Pioli: “Milan, you have the right spirit. You need patience with De Ketelaere”

Still in mourning for the very recent loss of his brother-in-law, Stefano Pioli tries to find his smile again. He does it in his home Parma, where today he received the Sport and Civilization award at the Teatro Regio. The AC Milan coach returns to the painful victory against Fiorentina: “The team has certainly grown from a mental point of view and I think they know how to recognize opportunities… After the bad performance in Cremona, which was our most critical step and which damaged the standings – with the last two victories ours would have been an excellent start to the championship, leaving aside Napoli’s exceptional championship -, yesterday we played with great intensity. Winning these matches means believing in it, having spirit and having quality, because otherwise if You don’t have high-level quality and team spirit, you don’t win these games.”

Targets

—

Pioli then analyzes the seasonal goals that are still possible for the Diavolo: “We have many goals to achieve: there’s the championship, the Italian Cup, the Super Cup, the Champions League… There’s a motivated and stimulated group, so even those who he will return from the World Cup with the right mentality to do the best possible”. The assessment on the first part of Serie A: “It is an anomalous, particular and difficult championship. We are making assessments that are not correct, because there are still 23 games and there is room for all the teams. The progress of the club is also anomalous Naples are achieving incredible results. The break? Never in the history of football have so many games been played, so resting will be important. Then from 2 December we will resume preparation, playing many friendlies, training at Milanello for a week, then 10 days in Dubai and waiting for the return of the 7 internationals, whose situations will then be very subjective”.

Patience with CDK

—

To those who point out that Milan don’t seem like the strongest team, the Italian champion coach replies in no uncertain terms: “No, in my opinion they were the strongest team, because in the decisive moment of the championship, when you had to win 6- 8 consecutive games, the boys have been fantastic, showing cohesion, soul and a lot of talent that other teams have not managed to have”. On De Ketelaere and the other signings, Pioli asks for patience: “When it comes to investing in young people, everyone is happy, but then there isn’t the patience needed to wait for them. We are talking about kids who come from different countries, from different cultures, to play differently, different habits… It’s normal to have difficulties, but we are absolutely convinced that we have taken on talented, intelligent and available players”.