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.”