Milan coach Stefano Pioli explained that Rafael Leao is happy with Milan and hopes that the Portuguese wingers renews with the Rossoneri. Pioli spoke with Sky Sports, via La Gazzetta dello Sport, and revealed the instructions he gave to his players when they went on international duty for the World Cup:
“I gave all the national team players a rule, to call me at the end of the matches to tell me how they are….
Leao? He is happy because Portugal is doing well, but in the offensive department that national team has great quality and competition. He has a technique combined with speed that few players can boast, but he had to relate to a reality like AC Milan, with all due respect to Lille where he came from.
He still has to make a leap to become a champion, he can be more decisive in the opponent’s area and enter it with more determination, but he is someone who can do everything. He is very intelligent and willing, I am sure he will go even further. He needs freedom of movement, but I want him to close more at the far post, I always tell him that. His future? He’s talking with the management, but Rafa is certainly fine with us and I love him, I think his path is not finished with us.
Giroud? I think Olivier is going through an optimal psychophysical moment. And he is proving to be a great player, he has always made a difference, not only in goals. He gives great generosity on a daily basis, he is determined and has all the important characteristics to be a leader. Better for him to come out of the World Cup right away? I think it is much easier to coach satisfied players than to remotivate them.
Kjaer? He did not come back happy, Denmark was had higher expectations this World Cup.
It is the World Cup of individuality, this year the coaches had to prepare for the event in a week. It is difficult for a coach to give an identity, although Luis Enrique I think plays the best football. There were no big surprises at the technical-tactical level. They looked more at concreteness, since every match has an important specific weight.
For those who had a chance to rest was good. The players who will return are a question mark.
Hardest moments? Davide’s (Astori) passing touched me deeply. Unfortunately, I say unfortunately, it was a situation that made me grow. After his loss I discovered new situations that opened my mind more. Now I am closer to the players and protect them more.
I had all the support from the technical area. But also from Gazidis, he has always behaved correctly: in Milanello he told us that we were all under scrutiny. The 5-0 defeat to Atalanta was the game that set the tone for Milan’s construction.
We needed other types of players to do our soccer: new mental, physical and talented characteristics. During the lockdown we gave ten days of rest to the players and then we went back to training on Zoom. In Milanello something had changed, I don’t know what. We restarted and then did well.
The meeting with Maldini and Massara gave me more strength in my work. Paolo is not there for training he is there to relate with everyone, he is a central figure. We are talking about a person with an incredible level of knowledge and DNA. He and Massara wanted to invest in players with sustainable costs for a club that wanted to pursue a certain type of path. That generally does not give immediate results, but we have been good at anticipating these timelines.
Ibra? Zlatan has been a determining factor. He arrived in such a young group, and for the first time in a non-winning team and with players not similar to him, he understood a different reality.
His mentality and determination raised the level of the team. If Zlatan was there in training, there was a certain level. But also Kjaer, Giroud, Maignan. We have four to five leading players who drive the group. Ibra will return to work with us between late December and early January, he is doing everything to recover.
Role models? Guardiola, Nagelsmann, Klopp… Every great coach has a main characteristic. I supplemented my staff with young video analysts who helped me learn about new situations. And I am lucky to coach available players. Like, for example, proposing to Theo and Calabria to go inside the pitch: from them I saw enthusiasm. If I ask a player to do something and he doesn’t feel like it, I take a step back. I told Guardiola that everyone compliments him on the offensive phase, but for me he is the best at recovering the ball.
New signings? De Ketelaere, Thiaw, Vranckx-these are guys who arrived three months ago, in a complicated year in which we managed to train little and played a lot. In such a short time it is impossible to fully understand another football, in Bruges Charles often played without realizing the position and the cooperation he can have with his teammates… he just needs time. Also Leao and Tonali, after their first year at Milan, still had a lot of notions to develop, but the following summer I found two different players, more ready.”
The title? Napoli has quality in all players and is coached by a great coach, although in the game against them we did not deserve to lose. Given the departures of Koulibaly, Mertens, Fabian Ruiz and Insigne, I didn’t think they could do so well right away, instead they won practically all the direct clashes. But the championship is long, we still have 69 points to go. Juve is back in the race? I was surprised at the opposite. And I think in general the level of Italian football is rising, we are doing better in Europe and the big Serie A teams are struggling a lot even against mid- and lower-ranked teams.
Goals? The goal, what I always tell the team, is to win something. Milan has to win, we are in the race on four fronts, by now we have to think like this. In the Champions League, however, we will face Conte, a coach with whom it is very difficult to play, because he is super prepared. I have always struggled against his teams, as I did against Conceicao’s Porto. Tottenham in attack, have Son, Kane, Kulusevski, Richarlison, they are very strong, but we will play them.”
