Ahead of tonight’s deciding clash between AC Milan and Tottenham in London, technical director Paolo Maldini spoke to the media about the Rossoneri’s big opportunity. He also spoke about the stadium project.
Yesterday, a team from Milan and invited journalists took a tour of the new Tottenham stadium and it’s safe to say that they were inspired. The Rossoneri, of course, are working on a new stadium but the process is taking some time.
Speaking to Sky Italia, as cited by MilanNews, Maldini shared his thoughts on the stadium issue and also the game tonight. He admitted that going through to the next round would be ‘incredible’ for the club.
Returning to the quarter-finals…
“It would be an incredible result. I like to remember where we started from, after 7 years without the Champions League. I have great respect for this path, which doesn’t put us in the final eight for historic merits, but for what we are doing.”
On the stadium…
“We’ve seen the beauty of a modern stadium. And even people like us, who have played at the San Siro, are talking like this. Without a modern stadium, it will be difficult to become competitive again.”
On the tension of the match…
“I prepare as if I were going to play, then when I wake up from the afternoon nap I say ‘I cannot play’. The tension remains from the first to the last minute. It’s a part of my life that I enjoy, different but always beautiful.”
On the new managerial role…
“I believe that in the modern era, if you don’t have the balance sheet of a great team, you’re unlikely to be in the top four in Italy and the top eight in Europe. I look at the balance sheets because it’s part of my job, but I’m talking about sporting ambition. I’m not here just to have higher revenues, but also to have sporting results suited to the type of club. We have to be ambitious from a sporting point of view.”
Milan have a fragile 1-0 lead on aggregate and given that Tottenham have done well on their home turf, the Rossoneriu will need Curva Sud to do their best tonight. As per reports, there could be as many as 5k Milan fans in the stadium.
