Albertini: “Milan, you need a striker. Serie A is too slow”

Albertini, in the nominations for the Gran Galà del Calcio organized by you in collaboration with Aic, which next Monday will award the best of the last Serie A, there is – rightly – half Milan: from Pioli to Leao, from Hernandez to Tomori. Yet in the Champions League the pace of the Rossoneri is different. How do you explain it?
“Milan are among the youngest teams in the Champions League, many of Pioli’s players lack the habit of playing internationally …”.

Wasn’t the experience of the past season, with an iron group and top-level opponents enough to forge the group?
“International matches should not only be counted, they must be weighed. Attendance and minutes are one thing, the goal for which you play is far from it: it is when you play to win, to make your way to the end, that you are able to sustain. certain comparisons and to fight with the strongest. Milan will get there, they are experiencing a growth process, as has happened to them in recent years in Italy. “

But where the Rossoneri seem to go at another speed …
“And rhythm is the other factor that marks the difference between our teams and those of the Premier, La Liga, Bundesliga. In Serie A, slower, less dynamic football is played: Milan goes against the grain, but in the Champions League. , when you cross a team like Chelsea you pay for it. Even if Tuesday’s game doesn’t matter. “

We understand his thoughts on Siebert’s refereeing.
“I wasn’t at the stadium, I was watching it on TV. When I saw the referee whistle that penalty and expel Tomori I changed the channel. Football is a contact sport, that there was no foul is also shown by the fact that Mount has ended the action and shot. An unequivocal mistake by the referee cannot ruin a match in this way, it’s a shame because I am convinced that Milan could have won. Having said that, fate is still in the hands of the Rossoneri. “

Do you expect to see them in the round of 16?
“I would be surprised if they do not pass the round. Milan can and must qualify, I expect them to restart from a victory in Zagreb. Even if they did not start to win the Champions League, they need to train themselves to play games in which you cannot go wrong. And those matches exist only in the Champions League: in this sense it is a completely different tournament from the championship “.

What is missing to make the leap in quality also in Europe?
“First of all, the team must not lose the generosity that allowed them to win the Scudetto. Pioli maybe corrects something, like between home and away with Chelsea, but it does not change the approach of his team between A and Champions, and does well: with a little more experience, Milan will certainly be able to raise the level in Europe as well. I think the recipe for winning even outside the Italian borders is this: to continue following the path of growth that coach and players they are carrying on without distorting themselves, and progressively inserting great players “.

Maldini said he was confident about Leao’s renewal: “We would like to do it before the World Cup”. Is Rafa’s confirmation the first stone to become competitive?
“For Leao, a fundamental rule applies on the market: you can make a mistake in buying, but you cannot make a mistake in selling. Milan have been able to replace Donnarumma, a world-class number one, with Maignan who has proved extraordinary, but in this moment it is tough. find a footballer around with Leao’s shots. He, Tonali and De Ketelaere are the future of the team. “

How to improve it then?
“With an attacker within the reach of the club’s coffers, but capable of making a difference immediately. Giroud is not eternal, the same goes for Ibra. talents that don’t find space in the big names, as Juve did at the time with Morata. I’m thinking of Chelsea’s Broja, for example. “