“Giroud is in an extraordinary moment”

Pioli never had any doubts about the qualities of the Frenchman: “A couple of video calls with him were enough to convince me, before he came to us. He had always had an impact on the teams he had played for, not only with goals, but also with assists and work for his teammates. I was sure that the club had taken on a very strong player. He is a splendid boy, very motivated and determined, he brings together all the characteristics of a team leader. If I would prefer him to return earlier? I think it is it’s much easier to coach happy and satisfied players than having to re-motivate disappointed players. Kjaer, for example, came back disappointed, his Denmark had other expectations. It will take him a while to settle down.”

Then the conversation moved on Rafael Leao: ” I told the players at the World Cup to stay calm, but to call me after every game. I heard him, he’s doing well and he’s happy for his national team. We haven’t talked about his playing time, also because Portugal have so much quality, especially forward. Maybe I can take advantage of this to convince him to stay with us again… If you see him in training you immediately understand the incredible potential he has, he combines technique and speed. Then of course he had to develop, relate to a reality with other pressures than to that of Lille. It took a while and I think he still has to take a leap to become the champion he can become. Sometimes we ask him to keep his feet wide on the line to be able to go onto the open field, other times we centralize him a bit ‘ more, still others he ducks too much, because if he doesn’t touch the ball for a while he goes looking for it by ducking and there it can become dangerous… for us though. I would like him to go inside the area with more continuity and more determination inaction, but if we think about how it was two years ago, he has made incredible progress, even if he doesn’t have the full baggage that someone with more experience can have.”

Pioli also spoke of the World Cup underway in Qatar: “It’s more of an individual World Cup, also because this year the coaches prepared it in a week. It’s difficult for a coach to give a national team an identity, even if I think Luis Enrique plays the best football. There are no were great surprises on a technical-tactical level. They looked more at concreteness and individuality, given that each match has an important specific weight. How will the players return? It’s a question mark, unlike those who didn’t participate who instead rested , even if they did six individual sittings”.

Among the key moments of his time on the Milan bench was the period of the company’s long courtship Ralph Rangnickbefore the confirmation that would later lead to the Scudetto: “I’ve always had great support from the technical area, from Maldini, to Boban, to Massara. However, I must say that Gazidis has always been very clear and direct too. He spoke to me and to the players, he told us not to read what the newspapers wrote, because nothing was decided yet, that we were all in discussions and that the accounts would be settled at the end of the season. Then there was the lockdown and when we met for the first training sessions something had changed”.

From there on, it was a continuous growth path: “If we have followed this path it is because all the components have given their contribution. From the first day I entered Milanello I felt good and the confrontation with Maldini and Massara gave me more strength in my work. Maldini is not there just to follow the training sessions, he is there to relate to everyone, he is a central figure. We are talking about a person with an incredible level of knowledge and DNA”.