Former AC Milan striker Alexandre Pato has revealed that the best moment in his career came with the Rossoneri, and spoke about how the team are currently getting along.
Milan fans still have very fond memories of Pato, who arrived at Milan from Sao Paulo in Brazil and burst onto the scene with a number of electric performances that made his potential clear for all to see.
There was even talk of him potentially becoming the best player in the world, but the general feeling is that the Brazilian never quite reached his potential having suffered badly with injury problems, something he wrote about in an emotional letter to The Players’ Tribune.
Pato was a guest on AC Milan’s Twitch channel this evening and they caught up with the Brazilian, speaking about a number of different topics, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
How are you?
“All right, I’m in Brazil in Sao Paulo now. I just got out of an interview, it’s always a pleasure to be close to Milan.”
The Milan fans still show you a lot of affection…
“They ask me what are the best moments of my career, now I have been playing for 17 years… the best moment was my first goal for Milan against Napoli.”
Do you remember that in the week of Milan-Napoli you told Claudio Lippi that you were going to score?
“I can’t help but be moved. He was very close to me, even off the pitch. He has always been very nice to me. He was exciting.”
Milan play on Saturday against Berlusconi and Galliani’s Monza…
“It is a special moment for Monza to have owners like Berlusconi and Galliani… it will be different. Then on the pitch there will be a whole different motivation. We don’t know what Berlusconi and Galliani will say in the locker room (laughs).”
What does Milan convey to you right now?
“Football has changed a lot, now it’s much faster. Milan entered today’s world, Milan understood what modern football is like. I was lucky enough to play for Milan and to win in Milan, which was different from today. I believe it will come to great things.”
Did you see last year’s Sassuolo match?
“I wasn’t watching the game, but I was checking my phone. I liked it a lot when they went to the Duomo, I did too. It was wonderful.”
Will we see you again at San Siro as a fan?
“They invited me to Italy, but I don’t know if I’ll come; I’m in Brazil to have a knee treatment. But I can’t wait to come to San Siro. Let’s see what happens.”
Is there any current AC Milan player in which you see yourself as a spirit, as a desire to be in the Milan group?
“I’ve always talked about Leao, I’ve always liked him. He had difficulties at the beginning, but he understood what it means to be at Milan, now he is doing great things. I have always said that Leao is someone who has understood Italian football and what Milan is, he is doing great things. I hope it continues like this, it is a very important responsibility.”
Finally, the ‘Pioli is on fire’ chant and the cheering at San Siro…
“The Milan fans are different. I miss them. All the hearts that I made exulting for the goals were for the Milan fans. Milan will always be in my heart, thank you for everything they have done for me.”
Just one correction, Pato arrived at Milan from Internacional. It was Kaka who arrived from São Paulo. I still remember watching Pato’s first official match against Palmeiras, when he was only 16 or 17. He was brought in in the second half and simply destroyed their defense. I was in shock, I had never seen a more complete player that young in the Brazilian league (and have never seen another since, not even Neymar at Santos), fast, physical, technical, absolutely dominant. I was thrilled when Milan bought him, and was definitely one of the people who though he would become a Ballon d’Or winner. For me, he will always be one of the biggest “what if” stories in football, he had it all.