Davy & Chin Talk A.C Milan Weekly
Davy & Chin Talk A.C Milan Weekly
Decoding AC Milan's Return To Winning Ways: The Blueprint of Stefano Pioli's Success and His Future Forecasts
Chin and I crack open the playbook on Milan's tactical revolution under Stefano Pioli, revealing behind-the-scenes strategies that have gotten Ac Milan back to winning ways. We're not just talking about the thrill of victory; we're dissecting the emotional journey of die-hard fans and the sheer brilliance of a well-oiled football machine executing a grand vision laid out by the iconic Paolo Maldini.
We spotlight standout talents like Luka Jovic, Christian Pulisic, Tijani Reindjers exploring the high-octane expectations and the nurturing required to turn potential into performance. As we analyze Milan's midfield dynamics and ponder over the club's project direction, prepare to be engrossed in an intense debate on tactical adaptation and the intricacies of balancing a squad teeming with young prospects and seasoned pros.
Finally, we tackle the ever-present uncertainty of football's competitive landscape. Will AC Milan's cross-town rivals Inter sustain their dominance, or will Juventus find a way to outmaneuver their competition with a more focused approach? We forecast the strategic moves Pioli might employ against Atalanta in the Italian Cup. For anyone passionate about the beautiful game, this discussion is a synthesis of analysis, predictions, and heartfelt musings on the football world.
The Rossoneri Renaissance is complete After 11 years. Once again, milan are the champions of Italy. It's they who wear the crown for the 2021-22 season. Hello everyone, this is Divan Chin. Talk Milan. We are back again for another interesting weekend episode. Chin, how are you doing, bro?
Speaker 2:It's been a marvelous weekend for me, I guess, All the teams I supported, all the sports they actually ended up winning.
Speaker 1:Chin, did you watch Milan's game?
Speaker 2:this morning? No, not live. But how can I wake up at 4.30 when I went to bed at 2 o'clock I?
Speaker 1:woke up at 6.30 with passion and I still watch the game.
Speaker 2:Did you go to bed at 5 o'clock to wake up at 6?
Speaker 1:I actually slept around 3 o'clock.
Speaker 2:I played soccer and got home at 12.30 or 12 o'clock. It takes a little bit for adrenaline to get away before you can fall asleep, so I ended up sleeping at 2.00. I have to wake up early in the morning because I have to be somewhere very early, so I couldn't really risk driving with no sleep. Do you want me dead?
Speaker 1:At least you're not missing the game on purpose for the fact that you felt like Milan is not playing well, so that's a good thing.
Speaker 2:Milan has been playing well the past couple of games. Everybody is feeling happy because that's Milan Emotional team. When things are going well, everybody is happy. When we play well. When people start complaining and things don't go well, it seems like the world is coming to an end. That's Milan for you.
Speaker 1:All I'll say is I'm happy because we're back to winning ways. It was very important for us to shed off those bad runs and get back on track again. I think that's what we are right now. Anyways, guys, it's Davion Chin again. We are back again to this Cosmilla and, as we usually do every weekend, I'm happy to say, the last five games Milan won four and drew one.
Speaker 1:I think that was against Saleletana, which we give them a stick for After the Saleletana game. We played Sassuolo. We beat them one-nil. We played Caliari at the Italian Cup. We beat them as well. And also we beat Empoli today by 3-go-to-nothing, which again put the pressure on, keep us close to the first team, which is just 9 points behind Inter and 7 behind Inter.
Speaker 1:I like how you called 9 points just now, but yeah, that's 3-go again. Again, I'm not even bothered because again this segment I was talking about about a 2-12 point and we won the Scudetto. So again, it's not even to. 9 points is to be in. Just, it's not a concern at all and again, it's just something that will happen for every club in the season anyway. It's where they will have their own moment, they have their own turbulent moment and stuff like that. It's about how you deal with it. I think Milan had this in the early stage, which again was an expected boy, again Considering the fact that we have what A whole lot of foreigners in the team that need time to adapt and settle in the team.
Speaker 2:Have they adapted now.
Speaker 1:Well, majority of them are, except some of I won't mention them anyways. Anyways, this guy there, this guy there. Anyways, to be honest, let's just get to the talking point, because I think we have a lot of stuff to talk about. This solo game there was a lot of pressure on Pugli, right, and everybody was like, oh, if Pugli end up losing, that's a solo game. I think that will be the end of Pugli and Milan. But he came up with a very good plan and all the things that I really really kind of like talked about in our last podcast after the Selenitana game, right, I kind of see a lot of changes. It seems like Pugli just probably listens to the podcast. I'm like yo, a big fan of mine, actually sees me through a different lens, so I should probably adjust.
Speaker 2:You give yourself too much credit. I think I'll credit if I brought him over choose now put impression on him.
Speaker 1:So maybe, maybe, maybe, do you think, did you?
Speaker 2:Well, I'm not, that was I was talking, no I was the same. You buy more features Shouldn't have come into bully players. Yes, well, no, that's why I'm sarcasm, before you know it. Now you say I'm saying that the Bible, which is my dance coach.
Speaker 1:No, I was being sarcastic, dave but yeah, like I've seen a lot of changes, though in Pugli recently. What's your, what's your thought on him?
Speaker 2:I think the last few games, the changes you've seen, is him just finally trusting people, like believing in what he actually wants to do with those guys. Right, so not all. Yeah, I've been saying this, right, like we look, we watch that carglari game, right, was it? Is it like magic? All of a sudden you have five young guys playing the game. Those guys have been a Milan for a while. We see them on the bench all the time, but they never get minutes, Even when you play the same carglari in the league or you play even worse teams than carglari. And then all of a sudden he believes oh wow, these kids can actually play. So it's just, it's a good thing, I can't complain, it's just.
Speaker 2:For me, the only frustrating part is you mentioned Milan is nine points behind Inter Milan. Yeah Well, milan wouldn't have been nine points behind Inter Milan if all the injuries did not happen, right, if everybody were fit and they were feeling good, everybody was playing to their best of their ability, right, and that would have been limited, at least limited to those injuries. If you had just spread these minutes that you're spreading now to these young kids a little bit early and it says then you could have all this, everybody would just be fit. But now we are nine points behind. Now, all of a sudden, he's spreading minutes. Guys, look a little bit fresher. I even do.
Speaker 2:Sometimes there's a suspicion as to, you know, some of the decisions that I won't complain. Milan is winning before you sound like, because I know you're his lawyer Clearly does no wrong. So the point I'm making here is those little changes. Now again, adley is now playing regular games, right, I know Ben-Asa is now playing AFKON, so Adley is now seeing minutes. Chaka Triwari have stepped up big time. You know, he's given a lot of the young, young, young kids a lot of minutes. The unfortunate thing is today Florenzi got injured again, which kind of goes back to what I always say you never get Milan fully fit. But I'm happy that. I'm happy that he's spreading the minutes a little bit, giving the young guys the opportunity to play. It's just. It's a little sad that he didn't start doing this at the beginning of the season A little bit more frequently. By now we still have all of our players and probably won't be nine points behind in the tournament.
Speaker 1:Well, I think again, like you said in your job, right, you are what Continuous improvement engineer, right? And I feel like he again learning and growth has no boundaries. I feel like, purely, it's also in a face, where, like, it's also present. So you think he has learned.
Speaker 2:I think he has improved. Yes, I think he has improved. Okay, so do you believe 100% that when everybody comes back, fit right 100% he wouldn't go back to what he did in the beginning of the season? I don't think he will.
Speaker 1:Even if he's really heavy on his starters, right. I feel like he's now understand that you have to energy Like the kind of football is playing, right. It requires a lot of energy and he has to understand, he has to find a balance in between and again by doing because these kids are hungry.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but it took him. It took three, four years, right, because every year Milan I keep saying it Milan goes through this whole process where we both sit here we complain about how we are overplaying our guys and they get injured. Right, we were playing and they get injured All this time. There are always people remember the line we always joke about Vazquez, how Vazquez was getting ready. Forever, in perpetuity. He's still getting ready in Colombia somewhere At the end of the day.
Speaker 2:I think the thing I know about purely and I know you, you are, you know him more than me because you're more interested in knowing him One thing I can tell you from my understanding of him is that he's the kind of person and I've seen his kind that he only trusts what he sees. Right. Does that make sense? So if these kids had, if this kid played against Calgliar, milan lost that match and maybe they didn't show up, right, you know what would have happened? They wouldn't play again. Do you get Like I don't know if you understand what I mean Like he trusts what his eyes are just seeing right in front of him. He doesn't really sometimes look at the maybe should I say the bigger picture, or actually have that idea of okay, you might have lost one game, but the truth is, you showed consistency or progress in terms of what you're trying to accomplish, right? So, therefore, you come back again stronger next time. For him it's almost.
