Milan Futuro midfielder Mattia Sandri believes that he and his team-mates will grow with experience in Serie C, while he spoke about the honour of representing the club and working with Daniele Boenra.
The Futuro are second-bottom having won just one league game so far, project has as its priority the developments of young players rather than the results obtained, so there are no major changes planned for now.
Sandri, a midfielder born in 2001, graduated from Torino Youth Sector and has played in Serie C with Potenza, Rimini, and Sestri Levante. He was announced as a new signing back in early July as part of a triple unveiling.
Now the 23-year-old has given an interview to Milan TV in which he shed some light on how the season is going so far, how he is finding life at Milan and the challenges that senior football has brought.
Tell us about your journey to this point…
“I started from Torino, I went through all the stages from the kids to the Primavera, also tasting the first team. I was lucky enough to get experience with great players in Serie A, even if I was only aggregated with them.
“Then I understood that I was too young to play in Serie A and so I told myself to return to Serie C, which is a tough league where young players grow a lot because it is an important league.
“For me it was a very positive thing, I am 2001-born and technically overage but I am still young, Serie C has given me a lot and made me grow from many points of view. My dream is to have the possibility of staying in Serie A again.”
What is the league like?
“Serie C is a lot of temperament, there are many category age groups, games on complicated fields, this is a factor that can make our young players grow a lot. The difficulty between Serie C and the Primavera is very different, so we are trying to get on par with the category and slowly we will try to get the results that we all want.”
How has the start to the season gone?
“In the last match there was a red card after 5 minutes: it shouldn’t be an excuse but it helped direct the match in a certain way. On the other matches: we all saw that it’s a difficult league, so we’ll have to play every match with all our strength.
“Little by little the boys are improving a lot, we have to get on par with the category and then we’ll get a lot of satisfaction.”
What is it like working under Bonera?
“I am very happy with the mister and the staff in general. Having all this trust from them is a demonstration of pride for me. I try to give my best, to listen to them and to transmit their concepts to my team-mates, which are difficult to assimilate for those who are just starting out.
“I don’t feel much responsibility because I have always been, even when I was young like some of my teammates, a bit of a leader, I have always tried to drag my teammates along and make them go further, it is something that makes me very happy.”
And what is it like being at Milan?
“It’s a beautiful world, I didn’t expect all this enthusiasm. I immediately noticed a big family, which is something that makes me very happy. I knew there would be many good guys, who also debuted in the first team, but we know it’s a difficult path and it will be a long path. Milan Futuro is made specifically to help our young players grow, we are trying to do this.”