It's too easy to look at Tijjani Reijnders' feet when he plays. Look at his hands. Tijjani points on the pitch, he points often. He points with his finger to tell a teammate "play it over there." Or he calls for the ball: "I'm here, give it to me."
He's an orchestra conductor whose baton has been taken away: he holds the whole team together and makes Milan go at the right pace. He decides the tempo, like in the words on the scores.
In the best moment of his evening at the Bernabeu, when he scored the goal that made it 3-1 for Milan, Reijnders' two index fingers pointed towards the left wing, to indicate Rafa Leao. Here too, non-verbal communication with a very clear meaning: "it's all thanks to you, Rafa."
PS: It’s true, great play by Leao, but Tijjani's control at the start of the move, with the sole as Zizou liked, is special. Tijjani Reijnders is the favorite player of Milan fans these days. Certainly, of the Milan fan who grew up with Baresi, Maldini, Rui Costa, Ronaldinho, and goes crazy for classy players.
By the way, a strong statement: Reijnders is the closest player to Pirlo seen since Pirlo stopped with Milan. When talking about him, it’s always right to remember the areas in which he has to grow. The defensive phase, because his reading still needs improvement, and in body-to-body situations, he can suffer. And the final 16 meters, where he's making giant steps: for a year he almost never scored, now we’re at four goals in the last three games. Yes, but with the ball, he is very strong: what a player…
Reijnders is AC Milan's best signing in Moncada's era...
In Madrid, he completed 51 passes out of 52, 98%. The first midfielder since 2015 to attempt 50 passes against Real in the Champions League and complete 98%.
They call him Power Reijnders, but everything about him is striking except power: he has a success rate like a robot, but his stylistic signature is elegance.
Tiji is currently the best purchase of the Moncada era. Fofana and especially Pulisic, bought for figures close to 20 million euros, are excellent choices when looked at today: they have changed Milan and are worth more than that figure. Reijnders, however, goes further: 20 million for him today is a joke. The point, if anything, now is to extend the contract: there’s no rush, but Furlani and Moncada have already moved to renew until 2030… and Tijjani is very interested. The relationship is good.
Milan signed him two summers ago, following him game by game with their scouting group throughout AZ's Europa League campaign, even passing through Rome to play with Lazio. The first Italian team to come forward was Bologna: they wanted him. When Milan called, Tiji closed the applications, and his father, who is also partly his agent, said "no, thanks" to everyone, even Barcelona.
By the way, someone said that night: "He is the most Barça player, among those who don’t play for Barça." Nice phrase.
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport on their website.