Speaker 2:I remember the joke of there was a there's a time. Think of Krunic, for instance. Right, yeah, let's use him as example. I'm not his fan. You know this one very well, recorded in this podcast. But think about what I'm about to say. The guy that was once a key player on your team, right At the beginning of the season, he goes out of form. Then now, all of a sudden, he's so back, relegated out of the squad completely, that now you're like anybody can come and take him for free. So to me, let me again, again, let me explain To me. It just tells me you're just trusting on exactly what that situation is in that moment, right?
Speaker 1:Which is I don't think that's the case, though I don't think that's the case. I don't think that's the case.
Speaker 2:Because the reality is again. How do people that were not playing well Remember when Franks made an error one time against Roma and the next minute we never saw Franks again? That was how his own life ended at Milan. So these are all normal things. These are normal things, right? I say these are normal things because that's who he is.
Speaker 2:He's the guy that, if he showed me, I would do it again. If he don't show me when I give you a chance, well then I kind of don't trust you. Maybe you might get your chance down the road right To show me again, but anytime you disappoint me. If you're not one of my so-called trusted guys that I've seen do it over and over, I'm not going to just keep giving you those opportunities. That's just my definition of him. You can tell me I'm wrong. So, as a result, you can see now that he's in the situation where he has to trust a lot of these guys and he's doing it and they are proving points right. They are showing up and that's good. It's good for the kids, it's good for Milan in the long run, because we want these kids to show up right.
Speaker 1:I just kind of feel like your judgment on purely regarding Krunic is just very unfair, because you and I know that every time that purely plays Krunic, obviously he doesn't play well to the level that all the Milan fans want him to be and they feel like obviously Krunic is more of an ability to admit field and stuff. And you know it too.
Speaker 2:Isn't that what I'm saying for the longest?
Speaker 1:time. Yeah, but I'm not asking about. What I'm trying to make you understand is who doesn't change Purely gave Krunic a lot of opportunities to prove himself.
Speaker 2:To prove himself. You said you sat here and told me how he was one of the most important players at Milan.
Speaker 1:Chill, chill, chill, chill Chin. When we started this season, krunic was playing well until he got injured and when he returned from injury, purely kept playing him for him to regain form. He was unable to regain form.
Speaker 2:No, he didn't pick form right, so then that's good, he's unable to regain form.
Speaker 1:Hold on Chin. He's unable to regain form and I think it's right for purely to put him on the bench and observe him and give him time to actually at least regain his fitness and stuff. But again he hasn't still, which is it's fair enough for purely to put him on the bench. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, because if the fans are piling pressure on purely for not giving us the result, look, we both know that the only reason, the only issue that purely has with the fan base, is because of the fact that there's no result. If there's a result, people will not complain about him. They will not complain about him. That's even you said it the other day too, allegra, for example. We're all about results. He doesn't care about football.
Speaker 2:He doesn't care about how it plays, so I agree with you. So if Milan okay, sorry, let me back up Of all the coaches in the world and how to play football, right, Purely to be honest with you, he isn't the worst of them, right? At least he allows Raphael Léa to do whatever he wants to do, which sometimes is fun, right?
Speaker 1:Can I just throw you one question in between your points, so you can also add it to your point? Please Tell me a club that plays better attacking football or entertaining football than Milan in Italy. We'll continue. What do you mean by?
Speaker 2:better attacking football. What are you talking about?
Speaker 1:Chin. If you look at the top four, yeah, look at. Inter. How does Inter play? Inter doesn't possess the ball. They wait for you to punish you. That's what they do. Look, the only team that I know that plays similar football like Milan is Napoli, and look at what Napoli is right now. So they Inter doesn't play the sort of Juventus, Roma, Atlanta. They don't play and they don't possess the ball the way Milan does.
Speaker 2:Okay, you've just moved there. You've moved statistics again, right? You asked me a question who plays attacking football than Milan? And I was going to ask you. So, please, how do you rate your attacking football?
Speaker 1:idea. I just written it by giving you the list of clubs, okay.
Speaker 2:Okay, so it's only Milan. So you're talking about the high pressure, high intensity, all out, not really high More entertaining.
Speaker 1:How? How many clubs are you watching in Italy right now? That?
Speaker 2:will really give you that sort of like all-round entertainment.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Okay. So is that the rate entertainment? Is that it? I'm just wondering what we're discussing here, because you're not actually. Because if you ask me who are the attacking teams, right, me, and I see it differently. I usually go with the numbers and number of chances and SJ and Shots on target and blah, blah, blah. All those things lead me right. But if you're looking at teams that are actually more fun to watch in terms of football, I'll tell you that, on that purely, milan has been one of those teams Up until sometimes. You know, they go through these phases, right, they go through the you two. You know the games right, I'm not arguing.
Speaker 1:I'm not arguing.
Speaker 2:Good. So, if that's what we're talking about, of course, who wants to watch Allegra? We can. We can go for a bid. Who wants to watch? Who is the other person? That's why I like watching, like even Roma, right, even Roma don't want to watch Roma, right, like you can go through them.
Speaker 2:There are a lot of teams that play football in Italy, okay. So Milan is fun to watch. That's why, if you hear me, sometimes I complain. Most times when I complain, it's about what I said entertainment. I said, like right now, they are winning games, they are looking for fluid, they are doing okay, it's okay. It's almost feeling like you know the beginning of the season when everybody was feeling themselves, they were moving the ball and doing good. That's fine. Does that make sense? I'm not arguing with you about that, but in terms of generating chances and all those things, I don't think Milan are one of the best teams in Italy per se in those categories. But that's beside the case. I don't want to go through statistics, but I understand your point.
Speaker 2:Entertainment any day I watch Napoli well before. Former Napoli, right, let's? Because remember when I told you at the beginning, it's in how they change coaches and they are going to struggle, and they are struggling way more than I expected, but they are still fun. They are fun players, flair players to watch. Bologna is another good team. Right, there are lots of teams Malazio, good or bad.
Speaker 2:Even I like watching Atalanta play too. Atalanta is a good team, like. They do. Keep the ball going and the flow. Your point is taken, okay, but my point does not defeat my point, which is that, again, you forget the sentiment, and I know you never. You probably would never be able to do that, and I know you're going to find a way to defend whatever happens. All I'm trying to get at is that, right, if you have a player who was very important to you unless he comes out and insults you or whatever he goes and slaps you in public or whatever he does to you Because you're the coach and you know that guy was once important and he hasn't died, he just lost form you have to keep them around the team, right.
Speaker 1:So back to what I said.
Speaker 2:Well, what do you do? Every time players are out of form, you kick them out. Is that how you operate?
Speaker 1:So I think I'm not sure if you know the player we're talking about. We're talking about Krunic, no, so now you know who this guy is.
Speaker 2:Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry so you finally understand who.
Speaker 1:Krunic is Chin informed Krunic. Of course, I've known who Krunic is for a long time. I'm just saying, like informed Krunic, chin informed Krunic. How were you able to handle him?
Speaker 2:You know what, like God, forgive me because you know, for months I was the one that was begging and wondering how on earth Milan had Krunic. Milan went into a season with Krunic and now he's no longer playing, and I'm not the guy turning around and complaining. Something must be wrong with me. So you know what. You're right. He's going to leave the club, so which he should have done in the summer. Remember when you used to post and tell me how he? You know, everybody wants Krunic. He must be worth a lot of money. In fact, you also want to let him to renew his contract for years, I remember. But it's okay.
Speaker 2:At the end of the day, what I'm trying to tell you is purely a very simple man to understand, and this is what I'm learning about him, and there's no problem with purely in the sense that that's who he is, as long as he knows. We all know that this is who he is and let's not stop deceiving ourselves. Right? That's fine, I'm okay with that. He's the guy that, if you do well, he trusts you. That's who he is and his eyes are going to lead him in that direction. That's fair. There's a reason why Milan would be winning three-nothing. He was still throwing Raffaele against Cagliari with 15 minutes to go. For what purpose, she does not know, but that's exactly the coach that he is Fair enough. Okay, let's move on. Enough of purely.
Speaker 1:Anyways, I have one more question, though about purely for you. Oh no, I don't want to. Just two minutes, please. Okay, this is a share. This is Mojo back, right.
Speaker 2:If purely did not get no Mojo back. Milan players got their Mojo back. Yes, no, no, no. Here, no, no, no, purely has got his Mojo back.
