“I wouldn’t want to reach Buffon’s age by playing again, but I feel good and therefore the following weeks will be weeks of reflection. Today I would like to continue, I feel good and this season I also had the chance to play a few games.” To the microphones of Radio TV Serie A talk like this Antonio Mirantegoalkeeper born in 1983, who on Saturday against Salernitana took to the field for the last time wearing the Milan shirt: “The future depends a bit on the path that everyone has taken, on how you feel, on where you play and how you approached the last football year, without forgetting the importance of the motivation that pushes you to move forward. Injuries certainly affect a player’s career and for me now thinking of going abroad is almost impossible.”
The situation of Milan. “I arrived at Milan as a free agent after my experience in Rome and it was a different Milan, despite having already been reborn a year ago, a Milan with a different energy. Today there is an evolved and ambitious Milan which, thanks to the coach he has improved many players: the ambitions have changed. Milan today is no longer the team it was five years ago. The expectations are high.”
Mister Pioli. “I had faced Pioli a few times as an opponent in the teams I played for, but I didn’t know him personally. He brought energy and the right mentality to seek victory, he taught us the right way to play matches and how to coach the team. This was decisive for many of us who made a change. This applies to many individuals, but above all to the team. The year of the championship was the one that made the players, clubs and fans change : for us and for him. That year we were the team that had the fastest growth path; we won a championship in a season where we didn’t start as favourites.”
About the season. “The matches against Roma in the Europa League were disappointing compared to what we expected. It was a disappointment for everyone. There are matches that affect the evaluation of a coach, but unfortunately this often happens in our football. The matches won with Roma Paris Saint Germain, the victory over Atletico in my first year in Madrid are matches that demonstrate the work done by Pioli over the years.”