Franco Baresi has heaped praise on Sandro Tonali for his continued development and insisted that AC Milan’s Scudetto fate is in their hands.
After the huge victory in Hellas Verona which brought Milan four points away from winning the Scudetto, the feeling is that the Rossoneri can really do what nobody believed to be possible a couple of years ago.
Tonali was the hero of the night on Sunday as he scored a brace on his birthday to overturn a deficit, and Rafael Leao had a big hand in each with his electric runs and assists. A win and a draw against Atalanta and Sassuolo would now be enough for No.19.
Baresi spoke in today’s edition of La Repubblica about how Tonali has developed this season among other topics, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
“Sandro has certainly shown a great sense of belonging and is remaining consistent game after game, beyond the future, which can never be predicted,” he said.
“After some effort in the first season, he wanted to stay. He showed attachment, had determination, desire to to question himself, courage. And little by little he entered the heart of the team, to the point of fully embodying the AC Milan spirit.
“The AC Milan spirit is the set of qualities as a player and character that have allowed him to deserve the praise he is receiving, through his performances on the pitch and the ability to make himself loved by his team-mates and the fans. Destiny wanted to reward him: that in Verona was a very important evening for him and for the team’s season.
Tonali has been compared to several great former midfielders such as Gattuso, Pirlo and De Rossi, but Baresi thinks differently.
“For me Tonali is Tonali, a modern footballer. The mezzala has an aptitude for running into the box and is learning to play in several positions in the midfield. It is difficult to make comparisons with the past.
“The essential thing is that he remains humble and balanced. He has to think about himself and his qualities. He knows, he is young and can grow a lot.
“He must be calm and happy with himself and know that he can grow with Milan and for Milan. After all, he has always shown how much he cared about playing with this shirt since he was a child.”
On the Scudetto race: “Calm, there are two games to go, even if the away victories against Lazio and Verona were a strong signal. Let’s say, however, that it is all in our hands. We deserve it.”