Speaker 1:Because when Milan is losing, you guys call for his head. Milan is winning. Now You're not calling the players. Is the players that got the Mojo back? No, it's good, Okay okay.
Speaker 2:So yeah, it's purely Mojo back. No, no, no, no, no, no. Let's clarify something. Remember this they mark it down it's 10.55 pm here in my time. This guy, milan, is doing well. It's purely who's doing well, because any day you open your mouth and complain anything about how players are not doing well, but that I will remind you that it is the coach.
Speaker 1:So, yes, Let me ask you a question, please. Yes, now that he's gotten his Mojo back. Yes, if we end up, you know, finishing the season on high notes, which is what does I know to me? Maybe, when you find the Europe League and Italian League, for example, italian Cup, for example, do you think he deserves to keep his job in 2025? That's not a decision for me, because you know why. No, your opinion. Okay, you feel he deserves. Let me back up.
Speaker 2:So maybe this will help. Thank you for asking me this question. I actually appreciate you doing that. You know why? Because I think maybe you and a lot of other Milan fans may not have understood me clearly when I try to explain myself. Maybe I'll try to do that. Hopefully I don't confuse you for that so deserving to keep your job for me, right? I think you guys made comments about projects. Milan has a project they are trying to build, right. Right, they are trying to build a project and for me personally, right, if you ask me right now where I'm sitting, I honestly don't know what that project is about. Maybe you can correct me if I'm wrong.
Speaker 2:When Maldini came back to Milan some years ago four years ago, right, you and I could clearly tell what the project was, didn't you? You knew Milan wanted to find young, upcoming players that nobody knew, use them as like marketing efficiencies right, and build Milan back to where they are today, which is a contender. Like, year in, year out. Now, the last three years, we've been feeling like we're one of the top teams in Italy, which was in the case during the Banta era. That was the project. So now that we've won the league, you may mention something about oh, come on, give you the league and give you Coppa Italia. That's fine. That's probably what you're going to get with purely right Coppa Italia and the league.
Speaker 2:The question now is what's the next step of that project? Because I would answer your question of should you keep purely or not? Because if the answer is what you want to be where you are today, which is be one of the top three, four teams in Italy compete for Serie A and make it to the Champions League and potentially win the cup, which you might not win because purely never wins cups Well then, yeah, you can keep him. If he wins Coppa Italia or what's that called Europa League, of course you can keep him, but if your plan is that you're building towards this majestic project I wonder you can be back to competing with the Real Madrid and Manchester City of the world Then maybe you should consider a coach that will grow with those guys and have something that you guys are legitimately building towards in terms of a project.
Speaker 2:I'm just telling you the reality. That's why I told you that it is in my call because last year last year, maldeny wanted to fire purely right Even though purely invaded to Europa UEFA Champions League semi-final. That, you tell me, is a very big achievement, and I think it's a very big achievement, but he was actually going to get five. Wait now let me finish. He was going to get fired there is no confirmation.
Speaker 1:There's no, there's no. There's no legit source that actually confirms this statement. He just made a bomb out of it.
Speaker 2:Okay, you know what? There is no legit source that confirms that. So Maldeny was never going to fire purely. They fired Maldeny because he wasn't aligned with the project anymore. My answer to my question, to simplify it, is this it depends on what Milan's vision for Moncada and for Lini and the owner. What is his name?
Speaker 2:Cardinali, if he sells the team or keeps the team, what the vision for Milan is right. If the vision is to continue status quo where we are, compete every week, be one of the top three best teams in England and Syria, then that's fine. Purely is a good coach for that. If your vision is that you want to take the next step, you want to grow something bigger than what you have today, well then you might want to be looking at setting people that are actually going to be at the club for the next 10 years, kind of thing, just like a lot of other teams have now right With Liverpool's and whatever. In Mozambique listen carefully In Mozambique, the big guys, just so you know. I'm not telling you to go and find yourself at the clubs, but then you find yourself. What does now do? Right? Nobody knew at that time he was not a coach, he was an assistant.
Speaker 1:No, you queued around that. Can I now give you my opinion about Purely and this project? Yeah, tell me, go into the next thing. Next talking point when Maldini started this project with Purely in 2019, right, purely was supposed to be in Terran and he came on and he convinced the management that he can do something big in Milan.
Speaker 2:Which Can I interject? Just so you know he's not a good guy. No, I think you are mixing your history. Purely took over. Yeah, he was in Terran. He did well during that pandemic period. Do you remember? Milan finished second.
Speaker 1:Purely again I'm going to say Purely convinced the management and his contract was extended.
Speaker 2:Wait, let me learn because, you remember, milan literally legitimately wanted Raf Ragnick, but then the problem was that he wanted too much and then they in fact people even agreed to just be called so-called trainer. But they were. Raf Ragnick wanted to run everything and they said no and he ended up a Manchester United and ruined everything for them. Just so you are clear on that, right, it wasn't because Purely went and convinced people and they're like oh yeah, we can see that you're the right guy to run the project 100%. We don't want Raf Ragnick. Please do not actually misrepresent history. Just to make a point, but go ahead.
Speaker 1:Shane, I'm going to repeat my statement again and make you understand that when Purely took over Milan as an interim coach, his first season I'm going to repeat it again If you didn't hear me the last time he convinced the management and his contract was extended and the plan to sign Raf Ragnick was thrown into the garbage. Don't try to what was the last. I want to remind you something, gene the season before Milan, before Purely, before Milan signed Purely, milan was crap, complete crap. So having Purely took over Milan as an interim coach and finished his second behind Conti, you both know that that season, in terms of quality, we're not even a match with Inter Top and finished second. He deservedly earned that renewal. So let's just leave it there. Now. What I'm trying to explain to you is this project the goal was to again cut expenses and try as much as possible to build this project based on low cost players and then find a way to integrate them and build them up for resale in the future and stuff. Which is more reason why, if we notice, at that time Madini will either go for players in leagues like Belgian leagues or French leagues and stuff like at the lower level as well. So funny because, again, we know quite a few players that go, signed Players like Alessi Salamaka, for example, pe Kallulu and all those players right and they've steadily built this project to a level. To be honest, I'm so surprised that, again, this project was so fast, like it was fast-tracked. I wasn't expecting Milan to be at this level but within that short period under Pe Kallulu, to be honest. But don't forget that at the end of last season, the entire project was being scrapped based on the fact that many non-performing players that Pe Kallulu has been dwelling on were actually let go and we brought in 10 new players, 10 new foreign players.
Speaker 1:You know, I was telling you at the beginning of the season. I said give this guy time. All this guy needs is time to work with these players and put them in all, get them going Now. Look at what is happening now. You can see like he's beginning to use the. Now. This is it, though In that process don't get me wrong purely has his own faults too, again, failing to understand that this team now is much more bigger than the team that he's been handling the last three or four years, last two or three or four years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that this is the new chapter for him and he has to learn to adapt and how to work with these players to the different plan, and I think that's what he has begun to realize now. I think a lot of people kind of, like you know, got it so wrong that, because we have a, we signed new players, 10 new players. Like you know, we have a lot of score depth. We don't have depth to score, which is the more reason why he's simply relying on all these young guys to come in, now that he has actually realized that, yes, these young guys are actually also part of the project, which is again what he said after the, I think after the Sassolo game. He said initially that they use these youth players as an option, but now he sees them as part of the team and again, which kind of give him different dimension in terms of how we want to operate their stuff, like that.
Speaker 1:Anyways, what I want to say is, overall, shane, a lot of people might have different opinions about purely being, you know, the right man for my last job or not, or whatever.
Speaker 1:What I'm going to say is, if you want steady growth, the way Raphael Liao has grown, the way Theo Hernandez has grown, the way Ben Asay and all those guys have grown in the last three to four years.
Speaker 1:Purely is the right man for this project. Now, the thing is considering the fact that Milan wants results. Now that, again, that adds a different complexion to this whole conversation, because if you want results, you have to find a way to get it, and sometimes it might require you to focus on the people that will give you certainty in terms of performances and stuff, which is what I feel like. Sometimes, police can't reach it, but again, hopefully, the way things are going right now, the changes that I've seen in him in the last three to four games, if you keep to it, I think, again, I think we're going to go on a good road of form, even though we lose games around there. I don't think it would be as bad as the last three months or the last two months. That's what I'm going to say about purely Now. Here is it, though, do you think?
Speaker 2:Sorry, so we understand. So you're saying that regardless, purely, should be the guy to be in charge, going forward for the sake of the project.
Speaker 1:If we finish this season in a good note, I think he deserves another year.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that means, if it really wins one trophy like anyone else.
