Pioli names the two signings he wants and reveals first impressions of Adli and De Ketelaere

By Oliver Fisher -

Stefano Pioli has admitted that there are still two positions that must be strengthened before the market closes, and he gave his thoughts on the new arrivals so far this summer.

Pioli gave a long interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport in which he talked about a number of different topics including the upcoming Serie A season, Charles De Ketelaere, Yacine Adli and even life away from football. His comments were relayed by PianetaMilan and we have translated them below.

Last year you said you wanted to obtain more points than the previous season. This year?

“To win you need talent, to repeat yourself you need character. And then I confess: a year ago we didn’t believe we could only improve the ranking of the previous season. From day one we thought we could win.

“This year motivating the group will be easier: we must have passion, enthusiasm, desire to grow, they as a team I as a coach. We will fight to defend the Scudetto, in the Champions League to improve. Sacchi is right – the Champions League is a competition for 4-5 teams. The difference in stature is there. We will treasure the last experience: since then we have grown a lot.”

The competition within Serie A has strengthened, are you worried?

“No, because we are the first to be stronger than a year ago. You can buy the best players, but the difference is the organization, the desire, the spirit. Last year it seemed strange to me that they didn’t take us in high regard, I didn’t suffer but I exploited it in our favour. This year we will focus only on ourselves. Today’s predictions have little value.”

Will the anomalous season – with a sprint start and then a long break for the World Cup – have an impact?

“It will be another long and difficult season, even more balanced: it will be difficult to repeat a high score because so many teams will take away points from each other. I am worried about Atalanta, who for the first time do not have cup competitions. And there are many teams strong, even Fiorentina who are well coached.

“I don’t mind doing three months at full throttle and then disconnect, it will be more difficult with the players who will go all the way in the World Cup. With them you will need a particular sensitivity. Before the break there are 15 matches in Serie A, which is a lot: they will not decide the verdict, but they will give an idea.”

The coup of the summer for the Rossoneri was De Ketelaere, what are you first impressions?

“We met at Milanello on Wednesday morning, together with the staff I showed him some videos with our game concepts. He was very attentive, from what he said it can be seen that he is very intelligent, he understands football. And he is also very talented, you can see the way he touches the ball: he is elegant, beautiful to look at.

“I asked Origi, his international team-mate, about him, and he said: ‘He is half Havertz and half Kakà’. He is unbalanced … He will play for a few minutes in Vicenza and on Sunday against Pergolettese. There are important expectations but it is right to give them time, I was the first to tell them not to be in a hurry.”

He is another young player who will lower the average age of the team. Does he fit the philosophy of the club?

“Only in Italy are twenty-year-olds young. Tonali is 22, Leao 23, Theo is almost 25. They are full-fledged players. They certainly must be hungry to grow because they have not reached their maximum potential. But young people are at 17, 18.

“And then in the group there are also veterans: Maignan, Kjaer, Ibra, Giroud, Origi, Calabria, Messias, Krunic, Rebic. Theo himself is very mature, he is more present. In the locker room Ibra makes himself heard, the one who talks the most is Florenzi, if he is listened to I don’t know (laughs).”

What contribution can Zlatan Ibrahimovic make?

“Zlatan is not there but he is there, because he is always in contact with everyone. He is a champion who can still make a difference: first he has to be fine, in the final of last season he made some crazy sacrifices. People don’t know that, but he could only train for a quarter of an hour. He has superior technique and intelligence but above all he is still very hungry. From mid-August he will be at Milanello to continue his path.”

Meanwhile, you have Simon Kjaer back again: what does he add?

“A very important ability to read the game and a communicative presence is a point of reference. I am very happy to have him back even if he will need time to regain condition.”

Is breaking the pairing of Tomori-Kalulu a gamble at the moment?

“They had an exceptional performance, Pierre has grown in an incredible way, on the pitch he looks bigger than he really is. He is mature and humble. But we will play every three days, the rotations will be automatic, there will be 20 starters.”

Will Leao be a staple even in full negotiations for the renewal?

“If he maintains this level, yes. Otherwise Rebic is there. I’m not at all worried about contractual matters, you can see that he is happy to be with us. Potentially he is a champion, for strength and ability to jump man. He has many goals in the legs, even more than last year. He has grown a lot without the ball, now he must be able to occupy the area better.”

What are your impressions of Yacine Adli?

“I read that he rightly called himself an atypical midfielder: he is very intelligent, he plays vertically. He is fitting in very well, sometimes he moves too much but he is learning quickly. And let’s not forget Diaz, from whom I expect a lot and from whom I’m very satisfied: I want more precision from him in the last pass and more goals.”

