Giampaolo Pazzini reiterates that he can play alongside Mario Balotelli, as he admits to receiving special attention from Pippo Inzaghi.
Giampaolo Pazzini reiterates that he can play alongside Mario Balotelli, as he admits to receiving special attention from Pippo Inzaghi.
Heading into the new season under their new Coach, the Rossoneri are widely speculated as set to alternate in attack between Pazzini and Balotelli for a single striker position.
However, for the former, the possibility of the two playing together should not be ruled out.
“I would like to put an end to this discussion, which has been held for a long time,” Pazzini has considered to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Yes, Mario and I can work together fine. He likes to move around the area, I like to stay inside to finish. So we are complementary.”
That movement around the box has been a source of criticism for Balotelli.
“You can try to consign strikers to a rigid system, but it is difficult to change the characteristics of a player who has liked playing in a particular way for some time.
“Anyway, I see him as calm, he is training well and has great ideas in mind.”
Pazzini is back in the fold after a difficult 2013-14, which saw him return from injury midway through only to then drop to the bench under Clarence Seedorf.
“It’s a shame because after my injury I had returned well, I was training well and had also scored a couple of goals. It happened to me several times that I would go to sleep one evening as a starter and wake up on the day of the game on the bench.
“Have I considered leaving then? It is an idea that I have never considered. At Milan I am very happy, I’ve always felt the confidence of the club and the fans.”
Pazzini was asked of Inzaghi’s impact since returning to the senior squad as Coach.
“He is transmitting to us the spirit of Milan, he is letting us understand what this shirt is. He is looking to transmit that maniacal nature that he puts into his work every day.
“On a practical level he wants to play, and that these are new concepts – we need to put in the mentality and desire, and I can assure everyone that we are working with a great spirit of sacrifice.
“Does he give me special attention? Indeed, a little more than compared to the others he speaks to me. It happens with some frequency.
“He always gives me a lot of advice on correct movements and situations on the field.
“Maybe I happen to say: ‘Mister, I could not get to the ball’. And he tells me what he did in a similar situation when he was playing.
“I do not feel privileged, it is simply that I play in what was his position.
“Rules he has brought in for the group? The rules are the abc of the group. In fact, they were there already, but maybe they were not being followed…”
Milan start the season without captain Riccardo Montolivo, as he continues recovery from a broken leg suffered in May.
“It’s a shame because Riccardo is very important to us. You can feel his absence in the dressing room and also in the field because he is unique in his features.
“The group of Italians at the club? Milan has always had a core of Italians. We try to pull along the others, to have everyone train well.”