Former AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli has opened up about his time with the club while also sharing insights into his new life in Saudi Arabia. Speaking with La Gazzetta dello Sport in a lengthy interview, Pioli reflected on his tenure with the Rossoneri, arguments with players and his work now where he manages Cristiano Ronaldo:
Pioli, how is your life in Riyadh?
“It’s the regular life of a professional: from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM at the training ground, when the heat reached 45 degrees. During this period, in the morning. On Fridays, we finish by 11 AM to respect religious functions. I live in a well-equipped compound, about 30 km from our sports center, with my wife, son, and staff. We play padel, bowling, explore the city’s ethnic restaurants. Apart from the traffic, everything is fine.”
An Arabic word?
“Yalla, which I also use in training to say ‘Let’s go… let’s go…’ And mabruk, which means congratulations.”
Do people recognize you on the street?
“Everywhere… In shopping centers, in restaurants. They call me Bioli, with a B. They say to me: ‘Hello Bioli… AC Milan… scudetto…’ There are many Milan fans.”
How much do you miss your grandchildren?
“Very much. Friends too. But it was also a deliberate choice: to get out of my comfort zone, I felt the need for an experience abroad.”
How did the Arabs win you over?
“With the questions at the first meeting: competent, targeted. The best professional approach of my career. Then, without hypocrisy: the money weighed in.”
It seemed you were determined to take a sabbatical year.
“True. I had in mind a year off, after 5 years at Milan, beautiful but exhausting. I had already planned a month in London to improve my English and visit some clubs: Chelsea, Tottenham… I could have enjoyed the super-contract from Milan, but I quickly realized that I would have struggled to stay idle.”
Offers from Italy?
“Three. The first in May, the last just before Arabia. But after the splendid adventure at Milan, it didn’t seem right to coach in Italy.”
Would you have fought for the Scudetto?
“I think so…”
The level of Arab football?
“Higher than I thought: 6-7 teams could be in Serie A, 3-4 would compete for the Champions League zone. At the beginning, at Al-Nassr, I didn’t push, then slowly we brought the players where we wanted them, especially in terms of intensity.”
Cristiano Ronaldo?
“If I arrive half an hour early for training, he’s 25 minutes early. He’s always the first on the bus. A perfectionist who demands a lot from himself and others. He lives the team, helps, advises. Sometimes, I let him speak to the players. I can’t consider him like the others. But he’s intelligent, respects roles.”
You also gave Ibra space in the locker room.
“Yes, but they have different characters. Ibra was impetuous with a dominant personality. Cristiano is a legend, he’s global, he’s enormous… He has a thousand official goals in mind. He’ll make them. He’s not far off.”
Do you still hear from Zlatan?
“He wrote to me when I signed for Al-Nassr, I congratulated him after Madrid. We hugged again here in Riyadh. It was a pleasure to coach him, not easy, but precisely because of that, a pleasure. He’ll surely remember an important discussion in my office… It was useful for me.”
Maldini and Massara?
“We’ve stayed in touch. I worked well with two honest and very competent people. Our understanding was very strong. Then with Paolo, there were also strong discussions, because we’re both stubborn.”
Do your ex-players still call you?
“Many. But really: we talk very little about Milan.”
Theo is very attached to you. He’s suffering.
“Theo is a good guy. Everyone has their strategies to get the best out of players. There wasn’t a single day at Milan when I didn’t have to spur him on. But tell me a single left-back in the world who can change games like him. They criticized me for using only the carrot. It’s not true. But I didn’t show the stick in public.”
Leao?
“By constantly criticizing him, we lose sight of reality, which is a boy in continuous growth. This year too. I remain convinced that Rafa can still become very strong, I don’t know if Ballon d’Or level, but much stronger than now. He’s getting there. When he went to the national team, I told him: ‘Observe carefully everything CR7 does, then report back to me’. He would return, tell me, and I would say: ‘You see? Do it too!'”
Reijnders has grown a lot. You pushed hard to have him.
“Moncada told me: ‘Take a look at this guy’. I had already admired him in a Conference match against West Ham. I was fascinated by his elegance and ability to get past opponents without dribbling. Yes, I did everything to have him. At the beginning of the season, he had two chances per game. I kept hammering him: ‘Tijj, I’ll bring out the goals you have inside’. Now he’s bringing them all out. Fofana completed him. We, having lost Krunic, had problems. The truth is that playing in Italy is not simple and a year of adaptation is needed.”
De Ketelaere indeed…
“Gasperini was brilliant in finding the right position for him, in attack. We already had Giroud and Leao. We needed someone who could also work further back. Then he grew athletically and found the right dimension in Bergamo. San Siro and the Milan jersey weigh heavily. Charles is very strong, but in the Dublin final he struggled, and last year against us too: Thiaw nullified him. He still needs to learn to handle strong pressures. He’s young. We certainly didn’t make a mistake in buying him.”
Have you followed Milan’s matches?
“Not much. I confess: I couldn’t do it, I got too emotional in front of the TV. It was an important detachment. I watched only one match in its entirety, the worst one… Milan-Juve. And the second half against Real.”
So you didn’t see the derby…
“It was written that Milan would win, without me…”
After 5 years, was the story between you and Milan over anyway, or did those derbies weigh heavily?
“It had reached a natural conclusion, the derbies accelerated it. Losing six in a row hurt me, naturally. Especially the two in the Champions League, also because they took away value from a great result: returning to the semi-finals after 16 years.”
Besides the derbies, did injuries weigh in? Which Milan continues to suffer from even without you.
“At Al-Nassr, I’ve only had one half-strain from the Brazilian Talisca who missed just one game. The work methods are the same as last year.”
When did you realize it was over at Milan?
“There was a precise moment: the return leg of the Europa League quarter-finals, Roma-Milan, at the Olimpico. We had lost 1-0 in the first leg. In the locker room, before the match, I gave a goosebump-inducing speech, one of my most heartfelt ever. I was sure we would go through. Instead, nothing reached the team and they did little on the field. That’s when I realized that what I was giving was no longer enough. The empathy had soured.”
Regrets? Remorse?
“None. For me, there’s only one way to evaluate a professional adventure: assess the team as I found it and as I left it. Everything that happened in between, good and bad, is part of the journey and must be accepted.”
You found it in 11th place, not playing in the Champions League for 5 years and not winning a Scudetto for 8; you left it in 2nd place, in the Champions League, with one more Scudetto.
“For 5 years I gave Milan everything I had, to make the club, players, and fans happy. But I didn’t receive less in return than what I gave. The accounts balance out. I experienced unimaginable and unforgettable emotions. I will be grateful forever.”