What do you expect from the market now?

“On paper, two roles are missing: a defender and a midfielder. We don’t want to replace those who left with doubles, also because another Kessie isn’t there. We need two characteristics: explosiveness and intelligence.”

Were you looking for an even more substantial ‘Scudetto gift’, perhaps a Vlahovic-like signing at €80m?

“De Ketelaere in perspective, in 2-3 years, can become a top player in Europe. Each club makes its own assessments: with a sustainable project we have shown that we can win. Beyond a certain level the club does not want and cannot arrive. I certainly never feared that the new ownership would come and sell the most important players: we were told at the outset that the philosophy would remain the same.”

Were you afraid of breaking off your relationship with Maldini and Massara? The negotiation for their renewals was very long…

“Never. I spoke to them every day. The change of ownership and other dynamics that I am not aware of led to longer lead times, but I never thought it could end otherwise.”

Have you spoken with Cardinal?

“No, I only met him the day before the closing. But even with Elliott’s top management it worked the same way, my references are Paolo, Ricky and Gazidis.”

The directors often follow you to Milanello. Is that where the magic was born?

“Every day I arrive worried, in quotes, about the spirit with which the players will work, but when I see them working all the doubts go away. If we continue like this we will be competitive, it does not mean that we will win the title but that we will have the chance to win every game.

“In the last training session I had to stop them, because they were going too fast. So it’s beautiful, engaging, we have our concepts inside us. As long as I see this attitude it will be calm, if we step back even a single centimetre we become a normal team.”

What do you consider the strength of the team today?

“We have many high-level players. Giroud is a complete player, Rebic is very good at giving depth, Origi knows how to do everything. Divock is very attentive, I like him and he will give us satisfaction. In the middle, physicality in terms of size is not so important but legs and intelligence and we have it in Tonali, Pobega, Krunic who is often unfairly underestimated and instead has incredible tactical skills.

“Obviously Bennacer: he can become a player of the highest level. And Maignan moves: not only in his saves but with his mere presence. He was the best goalkeeper in the league, although I like Szczesny a lot too.”

Pioli has become a top coach: have you changed anything?

“I never worried about what people said about me, my experiences have brought me to this level. Milan made me grow and I can do it again, I feel young, with a great desire to test myself. And then my players are sponges.

“I use a method that I define sharing, I make ideas available to the team and try to understand with them if they work or not. So we found motivation and balance. I enjoyed reading in the Gazzetta that, seeing the team play Milan, it seems that the players are having fun. That’s how it is.”

Tags AC Milan Charles De Ketelaere Stefano Pioli Yacine Adli

13 Comments

  1. It is time to write your history with AC Milan too coach like your idol sachi. I hope you change formation to 433 to give more play time for tonali-bennacer-adili for trio midfield

  2. This guy is something he certainly knows what to say at what time and how to motivate his players….wish the owners can provide him with a bit more cover..win or loose this guy has tons of respect from Milan World….

  3. The title say Pioli want a midfielder, yet when he is asked about the strength of the team, he boasted about his midfield…

    Make me wonder… what does “on paper” actually mean?

    Does he actually say the midfield still lack a player or does he actually say the current midfield is the strength of Milan?

    “physicality in terms of size is not so important but legs and intelligence and we have it in Tonali, Pobega, Krunic who is often unfairly underestimated and instead has incredible tactical skills”
    “Obviously Bennacer: he can become a player of the highest level.”

    I wonder if he said this because he saw comments in social media talking badly about Pobega, Krunic, and his midfield in general.

    1. well to be fair he was Maldini’s third choice after Luciano Spalletti(to expensive) and Marco Giampaolo (lost 4 games out of 7) , so yea. Pioli lost last year 4 games in 38 serie A

  4. its gonna be a fab season. Hope they find their rhythm soon and rack up points. Also respect for Pioli, i was against him coming but he was magic for Milan and Milan was magic for him

  5. What do you expect from the market now?

    “On paper, two roles are missing: a defender and a midfielder. We don’t want to replace those who left with doubles, also because another Kessie isn’t there. We need two characteristics: explosiveness and intelligence.”

    Makes sense why he wanted Sanches…..says it all right there – not another Kessie – explosiveness and intelligence- But there are some donkeys on here that think they know more than Pioli lol. Hope we can find that player now on loan at least as we don’t have the $$

    1. Sanches is explosive, but he is not the inteligent type, he lack in decision. He carry the ball forward then give it to creative players who are intelligent type.

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