Speaker 1:If purely wins Europa League and wins Italian League and Italian Cup, sorry, and we qualify for Champions League again. Obviously, if you win Europa League right or you finish top four, I think yes, he deserves another year.
Speaker 2:Okay, so if he doesn't achieve any one of those steps, does that mean he should? So let's say, milan finished top four, we in Coppa Italia, but we don't make it. We lose out of Europa League. Or we win Europa League and we don't win Coppa Italia and we don't make Champions League. Technically, we will make Champions League, win Europa League.
Speaker 1:So if we don't finish top four, all I'm going to say is we need one silverware and we need to qualify for Champions League. Okay, one silverware and Champions League, and if we see the steady growth in this players within the space of 12 months that if arrived with Milan so steady?
Speaker 2:steady growth is that the delivery is not, which would help.
Speaker 1:No just like individual growth in all this place. Look at policy, for example. Like nobody's talking about how good politics has been since the arrival of Milan. Like, literally, politics is one of Milan's best players. And I remember then when Milan goes on this funny drought where, like Rafael Leal started to, like you know, put in effort to do anything right and there's nobody else, like chipping when you have like Juno Mesias and Alessio Lamarca.
Speaker 2:So when Milan sorry, when Milan go on the funny droughts, that means we're not winning games and Rafael Leal is not doing well, so we're not winning games. Right, it's what you're saying? Yeah, funny drought, okay?
Speaker 1:So, once we have those moments right and we don't have any other options, that's what happened. Well, see the quality we have in our team. Now we have like love to see scoring from the middle. You have like what. You have like a policy again scoring five goals and six assists. These are good numbers to me, To be honest. This is the kind of growth I want to see in all these players. A lot of people are complaining about policies. Being an injury prone player when it came to Milan right To me, honest speaking, it's been well managed. Who should get the credit? Is it policy or purely? That's what I'm saying. The same thing with Loftus Chick too. Loftus Chick has been injury prone since all his days in England. Say what?
Speaker 2:He hasn't been injured at Milan.
Speaker 1:He's been injured but now that he's been injured I'm not saying he's not been injured, but at least now he's been managing himself properly- I think you're giving it.
Speaker 2:Sometimes you give too much credit. You're right, that's okay. I don't want to start getting into the discussion with you, but yeah. So to conclude, once you've got one Champions League, you'll remain Milan coach. What's the first thing that you guys? What happens then?
Speaker 1:Then we have to look at options at the end of the season.
Speaker 2:But again, Conte, what kind of coaches would you be looking at then? Because I don't know. Because for me, the only issue I have right now is that I honestly don't even know. Like I said earlier, when Maldini was there, I felt like I knew what the project was. Right, you know what I mean. Because then if you look at the profile of players Milan used to get, then you could tell but now it's kind of like a mixed bag, right? It's almost like we are in between. We need to compete, you know what I mean Compete seriously with the big boys, while also, at the same time, we need to build, which is very difficult into juggle. Because if you look at the profile of players you mentioned Chouquetsi being an experienced guy Well, typically, like someone like Maldini might not even buy Chouquetsi. Maybe he might buy a younger winger from France or some Belgian League or whatever, right. So what am I getting at?
Speaker 1:Like it's one of those things where I don't know what the project is about, unless you can explain to me what Milan's project is about, Like I said I just said it like to be honest it's about building, it's about developing, like young players, to like what elite level Again, at the same time, to like putting Milan's project in forefront in silverware, winning silverwares and stuff, and this is not a project that I see, you know, you know, being completed within a year or two.
Speaker 1:This is new like. This is really like I feel like all we've been working on before has been like thrown in the garbage and this is a new chapter for us now and, to be honest, I feel like it's the right direction. The only thing is that we're so quick to like judge, make judgments on this, on this, on this, on this team. If you, if you, if you want to ask, if you want to, if you should ask me how, how, how long I think we need on this project, I'm probably going to see what three years minimum. Three years minimum to at least to even get close to them teams like you know, Barcelona, like Bambo, Nietzsche and all those things, that's, even if you get close to them You're calling.
Speaker 2:Barcelona. Barcelona does not count because they are struggling financially. So we're talking about the top teams. So your goal is that in the next three to four years, Milan should be competing with the top teams in Europe. Right, yeah, Okay, Good, that's all. Well, anyway, that's what I wanted to. I just wanted to understand. So that's the project. So now I have it at the back.
Speaker 1:I got a question for you, though. So now that Benase has gone right, how do you see Milan's midfield shaping up with Adley TJ and Lofto Schick?
Speaker 2:I guess you just mentioned it because that's what they've been doing, right, that's what I expect them to do, going forward Exactly what you just said, maybe throwing Moussa for Adley questionnally, but more or less the same thing, like, yeah, because again you've relegated Kronich. Probega is injured, then who's left?
Speaker 1:So we have, we have Moussa, we also have, we have Moussa. You have to scale. Is it zero?
Speaker 2:lead from the oh my God, you're calling the kid. The kid does not get to play.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so it's going to be.
Speaker 2:Reinders, rubel, lofto Schick and one of Adley or Moussa.
Speaker 1:Of course, yeah, of course. I'm talking the three million ones, of course. Like, what I'm asking is like the fluidity right.
Speaker 2:The balance. They look okay today. Like for me personally, see, I've never had issues with Adley. Sometimes I think he's a little slower because of his what's he called His physical whatever level, yeah, but I personally maybe you maybe you might have missed it in your love for Kronich I always put premium on a guy that can pass the ball and keep the ball moving. The physical part I feel like you can always work on, right he has improved, though he has improved as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but you can get. You can get a guy to go, you know, build muscles or whatever and work on their physical a little bit, but you can never teach a guy the vision that goes with passing and you can't just teach people the vision I don't know if you understand me and somehow you put more. You put you very much, put more premium on the well, he has to be physical, he has to do this, and that I mean I'm more like okay, we're keeping possession, we're Milan, we're going to keep 60% of the possession. Why don't you try to create more by having more creative players there and then risk running the risk? You know, occasionally people go hit you on counterattack. That's not, it's not a loss, but you're going to make more than you lose, right? But yeah. So I think, dimitri, today was okay. Adley, reinders and what's it called, and when love you should. My only fear is that, god forbid, something happens to Reinders, as you should be asking about.
Speaker 1:So yeah, I guess, well, now that Musa is back against Reinders, he probably gets some, gets some breaks too.
Speaker 2:I don't think he will. But yeah, he should, but I don't think he will. What? Until he limps off the field? Really, he's not going to get rested.
Speaker 1:So, in today's game, though, chakaturay scored his first senior goal today, and I've seen that league league goal, because he scored two, three days ago for this. Oh yeah, exactly, exactly, yeah. And again I feel like my concern is and I will talk about it a little bit right About Chouquizi. If Chouquizi returned from Afqon and doesn't improve, he will end up in the bench.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, because Romero will play for him.
Speaker 1:Romero is going on, is going on loan.
Speaker 1:That was a sarcasm, Dave Of course, I know it's a sarcasm, but regardless, all I'm just saying is look, whether you like it or not, this team is built for success and again, for you to be able to get to that level it takes time. That's what I'm going to say To me. I think right now we are in a good momentum. At the moment, you know, five games in a row, four wins in one draw. If this is the direction, if this is what I'm saying from Pioli and his management, his team right, I don't think a lot of people will be complaining about him, even if he loses games here and there and stuff. You know what I mean and, to be honest, I kind of feel like also even Pioli as a coach too. I think this is also like a new chapter to him, which I feel like is one of the main reasons why he struggled at the early stage of the season. But now, understanding that he has to you know, he just needs to be a little bit more flexible and, you know, learn a little bit about, a little bit more about his rotation and you know how we can make it better and stuff To be again he, I think he's improving. He's improving as a coach, and one thing that I really admire about Pioli that a lot of people, a lot of Milan fans, always try to avoid giving him credit for, is his ability to develop players.
Speaker 1:Like when Jovic came at the beginning of the season, we all, a lot of people, wrote Jovic off as someone that, as an outcast in Argentina. I remember even saying it too. Like you know, in one of our podcasts if you're in Argentina, give us a player, give us a player, a striker, that can tell that obviously he's not, he's not. I don't think he's, that he should be, he should be a reliable player. Right, and again, see what Jovic is doing now. He's improving and again, which is more that I said again, time is everything. As for me, regarding Chiquizzi, right, I think Chiquizzi has is a good player, don't get me wrong, but I just feel like his technical ability is not. There is something he has to work on. It's too young anyway. So I'm not like, I don't think it's something with something half of them to, to, to improve upon. Like, if I'm to ask you chain, like, what do you think is, what do you think is to quit as biggest problem at the moment?
