AC Milan technical area director and legendary former defender, Paolo Maldini, has spoken to Festival dello Sport, an event organised by La Gazzetta dello Sport. Here are his words:
"Scudetto? Very important and very different for me as a director. Completely different tension and work. The first year I still had to understand my role: I think I had a fair experience."
He added:
"These have been 3 wonderful years with great satisfaction for the Club and for the fans. 3 moments? The first moment when I signed with Milan. Then the difficulties of the new job, even if Leonardo helped me. Finally Reggio Emilia and the party in the Duomo: it was important."
Maldini on if there was a player that him and Massara did not exactly and totally agree on :
"Massara insisted a lot on (Simon) Kjaer. I liked him, but didn't know him in detail like he did. He pushed a lot for him."
On Frederic Massara:
"He is my age but with a different path and different vision. I think he is crucial. He is a great football connoisseur and a hard worker."
How did you experience the derby of last February?
"Giroud is a champion, full stop. He has won a World Cup, plays for the national team, is an exemplary professional. The main characteristic of a champion is that he is humble and a team player. A champion comes out when needed. At the beginning, he was limited by a few injuries... Internally, we knew that this was the opportunity to reach a dream, we felt it, we we believed and the results have arrived."
Maldini on Pierre Kalulu's growth:
"At that moment Kjaer was out there, like Romagnoli. Tomori had an operation on his meniscus. We had to face 6-7 games with two central roles, Kalulu and Gabbia. We had crossed our fingers, but they were fundamental. The nice thing about last year's Scudetto is that they were all protagonists: Tatarusanu with the penalty saved in the derby, my son Daniel with the goal at Spezia. It was fantastic."
On Gerry Cardinale:
"When in doubt I told him my story (laughs). Who comes from a different continent and is used to seeing different sports ... It's like going to lunch with a baseball legend. I told him about my origin, my life. Gerry is a person who has energy. He wants to do, listen. I like him very much. The idea that is conveyed is a kind of continuity compared to Elliott, they have taken this club that has been restored economically and which now should be able to climb back towards a slightly larger target."
So are you aiming for the Champions League?
"There is no promise, I can make the promise to you: that of not going beyond our economic means.All this goes through a restructuring of all Italian football in general, the difference with English football is almost unbearable: the budget difference puts us in difficulty. We have other weapons, such as history and more ideas. The safe limit for the next few years is that of revenues / investments, we will not go beyond our resources."
Are you ready for the Champions League nights again?
"The desire, determination and ambitions are there," Said Maldini, "I want an ambitious team, we are Milan and history speaks for us. It is not a speech to be made only for Milan but for the whole of Serie A, our TV rights are worth too little for what we are."
On Charles De Ketelaere:
"First of all, the market is dynamic. We tried to take Botman before Charles, who would have exhausted our budget and we would have turned to other players for that role there. Our ideas in May compared to what happened in the end there is hardly a common thread. At this point in our journey we don't have to take average players, but players of great prospect: Charles is one of them. He is a class of 2001, he showed important things in the Champions League. We need time, I know that the fans and the newspapers don't wait, but we have to wait. I give the example of Platini who did not do well at Juventus for the first six months, then he went back to winning everything. A 2001 product is not ready to take on so many responsibilities in a club like Milan, we must give this balance."
Maldini continued:
"We know what are the ways to bring young people to grow. Bets are made on young people, not all are won but we have very few doubts about him."
On coach Stefano Pioli:
"I knew him because I played with him in the U21 many years ago. I didn't know he had this charge on the pitch which is contagious, he releases energy that is incredible. This energy is truly incredible, he manages to transmit every day something exceptional, he shares our projects, our strategies on the market. He takes no excuses. All things we asked for and that he accepted because he is like this. He grew up and made us grow, he is a born leader. He was considered a normal one, nowadays being normal is already a great thing. Sometimes, there are agents who describe their players to me 'he always trains, he is always on time.' Normal things are now exceptional. It is a special relationship , we confront, we share, we fight.He has finally found an environment in which he can show what he really is as a man and as a coach."
What phrases does Pioli like to say at Milanello?
"There are statistics, phrases from opponents, from former teammates or even from former coaches. Maybe even more than a couple of former teammates. He is a sensitive person, he understands how to stimulate the group and therefore sometimes hangs up something."
On offers rejected for players like Leao:
"If I rejected offers for Leao and Theo Hernandez? I told someone to not even show up... The problem is that then when they return and then you have to decide what to do. In the context of the sustainability of the club, I repeat that we have the accounts in place andwe don't need to sell anyone. We want to keep the strongest, but the players who cannot be sold today no longer exist."
Will you need a young striker in January or in June maybe?
"We are careful... We have to see how this season unfolds. If we do remember what we thought before last season it has completely changed everything: you have to be open minded."
How does Stefano Pioli work in relation with the transfer market windows?
"Opinions on strategies, on the future. We do not dwell so much on names but on profiles: at the beginning it was not like that. He told us that many of the guys who arrived, he did not know them. We share ideas on what is needed. An example on the defender: Botman and Tomori are quite different players. At different times, we needed the first then the other. Then you change your mind and even change your strategy", declared Paolo Maldini.
On Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
"He also knows that recovery is difficult, but when Ricky and I went to him for the renewal proposal we told him that he must consider this 100% as a player with the aim of returning as a protagonist for the second part of the season. He started with this idea, he wants to go back to the season. Last year, when the few times he had no pain, he was a decisive Zlatan.He must be considered a 100% footballer. For the future, he should not worry. He has a little bit of this anxiety about having to quit, but it's normal. Over time, you realise that it is more of a struggle to continue. What does he do in the future? He does Zlatan (laughs)."
Maldini on the derby and what it means for him:
"In Milano, there is great respect, Milano teaches you this, to respect the opponent. I remember when Nesta arrived at Milan he did not go where he did not know, I told him that here, it is calm and he is respected. Milan playing a Champions League semi-final is a winning Milan. The most heartfelt game is the derby, and it is normal for this to be the case. It is right for fans to act as fans but players and managers must have a different balance."
On the new stadium:
"I must say that the coexistence in recent years has gone well. We shared trophies and the stadium. It is absolutely not a problem to share the stadium. Then, I don't know what decisions will be made in the future. The clear thing, and someone who has had my story tells you, is that it is a stadium full of memories for all the Milan fans. But... Milan does not end with San Siro, it goes on. We have to create something that makes us comeptitive and that's the stadium, otherwise we really stay and tell each other the things of the past years and it's not something that excites me very much."
Maldini on Adriano Galliani:
"When the referee made a mistake against Spezia and didn't give us the goal, after 15 days he went to referee Monza. Galliani enters the locker room and says 'But how dare you to cancel that goal against Milan?' Over the years we have had some misunderstandings, now the relationship is fantastic. He never makes us forget what he did for Milan, he is a Milan player inside. He is a great manager, what he did with Monza is incredible. Long live Galliani, we owe a lot to him."
How did you see seeing your son Daniel score against Spezia?
"Roller coaster, life is made up of crazy emotions. From an emotional point of view you have to hold back, you have to be appropriate to what your role is, but then it's useless to pretend... His surname brought him only annoyances and comparisons. Now there is so much more nastiness with social media. I used to hear only the voices outside the suburban courts, and it is not pleasant. Even the decision on the number 3 jersey will be theirs, they are adults and over 18."
What would have Cesare Maldini said?
"He would have been super happy, he and my mum too would have enjoyed that as a manager I had had this championship, with their grandson winning by playing and scoring a goal. It would have been an immense joy, but they certainly saw it."
What do you miss the most?
"I miss dad the most. Everyone who has lost their parents is missing. Mum is missing too. Dad I think in recent years he has enjoyed more his sons and grandchildren. At the moment of the event, we miss to show grandfather or to my father what we managed to achieve. But my father is remembered so often that he is really something that I always have next to me, even in the next few days, a Milanello tribune will be titled to my father and this keeps his memory always alive."
On Silvio Berlusconi:
"He called me lately to recommend a purchase, but I can't say who (laughs). He often calls Pioli... He is happy with this path that this club is taking, he remains a Milan fan."
Is Mike Maignan among top 3 goalkeepers in the world?
"All very subjective, what he does compared to many other goalkeepers is particular... He is a modern goalkeeper. He has desire and ambition. His signing was a very successful operation: a great acquisition in modern football."
What do you talk about with the defenders?
"A bit of everything. With the defenders it can happen that the speeches go on the pitch, especially on the one-on-one. The issues are various: techniques, life, behaviour. By now, I speak more and more individually than to the team group. Having a coach like Stefano (Pioli), it seems almost useless to overlap his words, which are very incisive."
On the difficulties of Inter and Juventus:
"Difficulties happen. However, Inter had a great season last year. I don't know, it happens. And thank God we did great. I have so many things to think about, it is difficult for me to talk about rivals. I also understand the economic difficulties. Thank God we took that economic path."
Is there a player you dream of at Milan?
"It is a speech that I do not like, I am very realistic and those are our possibilities. I like dreaming, but with our possibilities. I don't say any names, because the ones I dream of signing, I hope to sign."
Maldini on the next dream:
"Always the good of the Club, also the personal good. Paul Singer told us one thing, who has only come to see two games since Elliott took Milan. I was impressed... Through your work you can give happiness. He saw the best that was there (laughs). He's though, going to work to try to give happiness is a lot of stuff. Giving positive messages is lucky, when you become credible people take you as an example. It's something you enjoy. They are small but important things."
On his job as a director:
"Surely something that has improved me, has forged me, has helped me to see the totality of the difficulty of being a manager. I didn't have this need, I was really fine, but since it arrived I took it at the right time and I hope to be able to do it at the highest level. I did not expect to have to do it, slowly I feel adequate, which I really did not feel in the first six months. It was all new, but Leonardo laughed at this."
Maldini legendary Tennis player Roger Federer retiring:
"It is a tough question, it makes me feel bad. I am in love with what Federer has brought to the world of sports. There are few athletes who have inspired me, he is one of them. I went to see him, I saw him live. He complimented me, I told him: 'For your backhand, I would give two Champions League". An incredible talent, will be missed by all sports lovers. He finished greatly."
