Today, Milan announced that they have chosen Federico Guidi as the new coach of the Primavera team.
The former AS Roma Primavera team head coach said these words to Milan TV.
"Milan is a strong emotion for me, I don't hide the fact that I've been a fan since I was little. Arriving here at Casa Milan and seeing so many photos, these colours that have accompanied me through my childhood and adolescence, was something really special for me. I would struggle to find the right words to describe what I am feeling right now. It is a matter of great pride to receive a call from a prestigious club on a global level like Milan, and therefore I am also aware of the great responsibilities that I am taking on. There is great happiness, now it’s a whirlwind of emotions but at the same time there is a great desire to start this magnificent journey."
On his experience in Rome, Guidi said:
"Rome was an extremely formative experience for me because it is a club that gave me so much in these two years. I had the chance to live the daily work with coach Mourinho and coach De Rossi. I was lucky enough to win important trophies like the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa. It’s a pity we couldn’t finish our journey with the league title victory, but what I like the most are the many debuts we managed to achieve by bringing the boys to the first team. I think that for us youth sector workers, this is our mission and our greatest result.”
Reuniting with Vincenzo Vergine at Milan, who was Roma's head of the youth department:
"He was the strongest motivation that led me to accept Milan’s proposal, besides the club’s great prestige. With Mister Vergine, I have shared many years, the vision of the youth sector, and how we want to develop young players: I share all the values with him necessary to achieve the greatest goal, which is to try to project as many players as possible into professional football. This has been a great driving force for me, and after all these years we have shared together, we have also established a relationship that goes beyond the professional aspect."
On former Milan Primavera head coach, Ignazio Abate, he said:
"Coach Abate, whom I had the pleasure of meeting during my two years at Rome, I know how well he has done. Very often I complimented him because the team played very good football, he gave a lot to the boys, and I saw them grow over these two years. I share the Club’s philosophy, I think it is crucial to anticipate and accelerate as much as possible the player’s progression into adult football. I will bring all my experiences, trying to give that extra something to this objective following the path traced by coach Abate.”
On his ideas, Guidi said:
"My approach is to study and try to learn as many notions as possible from those who are doing very well, especially in the youth sector. There were many players abroad who transitioned to the second team and managed to project themselves into the first teams of top European clubs, even into major national teams. For me, it was a tool that we also needed to achieve in Italy. I think Milan, like Juventus and Atalanta, firmly believes in the U23 project. It is a tool that allows us to have more years to develop the player and above all, never lose control and then project him into our first team: it is the result and the objective that we all set for ourselves."
