Fikayo Tomori is confident of Milan’s chances of defending their Scudetto and he underlined the importance of the different characters in the squad.
The Rossoneri secured their first league title in a decade last season under Stefano Pioli, finishing top of the table after 38 games with 86 points, only two ahead of intercity rivals Inter. With three different winners in the last three years, next season is shaping up to be one of the most exciting in years.
Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tomori first discussed how he was one of the first Milan players to begin talking about the Scudetto last season.
“Yes, I knew this team was strong and we could win. I’m glad we did.”
He touched on when he knew the Rossoneri were going to win.
“Only when Franck Kessie scored the third goal at Sassuolo on the last day, however, of course, in many moments we did well. Against Lazio, Fiorentina, Atalanta…
“We told ourselves that we had to continue, every game, every minute, always fighting. And in the end, when Franck scored that goal I was so happy.”
The Englishman commented on the state of Milan today.
“We’re happy, but we’re starting with 0 points like the others, not 86. We’ll have to fight harder. We’re the champions, everyone will want to beat us.”
Tomori reacted to the fact that the bookmakers had the Rossoneri has third favourites to win the Scudetto, behind Juventus and Inter.
“Well, they said that last year, too, and instead….”
He was confident that they could defend their title.
“We have confidence, we’re focused on ourselves, we know we’re strong. We still have a lot to prove but we won last year. Why not?”
The English defender suggested that the team feel even stronger now.
“Yes, we feel stronger considering everyone’s confidence. We have the feeling that we can do something special.
“We have done it before, but now we have a different pressure. We have to repeat ourselves. These days we worked harder than last year, we have to be ready.”
Tomori spoke about the return of Romelu Lukaku to Inter.
“My first game at Milan was against Romelu and that day I had respect for him, not fear. It will be the same this time.
“Lukaku is strong, Inter are strong but so are we. We know the derby will be a special game.”
He touched on how to mark both Lukaku and Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic.
“Marking them one-on-one is difficult, they are strong and fast, they have quality. The most important thing with both of them is to stay focused, be attentive to every movement, when they kick, when they attack the depth…
“In Italy then you work differently than in England. Here you defend as a team, you move together. In England much less.”
The Milan centre back gave his thoughts on new arrivals Yacine Adli and Divock Origi.
“Divock is strong, he is fast, he can score goals. A good reinforcement for us. Adli is also strong, he has a good shot, he makes the right movements.
“He has to learn how we play but you can see he has quality.”
Tomori also spoke about Mike Maignan.
“Ufff how much he talks! Mike has great character on the pitch, he always talks to everyone and he is a great goalkeeper. We have a good time with him, we are happy to have him in goal.”
He touched on the importance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the squad.
“Ibra has a great character, his voice was with us even when he was not playing. He would tell us, ‘We have to be hungry like dogs, we’re first but we haven’t done anything.’
“When there is a player like that in the locker room, he increases everyone’s spirit.”
The former Chelsea man commented on if he’ll renew his contract with the Rossoneri.
“Yes, I like everything about Milan, even the city, the Champions League nights…. But now I am focused on the pitch, for things off the pitch we will see.”
Finally, Tomori discussed what other parts of living in Italy he likes.
“I like the people, the passion, both when we are at the San Siro and away from home. I am a quiet guy, a slow one, and Italy is like that. Milan goes at a lower pace than London, I like it a lot.”
Yeah you can have 1 wonder fluke season but that mediocre Milan will not win any Scudetti anytime soon. May be in 2032.
What people forget whilst they’re obsessing over the transfer market is that there is also scope for the players who won the title last season to be even better this season. People always bang on about young players with potential, but when you have a group of young players with potential they spend their whole time looking elsewhere for someone to replace them. Well how about we take these young players with potential and see if they can be even better next season? That by itself would be worth more than any new signing. And we do have some new signings. Origi and Adli. So let’s stop worrying and look forward to seeing familiar faces next season.
@ Amado
Still hurts doesn’t it? Championeeeee championeee…