AC Milan defender Davide Calabria has recalled how all the hard yards his parents put into helping him as a younger player feel like they have paid off with the Scudetto win.
The league title win is without a doubt the pinnacle of most players’ careers, but Calabria is likely to feel it that little bit more given he is a boyhood fan of the club and came through the youth academy. He was interviewed on Milan TV about the triumph and what it means to him.
“We celebrated this night, a fair reward from a great journey that lasted several months. Let’s enjoy this emotion for a while longer,” he said.
“He did an exceptional job, over time we got to know each other better and we understood what he was asking for, we made ourselves available to him. You don’t win by chance, we listened to him and made sure that his ideas were translated well onto the pitch and brought results like what has come.
“Winning the Scudetto is a great result, a product of a 38-games journey… it is not easy to finish first, with this level in Serie A. We deserved it, it was a path that made us proud and the coach deserves it too, he’s a good person before a good coach.”
On his role on the field: “He gave us more freedom to play: the role you play is not important but the position you occupy. It was important, we were able to create a proactive and positive style.”
Finally, a thank you to his family: “My mum spent a lot – maybe too much – time on me; my dad worked a lot of hours to get me here, my sister was a bit neglected because of me (laughs), my girlfriend who has always been close to me, my uncle who has always been there: even though I think he is a Juventus fan, we rejoiced. I thank my family, without them I would never have arrived here.”