This afternoon, Alexis Saelemaekers has looked at the arrival of Ruben Amorim and the excitement of playing in a new system at AC Milan.
It has been a big summer for Milan. Not only have they brought in a brand new head coach, but they have also welcomed changes elsewhere. As a result, it feels like we are entering a very different season and future.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
For Saelemaekers, there are a few differences, but his importance hasn’t really changed. After all, he would’ve been key for Massimiliano Allegri again and it seems that Amorim will also place a lot of faith in him.
Considering how versatile the Belgian is in the wide areas, he will continue to be an interesting piece in the tactics this season.
Saelemaekers speaks to the media
Speaking alongside Amorim earlier today, Saelemaekers offered a few words about the new coach and a promise in honour of Franco Baresi, as MilanNews relays.
“I wanted to offer my condolences to Franco Baresi’s entire family and those close to him. I’d like to do so on behalf of all my teammates.
“Even though I’ve only recently arrived here in Perth, the first conversations I had with the others were about Franco Baresi, and I felt the sadness of hearing the news of his passing. Even though Franco wasn’t often with us during matches, he always had good advice and a kind word when he saw us: it was incredible.
“For the guys like me who weren’t lucky enough to see him play, you could see that he was an example of his dedication to the shirt, what he did for the team. You could feel that AC Milan was in his blood, and he conveyed that every time we saw him. These are very sad days for us too, and we’re so sorry we can’t be at the funeral.
“We’ll give everything this season for him.”
Meeting Amorim and his staff…
“It was great right away. You can feel the professionalism of the coach and his entire staff: he’s already had great results with great teams, and we’re happy to have him here with us.
“We want to give our all for him; we know we can achieve great things this year: we have the right determination. The end of last season was difficult for everyone because we had great ambitions, but we didn’t manage to get where we wanted.
“This year is a new season, and we’ll try to do better.”
A new system…
“If he puts me on the pitch, I’ll be happy. We haven’t spoken yet, but the manager already knows that no matter what position I play in, I’ll always give my all. For me, the important thing is the team, Milan.
“We want to achieve great things, and I think every player is available to play in every position on the pitch and give their all. The mentality of every player will be important: that’s how we can win matches.”
Saelemaekers statements are excellent on an emotional and media level for mourning a legend of Franco Baresi stature. But in modern football and its harsh realities, emotional promises don’t win points or fix tactical weaknesses. True loyalty to Baresi spirit isn’t demonstrated through press conferences, but through rigorous defensive discipline, personal resilience, and tactical sacrifice on the pitch qualities Baresi embodied as a true leader and which many in the current squad lack.