Former Milan midfielder Massimo Ambrosini explains why Serie A is the ideal next step for Pep Guardiola’s career, while evaluating Riccardo Calafiori, Fikayo Tomori and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
The ex-Italy international spoke to OLGB and gave some predictions for Italy’s chances of defending the European Championship title in Germany, so you can read those comments here.
Meanwhile, he also looked at club football and some of the English players who have been wearing the Rossoneri jersey.
“This season, Tomori made too many mistakes. The year that Milan won Serie A, he was amazing. But right now, this last year, he had a bad injury and his performances were not the same.
“Loftus-Cheek has everything as a top player, but we need to see him playing at that level in every match and not once in every three. He has everything, but he doesn’t show his quality enough, that is his problem. Maybe that is why Chelsea let him go.”
Ambrosini on Calafiori and Guardiola future
Bologna defender Calafiori has been heavily linked with Juventus, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen and Atletico Madrid, but his club is eager to keep hold of him and took the Italy international off the market for this summer.
“Calafiori has had an incredible season. For me, he has everything to play at the top level and be in top Premier League squads in the future,” explained Ambrosini.
“He can play at centre-back, at left-back and under Thiago Motta in Bologna he started to move into midfield and even play like a striker, he has everything.
“Calafiori loves playing with the ball, Bologna were one of the first or second teams in the Italian league for possession so I think Arsenal would be perfect for him. He could play in the middle or on the left, maybe in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s role. It would be perfect for him.”
Italian coaches are proving more popular than ever around Europe, but there is one foreign manager who would be well-suited to Italian football.
“I think everybody in Italy would like to see Pep Guardiola in Italy. Here, like in England, he is considered as one of the best managers of all time.
“When I hear him talk about Manchester City, you can hear his love for the club. It’s the same when you hear Carlo Ancelotti talk about Real Madrid. So it’s not going to be easy for Guardiola to leave City. I played with the same club for 17 years so I know the feeling.
“But if Guardiola wants something different, Italy is the best place for him.”
After all, Guardiola also played in Serie A with Brescia and Roma between 2001 and 2003, still speaking fluent Italian and never hesitating to praise our tacticians.