AC Milan’s journey to the final eight of the Champions League after the Scudetto win last season has fans, pundits and the media asking how far this team can really go.
MilanNews write how dreaming costs nothing and it is a natural thing to do given the history of the Rossoneri and the pedigree they have in European football’s top club competition, however a sense of realism is also needed when looking at the other teams remaining.
Paolo Maldini also affirmed this in an interview released the day after the game against Spurs in which he reflected on the successful passage into the quarters.
“There’s a sense of satisfaction and pride. We’re delighted with how far we’ve come. We spoke about our journey before the game and how we’ve arrived at this point,” he began.
“Obviously we can’t think that we’re now a stable fixture in the last eight. This certainly isn’t the case yet. However, now that we’re here we’ll go for it because you need to take opportunities when you get them.”
The Latin proverb ‘carpe diem’ or ‘seize the day’ feels befitting for this situation because while Stefano Pioli might not be the coach with the strongest squad at his disposal that is left in the Champions League, everything is possible.
“I have to say that we deserved it, the lads deserved it. It’s the first time that some of them have experienced this level. The fans deserve it. They have always been there, including in the difficult times,” Maldini added.
“Last season’s Scudetto made the extraordinary become almost a habit. We’re used to it, but we have to remember where we started from. An accustomed city, a club and fans accustomed to certain levels accelerate the growth and maturation of many kids.”
What we saw in London was a compact, organised, concentrated, determined and balanced team: all very useful qualities in knockout matches like the ones awaiting the Rossoneri in April. There is still a lack of attacking brilliance, but one must think back to the Scudetto run-in and how Milan won a lot of close games by the odd goal en-route to the title.
If we get a favourable draw ie Inter or Napoli, then we actually have a legit chance to make semis
are you insane?
Napoli is like the favourites to win it all not a team that is easy
Serie A and Champions League are different..
Napoli might be favourites but Milan dominated against them last time and Napoli got lucky (and the idiotic penalty gift). Napoli can be defeated and it’s easier than defeating Real or Bayern.
Napoli isn’t some kind of unbeatable team. They lost against Lazio and Inter and only won 2-1 against Milan.
And right now Milan is a different team with better defense compare to January.
yeah so isnt Real Madrid or Chelsea or Benfica, you guys think they are better than Napoli? wtf u on
I consider 4 teams to go for the UCL title: Bayern, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Napoli(given their respective teams and current form) but if we get favourable draws like benfica or porto defeats inter to get into the quarters and face us, then this team can easily go to the semis for sure. I wish we had little more quality in attack and a little more experienced unit, they have the grit to challenge big teams, they need to give their all. Who knows what can we do with a dangerous mindset?
Dare to dream. we can go all the way to the finals
When the team realized that they could almost taste the scuddetto last season, the team started playing like they were invincible, all the way to the last game day. You could send the belief in the team, and in the way they played, especially Theo, Leao, Tonali, and Kessie. Since then I learned never to underestimate the Power of Belief. Let’s see how big our dreams are this year. Godspeed guys!