CUCCARO. Perhaps a predestined, certainly the most deserving for behavior on and off the field. Stefano Pioli picked up a Milan on the edge of the relegation zone on 8 October 2019, the day and month of Nils Liedholm’s birth: it may have been a coincidence, but since then he has brought the glorious club back up (today first in the standings) and Cuccaro has received yesterday 10 November the award named after the Swedish baron, who achieved memorable successes with the Rossoneri.
Milan coach Stefano Pioli receives the Liedholm award: “It is an honor and a pride to be here”
maximum dolphin
The event is back, after the stop due to a pandemic, in an even more glamorous guise, first of all for the verve of Paolo Liedholm, for the first time with the microphone in the hands of Villa Boemia. He spoke with elegance and grace of grandfather Nils, not before having ironically motivated the replacement of his father Carlo (the creator of the award together with Fabio Bellinaso): “Dad is out of the squad list due to an injury in training.” With mastery of the subject, Liedholm junior made appropriate comparisons between the star’s Milan and what Pioli is shaping, with a captain as young as Calabria and a probable future captain who is conquering San Siro, namely Tonali.
Stefano Pioli receives the Liedholm award to Cuccaro Monferrato: “An honor for me”
The praise to Pioli also came in a video message from three coaches who had already been “stars” to Cuccaro, namely Carlo Ancelotti, Vicente Del Bosque and Claudio Ranieri, the latter one of the technicians to whom the winner of yesterday is most grateful. The introduction of Pioli was curated by an inspired Nicola Roggero, a journalist for Sky, who highlighted how the Milan manager always prepares his teams in the best possible way to win, also drawing on other sports as he is passionate about basketball, volleyball and cycling. It is no coincidence that, after the ceremony, he allowed himself to take an unscheduled photo with three non-accredited fans, who had however come by bike to Cuccaro to cheer him on.
But now the word goes to Pioli: «This Milan is young, it needs time to grow and also to make mistakes to become a great team. It is a pride for me to receive this recognition – said Pioli who, in return, handed a Rossoneri shirt to Paolo -, because Nils Liedholm represented elegance, style and wisdom, a gentleman on and off the pitch. It has transmitted many values, I am trying to do the same in my small way. I think the most important thing is to always be yourself. I put everything I have into what I do. In football it is not easy to find balance ». A thought to the masters: «The technicians who left me the most – explained Pioli – were Trapattoni, Bagnoli and Ranieri. They helped me to cultivate my idea of the game, which is now very precise ». And to those who asked him if you dream of coaching the national team one day, «in the future maybe yes – answered the Rossoneri coach – but right now I want to stay on the pitch. At Milan, a great club, and I hope to continue as much as possible ».
In the archive of the tenth edition, the Liedholm Prize is already looking to 2022, “in the centenary of the birth of the baron”, Fabio Bellinaso pointed out. If these are the conditions, it will be an even more special appointment.