Stefano Pioli previewed Milan’s match against Fiorentina this weekend and highlighted the callup of youngster Francesco Camarda: “Talent has no age.” The Rossoneri are facing an injury crisis in the run up to the game, with Olivier Giroud, Noah Okafor and Rafael Leao all on the sidelines. The Rossoneri have been forced to request a special waiver from the Italian Football Association in order to call up 15-year-old Camarda, meaning he could be the youngster player to feature in Serie A. Speaking ahead of the match, Pioli began by talking about Davide Astori, a player he coached during his time in charge of La Viola:
“It’s Davide’s match, he grew up here and then became the captain of Fiorentina. Tomorrow there will be initiatives including a fundraiser to restore a place in Davide’s name”.
“In this moment words are of no use. We have to show with facts that we have understood the mistakes we made, putting in a high level performance. Camarda? Talent has no age, Francesco has talent. Fate sometimes creates certain situations. We must be good at accompanying him. He is serene, he is a very young boy but from a character point of view he is already mature. He is ready to give us a hand if the opportunity arises.
“I work and remain focused on what we are doing. We must not look for a culprit, but find solutions. That’s what I did during the break. There are those who in these moments try to ruin everything and those who try to continue building something. I feel great confidence from my players. We know our responsibilities and we will continue to assume them.”
“Fiorentina are a difficult opponent to face. They came from three defeats and won at home against Bologna, showing they know how to overcome a difficult moment. But there are still too many games to say that tomorrow will be a decisive challenge for the Champions League. Tomorrow we will recover Pulisic, Calabria, Loftus-Cheek. I have great respect for the coaches, it’s not a problem of Okafor or Switzerland but of the calendars. It has to be approached with great responsibility on everyone’s part. It should be diluted, too many matches are good neither for the health of the players nor for the spectacle. The team works very well, but it can and must do better. Bennacer? He’s fine, he’s coming on strong.”
“Zlatan? I haven’t heard from Ibrahimovic during the break, I know he is talking to the owners. If Cardinale saw something exceptional in Zlatan he certainly wasn’t wrong. If he comes back he could be an essential asset for Milan. Me in the balance? I only think about tomorrow’s game. My future is uncertain like that of all coaches. Of tomorrow there’s no certainty. Has Maldini spoken to me about Messi? I don’t think Messi can be called up tomorrow, so honestly no”.