Speaker 2:nothing so you and I were texting about this like to crazy Jovic to raise a anybody. There's a lot of players like, if you, if you're like a player, yeah, and you are to pitch, let's say you were like very consistent, right, that's like who am I gonna use as an example? Like who's the most consistent player this year that isn't playing for the top top five, like the big boys in Europe? Who am I gonna use as an example? Okay, whatever, like let's say, you're very consistent player, eventually one of the big. Like someone like come Zerksi for, oh, yeah, zerksi, but the only thing is that he's already had his chance to go to To buy and right, he was a buy-in or whatever. Yeah, but eventually let him learn, would now come for Zerksi, right. But if you watch Zerksi, well, there's a reason why this year looks like, oh my god, he's doing well, he is a guy that in terms of consistency. So if you think of players that play for them Rhea, madrid, and then man City, liverpool, those guys we, year, in, year out, week in, week out it's almost like there's a minimum like you expect from those people, right, you know, right. So at the end of the year you look around, you're like, oh my god, how did Mo Salah score 20 goals? Right, it doesn't matter what year, it doesn't matter what season. That's exactly the kind of people there. That consistency, that performance, I high level of performances what makes them go to those clubs. Then, on the flip side, milan like let me not call them bottom feet, milan. You know how in the river there's, like the, you know, the deep sea fish, fitting fishes, and then there's the ones that shallow feeders. Milan are like the shallow feeders. Whatever washes off the shore is what we get. So right to take Jovic, for instance, or two crazy. They should be playing Jovic once. Play for Ramadrid. Yeah, he couldn't cut it Right.
Speaker 2:When Milan, according to you, develop players, give them that much chance for them to develop, do well, the big clubs come back and they take their. Yeah, they are what's it called? Lone players. So the in the in cause, inconsistent guys end up at Milan. So that's why you end up with you crazy and and Jovic another like guys, because they are pretty inconsistent and even at Milan. You and I know this. This is why sometimes, like I feel like you forget things is that you, you are like that in terms of your emotion when the guys are doing well, when they show their consistent form, you go oh my god, they are doing quite well. But what you don't also understand is that you you then turn around and stop blaming them when they are showing the exact reason why they are Milan, which is the fact that they go weeks without delivering anything. Right, that's what we expect.
Speaker 2:So I wouldn't be shocked if Sejuvic decides to not show up for the next month. Right, because that's a kind of guy that doesn't people that Milan can afford to have right now. What am I saying? All this is to say to crazy has, absolutely right now, if you ask me, he has been on the performance, simply because you're comparing him against all that guys. Right, you're comparing Me against all that people that came in the same time as him, and so on and so forth. But, like I told you, he had done free injury. You know his minutes have been here and there. If you look well, like most times, most times, he's come off the bench. He's played a few minutes. He's not doing well, I can tell you this. But you you pointed it out go and look at his numbers, as Villareal is exactly who he is. So what are you surprised about? Did you explain him to come and become most seller for you at Milan, like you know what?
Speaker 1:Ali Moreno made a comment when Milan signed, when Milan signed Chiquize and he watches Spanish League a lot, mm-hmm and he made a comment. He said on his day Chiquize is one of the best winger yes, on his day. But he said the problem is is lack of consistency. Yeah, he might go like Five, six, seven, eight games not playing well, then coming again and pick up from again in like two or three games and stuff.
Speaker 2:Now here's it. Here's sorry. Chiquize is the guy that he was go probably go ten games with no go and then pop up with a Heartrick against Ramadri, just so you know something like that.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm saying. So, again, this are the kind of players that are purely guess to receive and this is responsibility to gain, to develop all these players. Right, like you said, you were talking about time the other time and I say, yes, I understand time is everything, but the thing is, when there's time and there's results, those two you have to find the way to strike a balance in between at the end of the day, right, and if Chiquize is not really catching up to speed, based on what is a spec code, don't forget Chiquize. Chiquize is the highest paid Signing this summer. Yeah, so, again, if you, if you look at it from that perspective, right, I think it's, it's, it's normal for a coach to sometime right, to some kind of way, based on the fact that, oh yeah, like you know, with Petit, you like perform and be there and sure, at least have impact. Yeah, but Dave.
Speaker 2:Sorry, sorry, come on like let's. Let's be realistic here, right? You use the word develop too many times and it's beginning to bother me, right? To be honest, think about developing players. Okay, developing players is coming up with a development plan for the so-called player right At work. A lot of people give you Career development plan or individual development plan. If I ask you, literally, what is the development plan for Chiquize? What would you tell me? What's the goal? What are they trying to achieve with him? I'm just asking you I'm not blaming any one person here before you start going on the defensive.
Speaker 1:No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I understand what you mean. I understand what you mean. Yeah, the reason.
Speaker 2:I say this is the reason I say this is because you, literally, you said something about Joe, which has developed and developed and developed for you. All you forget is that those players are not bad players, right? Because sometimes I think your head tells you that they are not good players. No, they are good, but the problem is they are Milan for a reason. So sometimes those guys get motivated.
Speaker 2:It's like when you watch a failure play PSG and all of a sudden he's the best player you can. We wonder, like, how is he not doing this every day, week in, week out? Well, guess what? It's because he doesn't have that. Should I call it the drive to give you that thing every day, right? So Jovic, for instance, is right now motivated by a factor. After Milan, his career could be going literally the other direction, right? So now he's driven to put in that effort, right? If you listen to Jovic's story, for instance, you know that he's a guy, that what's he called that? You know some sort of. His parents almost made him if a baller, right, by forcing him and pushing him and blah, blah, blah. He might not really enjoy this whole football thing, naturally, right, but on a good day, jovic can score you five goals in a match on a good day. Right, he's a good player, but the problem is he is not mentally at that level where, week in, week out, regardless of who you're playing, be it Chin and Devi FC versus Milan he will come in and give us 20 goals. Right, you know who is there? Guys like the Dembenzimans and the what's he called, the what's he called Hollands of the world and the most sellers of the world I see where I'm going the Viniz of the world, the Jubileehan doesn't matter, they just show up because that's what they want. Those guys are the ones that sustainably play for the big clubs and be there for 10 years without this. So why am I saying all this Choukwese? Right Is in that category as every other player that AC Milan has signed.
Speaker 2:When you say you're developing him, then that development would be something like literally, you have a let's assume, purely has a checklist of things he's looking for. Right, it's like first, I need to see you consistently deliver this. Right, I need to see you consistently tracking back. I need to see you consistently doing that. That is how you do the checklist. I'll give you another example.
Speaker 2:When Jack Grealish came to Manchester City, right, he wasn't playing much because he was not doing the things that were expected of him. Over time, he started doing those things that were expected of him and, in fact, if you listen to any point, they'll tell you exactly what Pep would want. In fact, pep will even say that this is the reason why this guy is not playing. You can just say, oh, the guy needs to do better, but you and I cannot tell. Can you tell me exactly what that better means? Oh, he's not producing results, he's not scoring more goals, he's not taking on more players. What exactly do you expect of him in terms of better? You said police, each is doing well. The only reason you say that is because it's delivering goals and assist. Right, what?
Speaker 1:does your responsibility as a waiter.
Speaker 2:Are you not getting my point? Those are the tangibles that you're seeing. They are results that are being written and given what happens if police each was doing everything else Well, but the results were not. Oh, Tijani renders, Remember when he was playing so well but goes were not coming with it. We say, oh, he's a meat feeder.
Speaker 1:Chain chain. Tj's responsibility is to, you know, dictate the pace of the game.
Speaker 2:Do you remember when the coaches probably remember, when the coach made the comment that Tijani renders had to be here to start contributing with goals. Do you remember that?
Speaker 1:Because as a myth. Okay, Okay, let me, let me, let me this way, this guy, so we're courage. Please, how many times do you security box?
Speaker 2:We can so, so, with crew each. Okay, sorry, what I'm trying to explain you. I don't think you understand it when you tell me about Adley and the co-responsibility of a midfielder what is it? Go and control the pace of the game and maybe not worry about goals until you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 1:I need to worry more about goals. You see any midfielder Okay, look at all the midfielders in the world right now playing in the same position that TJ is playing. Right, which is what exactly.
Speaker 2:I'm just asking you Seriously, bro. No, I legit. I'm asking you like, which means? What is the position that Tijani renders is playing? Is he a deep? Is he like your, your trecuatista register? Is he or just a one of your three midfielder? Because I know?
Speaker 1:I know Box to box midfielder for Milan, let's just keep it Okay.
