Mister Federico Guidi he spoke at the end of Milan-Juventus, a Primavera 1 match lost by the Rossoneri 1-2. These are his statements collected by our correspondent at the Meda stadium.
What was missing today?
“It was a positive match, the boys expressed themselves throughout the match, they dominated for long stretches. We had a team of great value in front of us, the same team that played in the Primavera championship last year and can win the scudetto this year. We knew they had quality, despite this the team didn’t deserve to go out defeated. They were good at capitalizing on a mistake we made in construction and on an inactive ball a second ball put in on which they achieved the result. We even pushed to overturn it at 1-1, we were inaccurate a couple of times, we could have taken the lead. What interests me, beyond the result, is the performance that the boys gave. Today many of them, who had few minutes and who had never played in the Primavera championship last year, expressed themselves very well and did not deserve to go out defeated.”
Excellent performance by Sala, who wasn’t at his best physically…
“Excellent performance, it is the spirit that must distinguish each of them. It’s not that we can only play when we are at our best but we must be able to express ourselves even when we are not at our best. He played with a rib injury and played very well. He put in an improving performance, then I took him off because he couldn’t do it anymore but it was a very, very good performance: it’s a confirmation of what he’s been doing all season.”
Before the match the team sent a message for Grilli, injured…
“We are all very touched by Lorenzo, from the moment this type of injury happens to a cheerful boy and an exemplary professional (cruciate ligament rupture, ed.) it affects everyone a bit. Even if he isn’t here we wanted to make him feel like he was there. I’m pleased that the boys had this sensitivity but I had no doubts: it’s a cohesive group and very nice to coach. Those who were with Milan Futuro were not available today, the various Dutus, the goalkeepers, the usual ones who have been missing for some time now. The only injured were Grilli and Frugnoli, who is still recovering from the wrist fracture suffered in the U18s. The others who were missing are because they are available to Milan Futuro or the First Team.”
What is the minimum objective now?
“This is a historic season, it is the first time that we have the U23s and it is the first time that the Primavera championship has increased in age, it has become from U19 to U20 with three relegations, while last year there were only a. We have chosen to continue to look at the trajectories of our talents without speculating on the championship: we are the youngest in the tournament. We know that it is an extremely difficult season, but it is absolutely not an alibi as I often remind them. But we will have to be good at accelerating our path. We will see where we will be in the rankings in a few months and it will depend on how good we are at growing and improving. Today we are, if you also look at the pre-season we had, in a ranking position that we didn’t even think of. Thanks to the boys and how they know as they grow, but we have to accelerate if we want to remain attached to teams that are significantly more experienced than us.”
