Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini said he ‘didn’t like’ that Gigio Donnarumma was booed when he returned to San Siro with the Azzurri this month. ‘It was not the right occasion’.
During the semi-final of the UEFA Nations League, the crowd at the Giuseppe Meazza booed every time Donnarumma touched the ball, starting from the warm-up.
The 22-year-old goalkeeper joined Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer from Milan this summer, as he never renewed his deal with the Rossoneri and the fans were furious by his decision.
Italy CT Roberto Mancini was ‘disappointed’ by the reaction from the fans and Chiellini added that the ‘choices’ of the players ‘must be respected’.
But he stressed the fans are entitled of their opinion and just pointed at the occasion as ‘not right’, as Italy were playing for a place in the Final of the UEFA competition at home.
“I didn’t like it,” he told DAZN. “Each of us makes choices and they must be respected, as the thoughts of the fans must be respected. But I think it was not the right occasion to boo him.”
Donnarumma helped Italy win EURO 2020 this summer and collected over 250 competitive games with the Rossoneri before joining PSG.
He has been compared to former Juventus and PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Chiellini said ‘time will tell’ if the former Rossonero will reach the heights of the World Cup winner, currently plying his trade at Parma.
“Gigio is special, he’s different from the others,” Chiellini said. “Just like we saw Buffon was also different from the goalkeepers of his generation.
“Time will tell us if he can reach those levels, but it’s evident that he’s not a normal goalkeeper. He’s something out of the ordinary.”
#Juve, #Chiellini: ‘Pensavo al ritiro, gli Europei mi hanno tenuto in piedi. #DeLigt? Speriamo che #Raiola ce lo lasci…’ https://t.co/kOcw9HCrRE pic.twitter.com/dMIXU63t9F
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) October 27, 2021
Like I said last month, If Italy FA don’t want the boos…do not play in Milan again. Simple..It is our Stadio..our city….if Donnarumma is set play, there are many cities in Italy to play in.
The RossoNeri come 1st, Everything else is 2nd…I mean EVERYTHING.
He spent around 2200 minutes on the pitch for Milan, and they still can’t accept that he wanted to play with superstars and earn a lot more money. I wonder what Milan fans would do if they were aiming to become the best and win everything they can..
Micah97…
No, the Nazionale comes 1st.
They keep talking about this to draw the attention away from their own problems, classic misdirection, they should get their own house in order before they comment on AC Milans, whats Chiellini’s opinion on the racist Juve fan recently banned or the Financial fraud that his club has been complicit in, or how about the juve ultras recently sentenced to jail time for extortion? yeah lets talk about some boo’s against an ungrateful player instead
Why don’t you boo Sacchi who cost me a world cup in 94, why did he bench signori and then after that tourney signori went into obscurity. Did he even blacklist him?You are vindictive and I lived in Italy and you call Italians south of Rome a certain name , not everybody is a dummy buddy. Booing a kid playing in a national team who might not even have a girlfriend is inappropriate behavior and non lucid non cogent to go in forums to justify this.
We do what “WE” feel is right, not what others think. Specially not a Juventino or an ex-Inter coach. You don’t like it, don’t play in our stadium, or don’t bring that clown here.
@Milan Fan…
While your, and the milanisti’s sentiment is understandable, it also remains short sighted.
Now, he should have never left Milan. Stupid move for an additional 2mil. euro.
However, The Nazionale MUST come first.
@Jarod Knowles…
Very well stated and our sentiments as well. Signori should never have been benched.
“Our” stadium?
Owned by the city and shared along with Internazionale. You’re only allowed half boo’s.