Speaker 2:So he's box to box, so a lot of box to box, midfielder name, a lot of them. So you're now like I want to know exactly the expectation for them.
Speaker 1:Okay, so how many box to box midfielders do you have In Europe right now that are scoring goals like on a steady basis?
Speaker 2:Oh sorry, can I ask you a quick question? Sorry, quick. Yeah, tijani renders will probably be in the same category as Nicolo Barela, right?
Speaker 1:Well, in terms of what I don't understand, in terms of their road on their team.
Speaker 2:They are both box to box. Barela, I feel like he goes back and forth. Is box to box? Yes. But again good, you know what I mentioned. Do you know what I mentioned? Barela? Why do you mention him? Up until this year, barela went like almost to host his without a single goal and nobody ever mentioned that he was struggling.
Speaker 1:Right, I'm not, I'm not, I'm not. Okay, sorry, let me back up before you.
Speaker 2:Before you mix up the conversation, now, let me not call it argument. The thing I'm trying to explain is when you tell someone that they need to develop racing carefully, to me, this is my line of work you have to first define what you expect, right, you have to define. So, if you say, well, I need more goals and assist from two crazy right, I can understand that. It is a very clear, definite goal. So that means, even if he's doing rubbish and then the ball lands on his leg is scores, that's okay.
Speaker 2:If you say you need more from him in terms of he needs to be actually instead of because, for me, if you look at, if you watch him, right, the problem that I have with Chuka as a personality is that he never, ever wins any of his take-horns, right, like it's so annoying, even, like you said, like even junior messias, for some reason, does more with take-horns than him. Like, it goes to me, he scored two goals, two big goals in the Champions League. Right, he legitimately gave Milan Europa League with his his what's he called his goal in the Champions League, you remember? Right? So to me it is listen, it is not the worst thing that he has done. But the only problem I have with him is man. That guy is so. He is so inconsistent in the list of things such as like even taking players on. So if you're the coach and you're asking for development of that guy, you should be very specific. You just cannot say he needs to do more. No, do more in what sense? Call more goals or get more.
Speaker 1:Are you expecting Piolli to be going in details in public about what he wants?
Speaker 2:No, but no, but this is an issue, though right, Because you now carry it and run and say, Chiquizi, yes, he's on the performing line Chin.
Speaker 1:Chin Chin when Messias was playing for Milan. You know what you wanted for Messias as an inverted right-winger right?
Speaker 2:Well, I know what I wanted for Messias Good, and when we signed Chiquizi, I know what I wanted from Chiquizi Exactly. Chiquizi is giving you what we want, what I envision for him? Absolutely not. I just told you that he's not doing a lot of things.
Speaker 1:That's what I'm saying that if he comes back from Afcon and doesn't improve, he's going to end up on the bench there's no two-way round there.
Speaker 2:Romero will play ahead of him Because literally you hear a complaint about a guy that literally he's left footed, you want him to be inverted. How often do we ever see Chiquizi do a lot of the invertedness?
Speaker 1:The hard is what Chiquizi has been playing all these days at Villareal. What are you going to do? No, no, no. You're not getting my point when I say inverted mess.
Speaker 2:It's like OK, think about what I'm trying to say. Invertedness meaning cutting in and shooting right. Cutting in and shooting, or whatever right that cutting and shooting Even Messi as if he does it well. So instead, every time Milan wants to start match, they will not play police each on the right side, even though he's right footed, and then throwing Chiquizi later on and then playing him against with the second eleven guys. That might not. Actually, I'm not saying Chiquizi is good. I'm only just telling you that you have to be more. You have to be more fair to the guy. Give him expectations of what you want More. I need you to do more cuttings. I need you to do more process.
Speaker 1:I think the expectation and the objectives are clear for him.
Speaker 2:OK, can you help me out, because then in future I don't have to ask you again. Chin, this is the key.
Speaker 1:When you have genome I don't think I need to explain more to you when you have genome and you see what really went from genome, which is the more reason why he did sign an identical player, which is Chiquizi. So you expect Chiquizi to at least be able to carry the ball. Take on one on one. Take on a lot of players cut into the middle of the paper or cut into the middle and then score good goals. Or at least make some assistance Good, and he's not doing that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he's not performing well. Good, I agree, if that's what he expects from him, then Chiquizi is woefully on the performing, but then maybe he should probably not be again not saying that the police is doing anything wrong. Maybe she probably don't be playing police each every game. I heard of the boy. Right, I'm just saying that because, like, police is the number one starter for Milan. Yeah, we're here talking about the backup. How many backups have Milan? Are we actually sitting down discussing about Like, what do you expect? How many minutes have Chiquizi literally played in terms compared to every other new signing? Tijani Reinders plays every single minute. When Lofi Cicci is 50, plays every minute.
Speaker 1:What Tijani is performing, like all the spots that you're mentioning now, even on their worst days, right, they still look very, they still manage Okay.
Speaker 2:Dave, Dave, yeah, the very first game Milan played in the season, right, and the very first few weeks of the game. One way your excuse is about how Chiquizi why Chiquizi was either coming in late Remember, he used to come in, like him and the the coming late. Then there was this one game. They started them and then they took them off at 45 minutes because they underperformed. And then he went to Nigeria and then got injured playing for Super Eagles and was out for a whole month and then came back and then he's been trying to pick up form. He's played some Champions League games. He's actually done well in the Champions League, literally like his got to goes.
Speaker 2:And then now all of a sudden we're saying, oh my God, I remember when he went he got injured. I said we're all going to turn around and then blame him for being bad. Meanwhile, literally he's season has. Just you make excuses for people when you say they get injured, they need to get back to form, Literally Khrunich. Sorry, let me just go back to Khrunich. He's literally not playing for the team again because he legitimately got hot and went out to form. And then now the same you. You're now holding one guy who got hot again and he's trying to come back.
Speaker 1:You see, when you start calling Khrunich and trying to call no, I'm not.
Speaker 2:I'm only just trying to tell you that you should be fair. Now, right, I'm fair enough. Look what is your fairness.
Speaker 1:Look at Okafor, for example. Is Okafor getting? Who's between Okafor and Chukwizi? Who is getting more game time? Yeah, but again one time, chukwizi is getting more game time than Okafor yeah, but Okafor is always injured and despite the fact that he's doing that, okay, let's assume he's been injured, right? Never Okafor comes in. You can tell the difference.
Speaker 2:He's technically gifted. Let's put the pin on this. Let me tell you this Chukwizi, right To me. He asked me what do you think about him? And I tell you that he's exactly what me I thought he was, which is the guy that Ali Moreno explained, the inconsistent guy that can go in, give you one wonderful go versus Dotman, then Newcastle, the Champions League in the bigger stage, right Patrick versus Real Madrid, and then go missing for the rest of the season. That's who he is, right, you talk about it. So to me, I'm not surprised. I don't know why you're surprised. And then you talk about purely developing players. This is a challenge. He should develop him instead of complain about him. He will. Then let us leave it, let's wait with time. So then, why are we complaining about him? No time at all.
Speaker 1:I told you, give him a year, give him two years, and then you are complaining after three months and, to be honest, if you can purely start right, I think it takes him like an average of what two years to develop a player.
Speaker 1:Good, let us wait two years, if you look at all the Benassay, all the Vigilio, and then saw them raffially out like he took them, like he took him like an average of two, three years after we get them, qqz would turn out to be the next coming of Mo Salah in the next couple of years, hopefully, and if you look at them talking about Mo Salah and Chukwizi, they actually play, they actually play. They have similar style of play. The only difference is that one is way, way more matured.
Speaker 2:No, no, the only difference is that Chukwizi, right. Okay, so this is where we talk about development of players, right? So if you go watch, like there was a guy in Mantlethacity signed Nunes, no, the guy from Wolves is a midfielder. And Pep made a comment after two weeks ah yeah, he needs to work on his first touch and I was like how can a professional player be working on first touch? So the same thing. If Chukwizi comes to Milan, you watch him.
Speaker 2:He struggles with taking on players a lot, right, like Tomiu, that was one of his biggest struggle right now is that he doesn't take on players. I feel like he sucks technically, like in terms of his technical ability, it's a little bit below par, great. Well, what do you do with that kind of person? As a professional footballer, you cannot really teach him that much technical ability. What you do is try to make it a little bit less obvious that he struggles technically, right. So you start putting things around him, like, for instance, giving him certain instructions, right? I remember one time Leo was made a comment. There was a game we were playing and he kept doing the same rubbish Chukwizi, and he wasn't working. Leo just made a comment, like just crossed the ball into the box. Exactly, if the guy cannot take on people, then why are you encouraging him to take people on? Do you know what I mean? Because is he going to magically start taking on people when he has never? I'm sure in training he does not take on. Let's say, maybe he's a collaborator, makes him look like a king, so maybe in training he kills collaborator and then purely thinks that he's informed. You know what I mean. So to me it's like you have to.
