Stefano Pioli reflected on his growth at Milan, last season’s Scudetto success and the upcoming Champions League clash with Tottenham.
The Rossoneri booked their spot in the Round of 16 of Europe’s premier club competition with a second place finish in Group E, a concrete sign of their growth over the last few years. Milan also sit second in the Serie A table, eight points behind league leaders Napoli, putting the pressure on in the second half of the season.
Speaking to Sportmediaset, Pioli first discussed how he’s changed since joining Milan.
“Definitely I have changed. I would like to see the players see how I coach now, this is part of the professional and human growth of any professional, and I think it was mainly the negative experiences that improved me the most.
“I think I have improved in so many things, especially in two-three that I think are the most important in my job, different tactical solutions, relationship with my players, and probably also better outward communication than I could do at the beginning of my career.”
He looked ahead to the upcoming Champions League clash with Antonio Conte’s Tottenham.
“Surely it will be a very important and exciting appointment, partly because it’s been a long time since Milan reached the Round of 16 of the Champions League, and partly because we face a great team coached by a great coach.”
The Italian coach gave his thoughts on his Inter counterpart Simone Inzaghi.
“When I could I followed his training sessions a little bit and when he could he followed mine. There was always a very good relationship, of great cooperation. Then clear that the paths separated, we met many times as opponents. We faced each other with great respect for each other.”
Pioli confirmed that Nerazzurri president Steven Zhang congratulated him for his work last season.
“Yes, he did. He always had a fair manner. He wrote to me: ‘Congratulations coach because you deserved it’.”
He remembered when he was when Bologna beat Inter last season, a match that had huge implications in the title race.
“At dinner with Maldini and Massara because we have our habits and our appointments. But we were not watching the match, in fact we were pretending to think about something else, we had disconnected our phones and we did not even know the result.
“It is true that it was an important episode in our favour, but it is equally true that we scored 86 points to win the league and we were the only ones who succeeded.”
The Milan coach commented on if he had any regrets.
“No, I think I did everything. I think on that day there and the next day that I absolutely enjoyed the moment. We did everything we had to do, we rejoiced with each other, with our relatives and friends, with all our fans who gave us an unforgettable day.
“Although I really savoured in a deeper way the Scudetto victory when we returned to Milan at two o’clock in the morning, I was smoking a cigar with my son and we saw people passing by with flags. There I understood what we had succeeded in doing.”
He spoke about if he believes in the Rossoneri’s title chances this season.
“You have to think that you can think about winning the Scudetto. Then it’s obvious that if Napoli continues at this pace they will get to 100 points and deservedly win the league.”
Finally, Pioli discussed if he’d like to sit atop the throne of Italian football again.
“We hope so. We are here with great ambition, for sure. We have no intention of giving up, we want to score a lot of points and try to put this beautiful crown back on our heads.”
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