AC Milan former coach Alberto Zaccheroni spoke to the microphones of La Gazzetta dello Sport about what he expects from the team of Stefano Pioli in the new season after winning the Scudetto:
"We need a strong impact from the beginning on the part of the managers, and above all the coach to explain to the players that in football, we must always build and raise the bar. The risk, and I went through it too many years ago, is to have a 'full stomach'. We need to be strong and explain that having won before is not the same as reconfirming it. Now is the time to bring out the pride against those who say that the Rossoneri scudetto was 'accidental'. The players must show that it is instead the result of the hard work."
On coach Stefano Pioli:
"The opponents equip themselves, the squad improves, football changes quickly. In this sense, Pioli is an expert technician, but he too has just returned from his first career success. Furthermore, he managed to use all the available resources, he was able to squeeze one hundred percent out of all the players and therefore to be able to repeat himself there is no other way: you have to keep that one hundred percent. My advice? At Milan, winning a title is never a point of arrival, but only the first stone for another success. Work with good players, so the concept is all there."
Zaccheroni on AC Milan's needs in the mercato:
"There is no midfielder and an attacking midfielder. That is, there is no alternative to Diaz, who is young and it is normal to have ups and downs. Milan, however, cannot afford breaks. And you need a high level player, it's too delicate a role. Then you need someone close to Tonali who knows how to play at high levels both in his own half and in that of others. Kessie was very good at this, replacing him will not be easy at all."
On Milan possibly playing with a 3-man defence:
"Sure. It can work... I played with 3-4-3 because in reality I have always thought that the most important department is the midfield. My goal was to get the attacking players away from the goal as little as possible, partly because someone was at the end of their career and partly because of characteristics. And to achieve this, four midfielders are needed. The three-man defense was therefore the consequence of all this and not the beginning of the tactical philosophy, as everyone mistakenly thinks."
Zaccheroni on Paulo Dybala:
"I see him everywhere, as long as he doesn't go further than thirty meters from the goal. ybala who comes to take the ball in front of the defense is of no use to me. And here, the idea of having four midfielders returns: if that support is well guaranteed, the attacker or the attacking midfielder do not need to move back too much."
On AC Milan's attack in the new season:
"It depends on what Pioli has in mind. Last year, Stefano created great density in midfield. Giroud, for example, prefers side balls, so it will be essential to understand how the coach wants to play. And, knowing him, I'm sure he has new ideas in store."
On who should be AC Milan's main player and star in the new season:
"Without a doubt Tonali. Both because, as I said, the midfield is the heart of all mechanisms and reasoning, and because I am crazy for him. When he was taken, I said that Milan had secured the best regista around for the next 10 years, and I repeat it. He has an extraordinary thinking head. He and Kessie made an extraordinary pair."
On the difficulty of the new season:
"It is more difficult to defend (the Scudetto) this year, it is a bigger job than last season, which was also a challenge."
Finally, Zaccheroni on the renewals of Paolo Maldini and Frederic Massara:
"We are talking about executives who have proven to have very high skills, together with Pioli. They did an amazing job because they built before buying. Nobody thought that Milan could win the championship. A masterpiece that will remain in the history of the Rossoneri club and of Italian football. Until proven otherwise, therefore, they deserve trust. Yes, it is precisely a question of trust: if one does not receive it at one hundred percent, then one cannot expect him to make the most of ."