Speaker 2:That's where the development comes in. You take a player that you know has certain flaws. You know what they struggle with, you know who they are. Like I said, if they sign him they must have scouted him. They take that guy, you shave off all his whatever. You try to pretend that his bad things do not exist, right, and then you work on the things that he's good at.
Speaker 2:So the question then becomes what is Chukwizi really good at? Then you focus on that thing and try to get him to do it over and over and over again. Do you see what I'm getting at? Because at this point you're not going to teach him how to become the MoSalla in terms of technique, but what you can teach him is be an effective player for AC Milan, just like every other person, eventually, right. So to me. That's why I ask you what is the goal? Because you're complaining Me.
Speaker 2:What all I've seen is that the guy has been struggling to do the same thing over and over, and you say he should do better, do better. He doesn't have it. Do you think Chukwizi has, he's ever going to have it? At least when you watch Brahim Diaz or you watch certain these players, you know that they have it in their cupboard. It's just that they need to figure out how to use it more and more. Right, but he, the guy, does not have it. I'm literally watching him. I know he does not have it. So if he does not have it, it's a great thing to invent it.
Speaker 2:So all you need to do is ask yourself what is he effective at doing at Milan right now? Maybe cross the ball into the box for Giroud to head the ball, which is what he did in one game and we scored. And then, when you literally have the most obvious one view, one, then you do your thing right. You get my point. You do your thing. Other than that, I do not be complaining about him, because I'm just what I'm watching is a confused player. He runs. Sometimes he comes on the field, he's just running around and I'm thinking what are you doing? So, yeah, so let's leave it, because for me, the only reason I bring it up is because this ties back to the conversation we have about CDK. Sometimes, right, which is man? If you watch CDK, you know who he is. Right, he has not changed at Atalanta, right? In terms of his play style and whatever he's just about looking at the player.
Speaker 1:But I wouldn't expect Milan to change the way they play because of the fact that they want to find the space for a player. Right, Because you can't change how you play, but you can get the player. Cdk plays better behind strikers.
Speaker 2:Okay, Let me tell you. Do you know where I learned this philosophy from? There's the greatest American football coach, Bill Belichick. You know what he used to do. He would take players like, say, Chin, Chin cannot jump, but Chin can run fast. Right, I'm using that as an example. He would tell me never to jump in my whole life. Right, he would never put me in a position where I need to jump. You know why? Because he knows I can't jump, but every time he wants me to run in a straight line because he knows I can do that, right. What I'm getting at is development, is that is looking at the player and figuring out oh shit, this guy cannot do this or can't do this. So whatever they can't, do you try to help them minimize that part.
Speaker 1:He's not our purely to deal for crunich how you can want to rip his head off.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, no, no, no. So the only reason oh, are you serious, Are you seeing that you're mixing this thing? Because the only thing I have is let me explain to you, Dave, my only problem with purely and crunich is that, again, just like you like to tell me that I'm eating filet mignon, we were not eating pommel. I want to be sure, Crunich is pommel to me, he's not filet mignon. Yeah, you were telling me that. Oh, he's the best. He's the best. I'm looking at you like no, I know what he is. He's a very limited misfeed. I was accepting for what he does, which is win the ball back from Milan.
Speaker 1:I never had purely to be a world best misfeeder no, no, no, no, no, no. I never did. All I said was pure no, no, no, no, no, no, chin, I never did. You know what I wish? I wish we had a we don't have a aka I wish we had a putty that would just break back.
Speaker 1:All I'm saying is Crunich was the option that purely had at a particular point in time and, to be honest, I accepted it and I saw the value of what purely wanted Crunich to do. Anyway, chin, let's quickly talk about today's game against Empoli. And obviously it's a routine win for Milan. And again, another three points in the back and stuff. When you look at this team today, right, I see a team united and trying to get back, you know, again back on top, on top level and stuff. Do you see this one of good form, like going for long term?
Speaker 2:To be honest, there's no form that Milan that I see ever going for a long time. Like you said, clubs all go through their ups and downs. Milan is going to still go. This is why, whenever you tell me that nine points is so small, I laugh because I don't want to say it. There's like another 19 games to go, right, 19 more games to go. There's no Milan. I'm not going to win all night, only man City. Man City are the only team I've seen in this whole modern era that goes through and they win that amount of games consecutively.
Speaker 2:Right, milan are not. That we are going to go through another purple patch at some point? Right, and so will Inter Milan, definitely for sure. The hope you're hoping is that Inter Milan's purple patch is way more than Milan's purple patch, but the reality is that's not usually how these things work. Inter will go through their own bad times, but this is a similar thing. Okay, will also go through their own bad times, and the problem now is compounded because we are playing in Europa League and that's going to make it worse. You know why I say so.
Speaker 2:Milan is going to play Tuesday, probably Tuesday, sunday, tuesday Sunday or Tuesday maximum Monday, right? It's a different discussion when you're playing Tuesday and then you end up playing on a Saturday or a Sunday, right, like it's a little bit. It feels like it's a longer time. But Tuesdays, man, I've seen teams in England when they struggle you and I, we saw some Milan struggle. When you play Europa League game and then now you have to play a league game If you what's it called a few days, maybe a couple of days after right, it's not ideal. Secondly. Now, secondly, milan are also not just pursuing Inter Milan. Sometimes we forget there's Allegri and Stubborn Juventus in there and they don't have any Europe to contend with, right, so they can just keep preparing for one game every week and they'll be fine. You see where I'm going at.
Speaker 1:So I kind of like the fact that Milan is from the picture here of the Scudetto, right, because we're not the main Scudetto contender, right, and that kind of like shift to pressure a little bit here from Milan at this point, to be honest, because now everybody is now talking about Juventus and Inter stuff, and let's even talking about Juventus and Inter like obviously Juventus is not playing in Europe, right, so they only get to play week in and week out. But the problem I have with them is even Juventus also lack consistency. Like I worked against a lot of the Internet today, right, they had a week to put. I mean, okay, maybe not a week, right, because they play Italian Cup in the mid-week, right, but again, they're not convincing, to be honest, juventus is not convincing.
Speaker 2:There's nothing convincing about Allegri's style, right, but he gets results. I thought he liked results. So there's nothing convincing about his style. But he will surprise you. To surprise you, rather, he will end up winning the league. It's as simple as that, because that's the kind of person, even when he had all them Ibrahim Casano, the Milan Remember the Milan that won the league?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, even the Milan team. Did you think there was anything discernable about what he was trying to accomplish? Not really. If he left him, he would have packed the bus with those guys, but the problem is he couldn't pack the bus with those guys because they were too much of a personality. Right, then he could manage, right? Yeah, this is Allegri. Allegri will use this and win the league. It will shock you. So there's nothing discernable about Juventus. You watch them play Every game they play. They might get outplayed, but they know At the end of the day they will go and get the results. Today I didn't comment in that group. Somebody was saying ah, salientus, you're holding, you're joking, the Oga has got a 98th minute goal and win. And that's exactly what they did.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, oh yeah, that's Juventus for you, right?
Speaker 2:That's Juventus on that and legwork for you.
Speaker 1:And that's also Don't forget the fact that Salientus was also 10, like what? One man down for a longer time. So I'm not surprised that Juventus won that game Again. Juventus, inter, all these two contenders I don't see, I don't really see. They're not really convincing. Even Inter also. For example, they lost Lattaro Martinez for a couple of weeks and they started struggling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what happened to them, but they didn't struggle as much as Milan did, did they?
Speaker 1:Oh, but don't forget that Milan had a whole list of injuries at that time. That's not Inter's situation. Obviously, they had to keep playing Inter, Inter have.
Speaker 2:Don Fris hasn't played in a while, quadrado is out now for a while, I think Then there's Lattaro was out. Don Fris was sitting on the bench the other day like no, but he's back. He hadn't played. I'm sure he was injured for the longest time.
Speaker 1:Chin. Inter has more depth than Milan.
Speaker 2:No, we're not arguing that. The only reason I'm trying to tell you is this right, this is a problem that you are going to face. You're here assuming that Inter Milan will go through Popopatch down the road.
Speaker 1:And I agree, and this is not Inter. This is Zaghi. Look, there's two different things. Chin is Zaghi. There's a reason why Zaghi has won the league. It's not because of the factor he's not having a good team.
