It was an emotional evening on Saturday at San Siro with Milan greeting three absolute protagonists of the nineteenth championship: defender Simon Kjaer, striker Olivier Giroud and coach Stefano Pioli. A farewell party that began before the match against Salernitana, continued during and ended afterwards with words in the middle of the field of those directly involved.
The words of Giroud and Pioli
Both Stefano Pioli and Olivier Giroud spoke to Sky Sport’s microphones and gave one of their last interviews as coach and player of the Devil. Both, when asked who could be the future leader of Milan, agreed. Stefano Pioli responded like this: “Milan is losing depth but the guys who are here have grown. As a matter of impact, I think Maignan can be a point of reference for the dressing room.” Olivier Giroud echoed this: “I see players like Mike (Maignan) well. He has personality, for me he must continue to be the leader on and off the pitch.”
The detail
And be careful: it is not a detail to be underestimated. In the last two years, Milan have lost Zlatan Ibrahimovic (now part of the club, but in a corporate role), Olivier Giroud, Simon Kjaer and Stefano Pioli; Therefore, the great cornerstones of the Rossoneri team have disappeared and, to build a winning team, it is absolutely necessary to replenish the leadership department. In a possible sale of Maignan, this aspect will also have to be evaluated, as well as the possible inclusion of highly experienced and charismatic players in the squad.