Malick Thiaw presents himself to the Milan fans and explains how you pronounce his name, which sounds surprisingly Italian.
The centre-back joined the Rossoneri from Schalke 04 at a cost of circa €7m plus bonuses in the final days of the transfer session.
He is not in their Champions League squad, so is hoping to make his debut in Serie A for the reigning title holders.
“I’m a player that really likes to set targets for himself,” said Thiaw.
“I’m a goal-oriented person. I know this is a huge club, but nonetheless, I have my aims. I want to develop, I’ll have a top coach and quality teammates, so I want to get better with every session.
“I want to learn the language and culture, to play as many games as possible. I back myself.”
Thiaw is already getting to know the differences in tactics and training techniques from Schalke 04 to Milan and was stunned by the atmosphere of the Derby della Madonnina.
“Milan is know for having really good defenders, like Maldini, Nesta and others. I realised that as a kid, even though I wasn’t a defender back then, and I watched Milan closely when they had Ronaldinho and Kaka.”
Finally, he confirmed that you pronounce his surname in a very Italian way: “It’s like Ciao.”
Another foreigner
Give the damm Italians a chance
Any response from Paolo or the other ragazzi yet, Tony? Since Cardinale took over he has pledged to base all football decisions on various internet comments sections. Not sure we can trust him though, despite the name, he’s another bloody foreigner.
He’s a tall and very quick defender. If he develops I don’t mind him taking the place of an Italian. But, I do want to see other Italians come through the youth team. Milan have had several over the years leave to other teams. Can Milan not promote one or two Italians from the youth team every year? Barca and Real do it, albeit they have a much larger pool to choose from. I still think they need to be unturned like any footballer, give them a chance, teach them the game, and watch them flourish.