Giacomo Bonaventura has insisted that Stefano Pioli has changed the situation at AC Milan and revealed his delight at returning from injury.
Bonaventura recently recovered from a long-term knee injury which required surgery. Before the 2-1 win over Genoa in round seven – Marco Giampaolo’s final game in charge – the last game he played before that was against Real Betis in the Europa League on October 25 2018.
Attention has now turned towards what the future holds for Bonaventura after a successful return to action, which included a goal against Napoli last month.
His contract expires at the end of the season, and La Gazzetta dello Sport (via MilanNews.it) claimed that Milan made it clear to agent Mino Raiola that they would like to keep the 30-year-old as they consider him a ‘precious element’.
Bonaventura gave an interview to Sky Italia, discussing his return from injury and what the future holds. His words were transcribed by MilanNews.it.
“I was happy to have done good performances, there was a little emotion, inside I knew I would come back to play even with good performances. I felt good, I knew my time would come,” he said.
“Being on the outside and seeing others play is a little annoying, but health comes first, I thought I could recover well. Probably I didn’t have the muscle strength to endure certain workloads at the beginning, now I I’m fit and I’m happy with my condition.
On his favoured role: “I try to do my best both as a winger and as a midfielder, the important thing is that the team has an organization so that the individual can do well.”
On the impact of his return and Pioli’s appointment: “I don’t think I changed the situation, but since the coach arrived a little he changed it.
“Tactically we are more aggressive and more compact, this also benefits the qualities of each of us.
“Our ranking? It does not reflect the potential of this team, the performance has risen, this can lead us to improve.”
Milan face Bologna away from home on Sunday, looking to build on the 1-0 win over Parma on Sunday.
“A very important match, we must achieve consistent results, in Parma it was not easy to win but we succeeded, if we don’t win in Bologna we don’t find continuity.”
On Mihajlovic: “With him an extraordinary relationship, he had created something beautiful here, a real man with a big heart. A good man who knew how to bring out so much determination and so much character in his time of need and he is doing it even now.”
SempreMilan Podcast: Episode 77 – Something to Celebrate