Speaker 2:No, zaghi has not won the league, because how long has he been in task coach? Three years, that's not enough. No, I'm just saying that the one time that he could have won, milan won the league ahead of him, and you're right, they blew it right. But the other time he had Lazio, lazio were very close. Juventus not only won the league, what happened last season? Last season Napoli beat everybody. That's all that has to do with Zaghi. That was more about Napoli and Spalati.
Speaker 1:No, no, good guy, don't say that. No, I don't agree on that. So let me tell you something Because of the fact that Napoli had a good season, that doesn't mean that you, as a coach with Inter, equipped a lot of players.
Speaker 2:Okay, this argument that we're talking about, we'll use it again now. Let me bring it up, tell me what it's all about. The same argument goes when Milan finishes like 10 points behind Inter or Juventus at the end of the season and I say, well, are they 10 points behind Inter in terms of quality of players? You tell me another reason, right? So let's leave the discussion. Let's wait, it's going to come to fruition. Me, I hope deep down that Inter blows it, because of course, that's what every Milan fan is hoping. Well, I'm only trying to tamper expectations here. I want us to relax a little bit. We've already thrown a lot of points away, and it's to the end of the year.
Speaker 2:So someone posted something about all the points that Milan have collected over the last four or five years. At this stage in the season, that's the relevant. To be frank with you. You know why? Because that's the racing between yourself and the. You know, like that one, whatever you posted, it's Milan race among between Milan. Right, it's Milan versus Milan.
Speaker 2:The thing that matters is, if you're playing in a league, so you're playing against somebody, if that person is doing well, it doesn't matter what you think you're doing. You could be doing your best, but that person is just doing way better than you. So the person with the win, the league, just like last year, napoli were. By this time they were like 20 points ahead of everybody, yeah. So it doesn't matter what anybody else were going to do. You could be on record on Inter Milan or AC Milan record breaking pace, but Napoli were on like world breaking pace. So it doesn't matter. Right, it's a league, it's not a Milan. Milan are not legitimately playing these games against Milan. They are competing against other people to win the league. So you have to also bear that in mind right Now.
Speaker 2:The other thing, too, is that, unfortunately for Milan, if you or the other big boys are struggling, right, napoli struggling seriously, like I said earlier on, I'm surprised at how bad they are struggling. But the unfortunate thing for Milan is, you know, like we have two stubborn people, two stubborn teams. One has a coach who is legitimately like a stubborn. He's like a Mr I know for good 2024. And then there's a guy who has a very, very, very good team with him and honestly I feel like in Tamil Nadu who Champions League run last year. Give them extra level of momentum and confidence that you might be surprised to push by, pushed them to the league title. I just hope it doesn't happen.
Speaker 2:But this is again why sometimes you cannot get pissed off at some of the elicits in decisions, because sometimes people forget that it doesn't matter if this game week won or game week 38. They all count exactly the same right. And the ones at the beginning sometimes. I remember last year, arsenal, for instance right, they started the season. Everybody's like, ok, well, arsenal, they for real. Before I know they went on this 18 game period where they were so good and then that momentum carried them for the rest of the year, even though the unfortunate thing is that they play in the league with another team, that their head is just on the next level, right.
Speaker 2:But it's the same thing with Napoli. Napoli started out well and then they ended up winning the league. If you start well, there's a good chance that you're going to be there. If you're a good team, if you're a comp, you know what I mean. If you're competitive, unless you're there by mistake, let's ask if you won Premier League by mistake, how Well? Because guess what? Let's ask if he started the season well, and it's like, oh, now they're believing. And then they start believing. They now start telling themselves that they're a good team. The next minute, they limp all the way to the end of the season. But they won the league. That's how you go. So, anyway, the long and short story is this that's exactly how people win league. You win league most times by showing consistency.
Speaker 2:Do you see what's going on with Girona in Spain? Yeah, they are now all of a sudden. Are they going to win the league? They may end up finishing third in the league, but those guys are going into the Champions League. But imagine if the legitimate list of the season poorly, they would have fired their coach and then, before they know it, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:So the beginning of the season matters a lot, so people cannot discount it. But sometimes people are like well, we are still learning. What are you learning? You're figuring things out. Okay, we're figuring things out. That's fair. But then that guys are running. It's a race, right, if you're not losing both, which is Manchester City, you're not going to win the race if you're behind, because you're playing against people that are literally almost the same level as you and they're going to go through the same situation as you. Whatever points, yeah, so that's just me. I hope Milan will find a way to come back, but it is going to be very, very hard for them. I think they've dug themselves. So nine points is three games out of the remaining 19 games. Right, Milan then has to not lose any more points. So, assuming they win, or Inter has to drop three points, three games out of the remaining 19.
Speaker 1:This season is still long, so let's just see that start. I'm just saying I want to talk about our next game here, because we have a game against Atlanta on Wednesday in the Italian Cup, right the semi and the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup. How do you think Puyoli should approach this game, though? Just quickly.
Speaker 2:How does he approach the game? Like he has to go to the game, like he wants to win the game because it's one of the like Milan got. Milan goes into the Coppa Italia in the quarterfinals or quarterfinals.
Speaker 1:Let me make my question. So, puyoli, when it comes to knockout stages, right, you and I know that, like you said, it's not a cup coach, right? So, playing against Atlanta at the San Zero, like, do you think he should play his normal game or again play the counter attacking style of football? When it comes to knockout stages, and with Fortuna, because, again, I feel like when we play, atlanta is more of a counter attacking team, right, don't forget. But the question is because it's again, it's a one of game, if he loses he's out, right. And do you think Milan should impose themselves in this game, Like we always do, because it's Atlanta, not the Inter or the, the Juventus and stuff like that? Like, how do you, how do you, how do you think Puyoli should manage this game?
Speaker 2:So what's the alternative? Give possession, like give possession to the opponent and let them come at you. The reality of it is, this doesn't matter. You know why? If this was like a team, milan were a team where I would say, oh yeah, we know we come up with tactics. The only time I studied before that we came up with a strategy that was different from anything that I've seen before Was against Tottenham, ospa and Napoli in the Champions League quarter and last 16 and quarter final. Other than that, milan are just going to go do exactly what Milan does. They will play the game, just like they will play the game against Empoli or any other team, and then Atlanta would probably take some advantage based on the fact that it may be just a little bit more more prepared. Just that. Trust me, like Milan, I can tell you Milan are going to do exactly what they did against Empoli. Maybe he will rest one or two older players, like Simon K or something, but I will not be surprised if you go. The exact same thing against Empoli is what is going to go replicate against Atlanta. And this is why I said he's not a cup coach, right? It's because he doesn't really typically change his style usually to approach certain cup ties knowing that it's a one off, right If it's in Zaghi, in Zaghi, in Zaghi. We'll go and pack the bus now, hope and just try to win that game and move on.
Speaker 2:My prediction to be honest Atlanta they drew against the Airstreamer, right, I watched them whoop, they played the cup and CDK is in form. I honestly believe that Milan is in good form. So the game might go extra, like over the regular 90 minutes. Yeah, again, that defense, you see, that defense where we struggle in terms of our center backs, that's a big one. But Adam Orla Lukman is not around right, he's gone to Afcon, afcon, yeah, yeah. So that's not going to be too much of a. So I feel like Milan might just quick out the win, just a little bit of a win, because people are feeling good now and they're feeling good. Everybody's feeling better mentally. Rafael Leal is kind of smiling again. So Milan will quick out the win, maybe like a 2-1 or a 1-0 kind of win, or no, no, no, I take it back. Milan don't keep playing against Atlanta. So, 2-1, yeah, 2-1, let me pick still your score, let me even make it better Olivier Giroud to score the winner.
Speaker 1:Hey, actually, I think Juvitch will probably start against Atlanta in this. There you go, but anyways, it's been a pleasure talking to you, chien, about Milan again. Thank you so much for your time, though, even though I know today, today you look a little bit, should I say, reserved about Pugli or I don't know about no, it's just that I feel like the whole discussion around Pugli right Me.
Speaker 2:I try to be To personally. Maybe sometimes I come off the wrong way. I don't want to. I don't want my whatever to be clouded right Like I know what I see, I see what I know. So, but sometimes it becomes like. I've seen a few sarcastic comments on the group page. People have converted it into more like an emotional thing. It isn't. It is what it is. We are all Milan fans. We want the best for the team.
Speaker 1:Yes, we are.
Speaker 2:If only guys Milan to Champions League, so I would not celebrate Really.
Speaker 1:Anyway, chien, it's nice talking to you. Thank you so much, guys.
