Milan coach Stefano Pioli explains his management style, ‘the trouble’ with Rafael Leao, arguing with Franck Kessie and why Zlatan Ibrahimovic is ‘an animal.’
The tactician spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport and you can read the rest of his comments here.
The Rossoneri are top of the Serie A table and won their Europa League group, even during Ibrahimovic’s absence due to injury.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli explains his management style, ‘the trouble’ with Rafael Leao, arguing with Franck Kessie and why Zlatan Ibrahimovic is ‘an animal.’
The tactician spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport and you can read the rest of his comments here.
The Rossoneri are top of the Serie A table and won their Europa League group, even during Ibrahimovic’s absence due to injury.
“The team is by now convinced of its capabilities and has very clear football concepts. Having said that, we know how important Zlatan is for us, but we have other characteristics to draw on when he’s not there.
“I remember the first time I met Ibra was in the gym after training. I had never hugged anyone so tall. He’s genuinely so intelligent and funny, but on the pitch, Ibra is an animal. I can assure you that is a compliment.”
Yet there are other youngsters in the squad who could really learn from Ibrahimovic, such as Rafael Leao.
“The trouble with Rafa is his body language. He’s very smart, but every now and then gives the sensation his head is in the clouds. He has improved a lot, but I’d like him to have more enthusiasm, to enjoy himself and laugh a bit more.”
Kessie and Davide Calabria both admitted they had clashes with Pioli when he first arrived at San Siro.
“That can happen when you don’t know each other well. We had different ideas on certain aspects of training and football,” confessed Pioli. “It’s not always easy to explain your ideas and methods, especially when you take over mid-season. It’s a natural process and the results are the Kessie and Calabria performances you see today.
“I do raise my voice when I get angry, I don’t do it on purpose, but it’s necessary to be clear and honest. I listen when it’s the right moment to do so, and I wait if I have doubts, but when I am convinced that I’m right, I march on.”
Unlike some other Serie A coaches who seem to direct every single pass and movement from the touchline, Pioli takes a different approach to management.
“There are moments when the players need to be reassured. I will never tell them off for a technical error like a misplaced pass, but only if they don’t put themselves at the disposal of their teammates.
“I am also not someone who says: ‘Pass it there, now over there.’ I don’t like tactical systems. What I do is suggest certain principles of football, but on the field it’s the players who must be able to ‘read’ the situations and move as a consequence.”