AC Milan's Italian central midfielder, Sandro Tonali, has spoken to the microphones of DAZN as he granted them a lengthy interview. Here are his words:
"My beginnings in football as a child? I started as a striker, then as time went by I moved back and became a midfielder."
On being compared with Andrea Pirlo:
"They told me especially when I was in Brescia, it had become a bit heavy."
Who was your idol when you were a child?
"The first football shirt they gave me was Lampard from Chelsea. Then many came from Milan."
Tonali on being a Milan fan:
"My support for Milan stems from my father. He always followed Milan, he also went away, he was a huge fan, he was one of the curve. He was always tense when Milan played."
On his first time at the San Siro:
"My first time at San Siro was a 1-0 Milan-Chievo with a goal by Seedorf in the last minute with a shot into the top corner. I followed Milan as a fan, I had never thought of playing with the Rossoneri shirt."
On his arrival at Milan:
"In the summer of 2020, I talked a lot with my mom, my girlfriend, and my agent, dreaming of joining Milan. The first few days were a delirium. The first year was difficult: balancing being a fan and a player was not easy, but after a settling-in period, I made it. At first, wearing this jersey was a burden, I was in a place where I had to try not to disappoint. I was scared, coming from Brescia, everything was different, and I changed too with difficulty and obstacles, but with Pioli's help, I overcame everything", said Tonali, "I talked a lot with the coach, he helped me a lot. And now he's doing the same with other players who are going through what I went through. I never thought I wouldn't make it, playing with an empty stadium helped me at the beginning."
On his second year:
"I felt more confident, and this gave me great strength. Being a starter gave me further confidence. At that moment, I understood that I had made a leap in quality. I don't forget the first few months at Milan, but from the second year on, I pulled out what I had inside."
Tonali on Paolo Maldini said:
"He did a lot to bring me here, both him and Massara. I will always be grateful to them."
On Charles De Ketelaere:
"It's normal, it's the same thing that happened to me. He was paid a lot, he was brought in to solve matches, and he's paying the pressure of being under the spotlight. He's a great player who needs to regain his confidence, we have to help him. He needs to do well in one game and then we'll see the real De Ketelaere."
On Rafael Leao:
"He's a special guy, he's good both on and off the pitch. He's a player that requires two men to be marked. When he turns it on, we can score in a second. He can always do it, maybe he's not having the same continuity as last year, he needs to be stimulated. He has great talent, he's the strongest and he needs to put this quality on the field always."
Tonali also spoke about Zlatan Ibrahimovic:
"I want to play against him in training, it motivates you to play against him. When I win small-sided games, I tease him. Every time you lose, he massacres you."
On the January crisis, he stated the following:
"In 5 minutes of Milan-Roma, the castle we had created collapsed. I still can't explain it. I think back to those training sessions and I don't understand how it's possible. We always trained at 100%, then we got to the match and we lost confidence, we were too fragile. The cure was to start winning again and playing with courage. We haven't forgotten that month, we we studied it and we took small things that must always be kept with us. It was madness to have those 7-8 games, two or three can happen, but seven is too many."
Tonali on the 3-man defence:
"Being used to playing man-to-man, it wasn't easy to change everything. However, in such a delicate moment, it was a turning point, it was a decision that helped us. We didn't play our usual football, but we were more secure on the pitch."
On the Champions League, he said:
"We all know it's the most beautiful competition you can play. Last year we failed because we could have done more. Against Atletico Madrid at home, we were dominating, then the red card arrived. We failed, but we are Milan and we cannot leave the competition from the group stage. We didn't set ourselves a goal, but we are ambitious and we want to play freely with our heads and legs."
On what he would ask Santa Lucia for at the end of the season:
"The Champions League final. To win it, of course..."
