On the occasion of the Gentleman Fair Play Award, where he was awarded the "Gentleman Platinum," Franco Baresi spoke about the derby and Milan in general to Sky Sport Italia microphones. Here are his statements:
Is the derby coming a bit too soon?
"Perhaps, but it must be accepted. The derby is highly anticipated, both teams are in good shape. Inter has always made us suffer, so we know the difficulties we could face, but we are also in good shape and confident. We all know that the derby is unpredictable."
About Thiaw, Baresi said:
"I believe he has already shown that he can play for Milan. He has physicality, personality, and I am sure he will be calm and do his part as he demonstrated last year and at the beginning of this year. He is a solid point, important, young, and has this great mentality. He has a strong personality that helps him."
Do you like this renewed Milan?
"Milan has changed, new players have arrived, and we all know that it's not easy to integrate into our style of play. But we have started well and have confidence. We know that Inter is on the other side and they are the favorites, but we want to become that. The team has shown that they play good football, and that's what we want to continue doing."
Do Juventus, Inter, and Napoli have something more?
"Inter started strong and has a perfect score like us. We know they have a very important squad that has always caused us problems. They are the favorites, but we want to become that too. Then, of course, there are also Napoli and Juventus, it will be a tough battle. I hope Milan can remain competitive until the end, but of course, there are many factors that can happen in a season."
On central defenders Pierre Kalulu and Fikayo Tomori, Baresi said:
"Milan plays a very proactive and offensive style of football, so the defenders need to have important qualities. Our defenders have them. Many times we play very high and man-to-man, so I believe that Tomori, Kalulu, and Thiaw are central defenders who can play this style. Making mistakes can happen, but who doesn't make them? I have full confidence in them; our defense is hard to overcome when it's in good shape."
