The exclusive interview granted by Massimo Donati, formerly of Milan, Palermo, Bari and Atalanta, among others, to the editorial staff of Mediagol.it
A year and a half in the rosanero jersey during which he made himself appreciated on a human and professional level. Leader and reference on and off the pitch, Massimo Donati lived in Palermo an intense experience characterized by lights and shadows in terms of collective results. In the second half of the 2011-2012 season, arrived at the viale del Fante club in the winter transfer session, the 1981 class had an excellent impact with the new reality, literally accessing the light in the nerve center in the team then coached by Bortolo Mutti. Illuminated direction, phosphorus, substance and tactical sagacity, useful and precious heritage in order to lead the team to a peaceful salvation. The following year was much more tormented, with the five bench changes, the managerial reversals, the gaps in the staffing set-up and the inevitable and bitter relegation. Championship in which, in the context of technical management Gasperini, Donati he also played the role of central control over the rearguard. However, a significant parenthesis, the one experienced by Donati at the court of Maurizio Zamparini, who the former Milan and Celtic shared, among others, with talents of the caliber of Paulo Dybala and Josip Ilicic, as the former coach remembers Sambenedettese during the exclusive interview granted to the editorial staff of Mediagol.it.
“Josip Ilicic had incredible qualities that had already been clearly seen from the time of the professional past shared with him in Palermo. His attitude on the pitch has always remained the same but, at the time, he had some moves that made me a little nervous. Even then, his extraordinary technical potential was sensed. When the results do not arrive, some players find it hard to handle them with their ways. Paulo Dybala’s career? When I met him he was practically a child. quality but he needed time to grow on the tactical and physical level, he was not yet ready in the first months to play and express himself in the first team. beyond the technical qualities, to assert himself at high levels means that he has also shown that he has the right character and mentality. Surely between the Slovenian and the Argentine he surprised me the most the second, as regards the evolution and development of the professional parable.
The new ownership of Palermo and the current management of the rosanero club? Leandro Rinaudo is the one I know best also because I also played with him. I often hear him to talk about football. Surely in all categories, to win you have to invest and spend because the difference is made by the players on the pitch. For heaven’s sake, it’s not just that that counts, because the match is only the end of the week but everything that revolves around determines, that is, the organization and preparation. I think Mirri has put a good foundation and in fact Palermo is doing well. Now it will be necessary to see if the rosanero team will be able to push even more in the league and aim straight for promotion to Serie B or if it will take more time.
Which football philosophy do I feel closest to as a coach? To that of Atalanta, certainly. It is now recognized and appreciated by all as a team that plays harmonious, effective and spectacular football, not only in Italy but also at European level. Inter too, from a game point of view, are impressing and doing very well under the guidance of Simone Inzaghi. The same goes for AC Milan who are demonstrating incredible cohesion and quality on a collective and individual level. Everything will depend on the continuity that these teams will be able to express in terms of the Scudetto, but the best football for me is expressed by Atalanta because the Gasperini players always know how to move in a synergistic and unanimous way in both phases of the game.
The new Massimo Donati? I don’t know, but I don’t think it takes a lot! I was a good player but not a phenomenon. I see a lot of midfielders with remarkable prospects and certainly talented playing, even more than I have been in the course of my career.“
December 15, 2021 (change December 15, 2021 | 17:46)
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