Milan defender Pierre Kalulu explains why he took relatively long to settle in at Milan and what Stefano Pioli told him before his Rossoneri debut.
The former Lyon starlet joined the Rossoneri in 2020 and has become a regular starter this season.
His performances at centre-back have been impressive and helped the Rossoneri become one of tightest defences in Europe’s top five leagues in 2021-22.
However, Kalulu hasn’t always played as a centre defender in his career.
“I made my debut late, in an away Europa League match against Sparta Prague. I hadn’t played for four months and it took a while to settle in physically and tactically,” he told Vista.fr.
“Here it’s very different from France. I had to understand and in that moment the coach thought there we players better than me. I decided to greet my teeth and I played that game as a left midfielder.
“During the training, the coach asked me: ‘Have you ever played as a right winger?’ I replied: ‘Sure, no problem,’ but I would have said the same even if he had asked me if I had ever played as centre midfielder.
“At Lyon, we trained to be the best in every position, also in midfield, but when you don’t play, you can’t be happy,” he continued.
“I worked hard and the first game was good. The coach noticed my strength and how much I ran even if I had things to improve.”
That’s how weak our right side is, one of our best defenders this season almost played right wing 😉
Took long to settle? The kid looked right at home the moment he stepped onto the pitch. Initially he made a few positional mistakes, but he has always looked like a true modern centre back. He goes about his job with no fuss. It is like he has been a pro for 5 seasons.
Considering his tender age, one could say he settled almost instantly!
In other words: in addition to being an excellent defender, this boy is also a modest and serious person. What a spectacular future lies ahead for him!
I was worried when Kjaer got injured, imagining the rest of the season playing with Romagnoli and Gabbia as back up. It has been astonishing how good Kalulu has been, imagine how good he could become! Just hope he gets enough playing time next year.
@Ricky.
V.harsh on Gabbia as when called upon, he has almost always done well. He picked up a bad injury at a time when he was playing and the only notable mistake was the one vs Fiorentina. Granted he doesn’t have the athleticism of Kalulu and Tomori but he’s a very intelligent defender. Romagnoli was also one of the very very shining lights during the dark years, but again, injuries at the beginning of last season and multiple times being rushed back didn’t help with his form.