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FBL-ITA-SERIEA-PARMA-AC MILANAFP
Gianluca Minchiotti
Translated by

Andrea Conti: "At AC Milan I saw Primavera players crying because of certain behaviour from Ibrahimovic"

AC Milan
Z. Ibrahimovic
A. Conti
Serie A

Andrea Conti, born in 1994, formerly of Atalanta and AC Milan, has opened up on his football journey and the ordeal that brought it to an end: a botched cruciate ligament operation, a second knee injury and, finally, retirement at just 30. Below are the key excerpts from the interview with the Corriere della Sera.


It all started with Gasperini’s Atalanta.

"The best coach I ever had. I remember pre-season with him: he had run us into the ground. Or when, the day before an Inter-Atalanta match, he had us doing strength work in the gym. We couldn’t believe it. But on the pitch, you were flying."


Then came AC Milan a year later.

"AC Milan and Chelsea wanted me. I had just landed in Ibiza for my holiday when I got a call from my agent: ‘You need to come to Milan for your medical’."


  • The cruciate.

    "A hammer blow. I knew straight away it was something serious. Total despair. I was in my first year at AC Milan, I had just broken into the Italy squad. The first satisfactions after so many sacrifices. And in those moments the thoughts are endless. When and how I would come back, whether the ankle had caused the injury, the responsibility towards the club and the fans. Even if the worst was still to come. The operation did not go well. How did I find out? Months later, when I ruptured my cruciate ligament for the second time."


    The return to AC Milan in the year of the Serie A title.

    "The atmosphere was different. The manager had done well to build a great group. Maldini's presence was fundamental. And the arrival of Ibrahimovic a few months earlier was decisive. With him you were forced to raise your level. I saw Primavera lads crying when they were brought in with the first team because of certain aspects of his behaviour. Off the pitch, though, he changed: playful and likeable."




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