Heard Gazidis? We want to get back on top with players who are proud to wear our jersey. An important, demanding sentence that moves the axis from the economic to the moral. After all, if the players in general and those of Milan in particular feel that the players of Barcelona (Barcelona!) Must cut their salaries by 30%, they are not “combing the dolls”. But they talk, call, inquire and know perfectly what are, today, the few properties able to withstand the devastating fluctuations of Covid and able to write not only numbers on a contract, but also to pay them, to substantiate them with a project, to make them hard cash. That Elliott is among these seems to me offensive to have to underline it, after so many demonstrations. So if our fundamental negotiations, see Donnarumma and see Calhanoglu, are going on for some time, and because even the Rossoneri owners know they have points in favor and not just a media gun aimed at the temple. Despite the Covid storm, AC Milan in Milan is announcing sponsors, is enhancing players, is returning to talk about itself in a credible way. And not just for the scoreboard of the last match. But for everything. And that is precisely the point. The negotiation for the renewal of our key players cannot be totally unequal, with Milan enslaved by diktats and deadlines. It must be the negotiation between those who want to stay here and those who are ready to guarantee the right value. I have no doubts about Gigio, he will not abandon his ship. And Gigio was born with the sea around him, he knows what it means. And Calha? If he had been a bit pointed like Suso and Piatek, he wouldn’t be here anymore. But he is here, because he too cares and because there is a company that has understood his nature. Calha is the classic player where the look and the character come before the pitch and the football qualities. And speaking of the field, after having finally found his own dimension, he certainly won’t want to question everything along an unknown path which, for a cashmere player like him, could only be full of unknowns. And to all these guys of ours, who are doing well at Milanello and are seeing something important come about, it is right to remember that the man who hung up the plug at Milan, Stefano Pioli, took ten minutes to renew. Indeed, he announced and commented on his renewal even before signing the contract. This is how a valuable professional does things of value. And this is how it must be, that we must all be, at this moment in the history of football and in the life of the planet.
When a team is well it is fine and when it is bad it is bad. The opponent has nothing to do with it. When you feel bad, you go down 1-2 with Dudelange at San Siro, when you are good you put Sparta Prague in the position of never being dangerous 94 minutes straight. And believe me, Sparta Prague are much stronger than the Luxembourgers, with all due respect. This is because I have read various distinctions: Sparta was small, Sparta was weak. Calm down, detractors, diehard detractors. It is precisely in half and half games, with the opponent dead cat, that you can see if you are a team or you are not. And seeing Milan play today is a pleasure for the heart and for the eyes, both with Roma and with Sparta. Seeing these youngsters, full of the future, who make a goal like the second with three passes and 65 years in three between Bennacer, Dalot and Leao, is priceless. Then we know perfectly well that Milan in Udine will find a sharp match full of thorns, with the opponent full of physical strength, flashes and quality. In Udine, in the last 8 years, to win 2 games, Milan had to suffer the pains of hell: almost recovered from 3-0 to 3-2 with Mihajlovic and Balotelli in September 2015 and with the goal in the last minute of recovery in November 2018 with Gattuso and Romagoli. And the other 6 games? Lost, all lost, among a thousand negative episodes. The post-match controversy between the team and the coach in April 2015, the shock injuries of Bonaventura and De Sciglio in 2017, the gollonzo taken by Gigio and Bonucci in 2018, the first cracks with Giampaolo opened by Becao’s goal. If there is one field in which to prove that you are a team, it is Udine. Where Theo’s rests (you must be hungrier, dear Theo, with affection and esteem), Kessie, Calhanoglu and half of Ibrahimovic will prove to be, I hope, sacrosanct.
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