Rafa Leao presents his book "Smile" today, in which he recounts touching on various aspects. The Portuguese ace has dedicated an entire chapter to Milan, titling it simply... "Milan".
"New coach, new methods: I had to try to find space and a way to communicate with Mister Pioli. At first, Pioli and I weren't in tune, I remember a press conference of his that bothered me, in which he said things that, in my opinion, he shouldn't have said, things he should have discussed first in front of the team."
Leao added:
"It took time before we understood how to relate to each other, in the meantime, he had the skill to find the best way to make me and the team play. He put me in a position to make a difference and that's how we got closer. The secret was to find a clear and direct way to talk to each other. It's normal to have discussions inside a locker room, they happen everywhere. And like in life, like in families, not talking to each other is often the worst choice you can decide to make. Speaking clarifies everything, sometimes it doesn't go as you wanted, of course, but it's better a truth that can hurt you than a lie."
