AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud has revealed why he was so ‘proud’ to sign for the club, insisting that he still believes in the team’s chances of winning the Scudetto.
Giroud joined Milan from Chelsea during the summer transfer window having become a Champions League winner, the latest step in a decorated career which also includes having won the World Cup in 2018 with France.
He started life with the Rossoneri well by finding his scoring form in preseason and carrying that on into the first home game of the season netting a brace against Cagliari, but since then it has been turbulent given he has battled injury issued and he had Covid-19.
Giroud spoke during an interview with the well-known journalist Carlo Pellegatti during an interview for StarCasinoSport during which he gave some background on his career up to joining Milan, and how he has found the first few months with the Rossoneri.
“I was proud to sign for the great Milan, because I am a fan of them and because there are many French who have played, done well and won in the Rossoneri; like Papin, who is one of my favourite players,” he said (via MilanNews).
“I signed in Montpellier at the age of 23. I was proud to play in Ligue 1. I wasn’t ready to play in it sooner. Every player needs his time to get to the top, I am proud of my steps to get there.”
On his nickname: “They called me ‘sock’ in French, it comes from ‘Dances with wolves’. I was a bit like a wolf…”
On his faith: “I have a sentence from Psalm 23 tattooed on my arm. I wanted to mark my faith on my skin: it is very important to me. At 20 I wanted to get a tattoo, I told my mother and she told me to write a important sentence of the Bible.”
On being a world champion with France: “At 10-11 years old I told my friends that one day I would win the World Cup. It was the dream of all the children. They reminded me of this the day before the final. After the final it is difficult to return to work and train, but a phrase that helps me is that football is a continuous beginning. Determination is important, I wanted to win even more trophies. Never give up.”
On working with Pioli and Wenger: “They are different. Wenger was a very experienced coach, very very calm: he rarely got angry or screamed. Pioli to do things well and play our football takes a lot of passion, he has temperament; he likes to talk loudly, to instill in us motivations and game ideas. They are very different, but I like both personalities.”
On Pippo Inzaghi: “Yes, for a striker the numbers are very important and you are evaluated on the numbers. That’s what you remember at the end of the season. I want, however, to help the team: I’m not selfish; today it is too important for a team to have a striker who does the things people don’t see: from pressing to racing to dictate the passage, opening up spaces… It’s a bigger role than numbers, but in the end we all look at the numbers.”
On Ibrahimovic: “Idol? I don’t like this word, because my idol is Jesus Christ. I admired Shevchenko and Ibrahimovic, but I haven’t said it yet to Zlatan. At 20 he was already the top; I didn’t buy his shirt, but my friends gave it to me. Maybe I’ll have Ibra sign it…”
On the ‘real’ Giroud: “The fans have seen the real Giroud, but I know I can do even more to help the team. Now I would like to play more. The coach makes his choices, but I am ready and I feel very good physically. I’m ready to achieve our goals. I know I need to score more.”
On believing in winning the Scudetto: “Yes, sure. Now we have an important match against Inter. If we win we have a good opportunity to be there at the end. I played and scored in the first derby against Tottenham, it was too important for the Arsenal fans.”
On his personal goal of 2022: “My first goal is to win the Scudetto with Milan, then what comes next… It’s a bonus for me, I only have Milan and my family in my head.”
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