Riccardo Sottil has revealed the surreal emotions he went through after getting a call from AC Milan, and the nerves of getting the deal done before the deadline.
Sottil was the last deal that Milan got over the line chronologically in what was a hectic winter transfer window that saw four other players arrive including a triple swoop on deadline day.
There hadn’t been much rumours in the build up to the final 24 hours, but then reports surfaced suggesting that a deal had been agreed with Fiorentina and that Noah Okafor was heading for Napoli.
Matteo Moretto stated that the Rossoneri and La Viola had reached an agreement over Sottil which is a paid loan with an option to buy set at around €10m.
He made his debut last night in the Coppa Italia against Roma, coming on in the second half along with Santiago Gimenez and Joao Felix in a 3-1 win.
Sottil spoke alongside Warren Bondo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic at a press conference organised to unveil the new signings at Milanello on Thursday afternoon, with his comments relayed by MilanNews.
Your passion for Milan was born a long time ago…
“First of all, I wanted to thank Fiorentina, president Commissio, director Pradé and Raffaele Palladino because they allowed me to take this very important train for me. I also want to thank CEO Furlani, Ibrahimovic and Moncada for believing in me.
“I had a weakness for Pato, I won’t even mention Zlatan because when he was there, with Pato and Dinho, I grew up with that Milan. It’s a passion I’ve had since I was a child.”
When you found out about Milan’s interest, how did you react?
“It was a long day. I was at the pitch and my agent called me after training and I didn’t answer him straight away. Then Giuseppe Riso told me there was a chance to go to Milan and I was speechless.
“I spoke to my dad, who had already known about it since the morning and at the gong of the transfer market I managed to get here.”
Were you afraid of not closing the deal in time?
“I was a bit anxious and waited at home on the sofa, but thank God it went as I hoped.”
What do you expect from your adventure at Milan? Why did you choose 99?
“When you are at Milan, in a club like this the expectation is to win. I am here to make myself available to my teammates and the coach and I want to show that I can stay here. 99 is the number of the year I was born.”
How much does the competition from your high-quality teammates stimulate you and what struck you about your arrival at Milan?
“When you arrive, you understand the greatness of the club in all its details, on and off the pitch. You come to a club with very strong players and when you arrive here you compete and you mature and improve in all aspects.
“I spoke quickly with the coach, he asked me how I was physically, but I am at his disposal and he will know when and where to put me and I am ready to play.”
Have you spoken to Adli about Milan?
“I spoke to Adli when he arrived at Milan. Two days ago he wrote me a message ‘make me dream’. I thank him because he is a golden boy.”
What is your favoured position on the pitch?
“I have played multiple roles in attack, mostly right and left wing. If I need to play on the right, I will play there, and if I need to play on the left, I will play there. There are no problems.”
What can you steal from Leao?
“Rafa is a very strong player, you learn a lot from someone like that. He has enormous talent and you have to try to steal with your eyes his movements, his pieces, the way he moves. He is a champion and he had a sensational season when Milan won the title.”
When you attack the opponent you are very strong, but the coach will ask you to defend a lot…
“In modern football you always have to do both phases. Even if you are an offensive winger, you have to give a hand to the team. To win, everyone has to do it and I want to do it in both phases.”
How important will a team-mate like Walker be?
“He’s a champion, he’s won everything and seeing him arrive on the field and go straight to the gym to work, then you have to do it too. You realize how much work there is behind being a champion.”
What impression did it make coming on last night with Joao Felix, Gimenez and Leao?
“I felt a great emotion, because when San Siro shouts your name, it gives you a great boost. I dreamed of it when I was little and I want to do my best for this shirt and these fans.”
What do you think of the greatness of Milan?
“When you enter Milanello, you feel the history and what they have won. You see photos of champions, of Ballon d’Ors, of celebrations of Scudetti and Champions Leagues. When you play football, it is these champions who give you that fire inside. I am truly very, very happy.”
Bunch of great interviews today, enjoyed them all.
It was, Walker was the right guy to bring in. When these kids see him in the gym they realise what it takes to be a Champion. Hope he rubs off on Theo and Leao. Very happy to see Andrea’s son with us, he can take his game to the next level. Steel sharpens steel and I want to see him make his father proud and earn a cap for the Azzurri.
I personally always liked Calabria but obviously Walker is an upgrade even if its possibly for a fairly short time. You can see he has winner mentality even before entering the field down in the tunnel so yeah I absolutely think it will rub off on the rest to some extent. He is also rather great putting himself in positions to open up for a pass if his teammates are a bit under pressure.
I Got to that say my knowledge of Sottil is rather limited but I did recollect the surname when I saw we had loaned him but that would indeed be great if he can achieve that and becomes a success with us.
I find players to be too buddy buddy in the tunnels. I remember when players used to just face forward, ignored everyone else and was super focused on the match ahead. That alone used to scare the daylights out of opposing players before the game even started (there were some interviews of opposing players saying as much with regards to the old Milan teams…those guys felt and gave off the impression of mental superiority
I can definitely understand that approach of yours and do also remember those days but who in their right frame of minds wouldn’t also have some fear for the Milan teams of the previous eras. I did notice Walker to motivate his teammates in the tunnel though which certainly is a good thing in my book as some of our players seems to need a bit of guidance from time to time.
The way the guys looked back in the day was like they looked past you not at you. The psychological impact of that alone
Btw the way Walker has been marshalling the defence is what we’ve been missing. It shows leadership and experience. We’ve been sorely missing that. He does need to figure out these tricksters in Serie A though…on a few occasions he was suspect.