, Fikayo Tomori, spoke to The Guardian to discuss the recent Scudetto triumph. Here are his statements:
"Ibrahimovic before the Scudetto? He was like: ‘Guys, if we win, be ready because it will go crazy."
"It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before – so many people. It was a three-, four-, five-kilometre drag but it took hours. To see everyone on the streets … I can’t really describe it."
On the victory:
"No one expected us to do it. So when we did, it felt even better – kind of proving people wrong, it was sweet for all of us. We knew we could do it", said Tomori.
On World Cup Qatar call-up dream:
"If I don’t get called up, I’m not thinking: ‘Ah, what’s happening?' I wasn’t panicking [in March], I was just focusing on my performances and helping Milan. But from there, if I do get called up, it’s making sure I take the steps to stay here."
On AC Milan's legendary defender Franco Baresi:
"I saw [Franco] Baresi after the last game, which was cool, you see different legends just flying about."
"The way they are as defenders [in Italy] – I wouldn’t say it’s personal but it’s: ‘I need to make sure what I’m doing is on the money and no one’s getting past me.’ They have that pride. There are little things the manager will tell me – make sure that you are blocking a run or that you are not allowing this to happen or making contact in the box."
He added:
"Watching [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Giorgio] Chiellini … they are very streetwise, you pick up stuff. The referees whistle a lot more so you can’t go in or, if you do, you have to tackle properly. You make sure you stay on your feet and are in the right positions so you can win the ball back and not give away fouls."
Tomori also discussed Italy's loss to North Macedonia in March. Macedonia means fruit language in Italian which led to a typically close-to-the-bone situation in the dressing room involving his Milan teammates Sandro Tonali and Alessandro Florenzi who were part of the Italy squad:
"Tonali and Florenzi were there so people brought the Macedonia [fruit salad] to the training ground. The newspapers were like: ‘Whoa.’ But the people were saying: ‘Well, we lost to a fruit salad'. It was taken as a joke but it was a weird one. They just didn’t expect to lose."
