Behind the explosion of the Portuguese there is a patient work of the coach (above all psychological), the confidence of the club and the maturation of the player. But the coach continues to “mark him tightly” …
At a certain point Ibra too had given up, and that is all said. “Leao convinced himself to run, he didn’t come to me. He didn’t run, I tried but I couldn’t find mental contact with him. I couldn’t, then in the preseason he exploded and started alone, ”said Zlatan. Words pronounced last December, perhaps even with a hint of regret – we say this jokingly of course -, because Z loves being the man who solves other people’s problems.
I smiled
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Ibra had used the word “run” to talk about Leao. Synonymous with fatigue, that is the concept that sometimes separates the talent from the champion. Rafa ran little in fact. I mean, she only did it when he wanted to. And when he wanted, it was a show. The problem is that in matches it only happened sometimes, and in training even less. Do you remember? The famous dangling gait, a concept that Pioli had publicly expressed: “Sometimes it seems like pendants”. Stick to which the carrot is always followed: “He is very intelligent, even if at times he does not convey all the desire that a young boy should have. He has to play like in the courtyard, always trying to score “. And again: “he should smile more”. Well, on this last aspect Rafa has long taken it literally. He always smiles. But not only when he scores, because that’s easy for anyone. He smiles when he runs, smiles when he escapes his opponents, sometimes they frame him smiling even when he comes face to face with the goalkeepers.
Rough diamond
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Two and a half years of Milanello have accomplished a small, big undertaking: the rough diamond is being worked and polished by one of the best goldsmiths in circulation. There is a lot of Stefano Pioli in this boy’s explosion, and the tactical aspect in this case comes later. There was a boy to take by the hand and accompany him to maturity, to true professionalism. Which is not just putting an autograph on a millionaire contract and driving a hundred thousand euro car. The club also had another part of the credit. In the meantime, obviously, in having taken him still twenty years old from Lille, deciding to also spend a hefty handful of millions (25). And then in having chosen to insist, without giving in to the shortcut of the market when Rafa seemed really channeled towards an unfinished destiny. The rest was done by the person concerned.
Sweat
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In reality there has not been an episode, a particular juncture that has determined the turning point in Rafa’s attitude. Those who know him well at Milanello tell of a gradual path, which led to what we all see now before our eyes. It’s true, as soon as Ibra had set foot back at Milan he had self-assigned the task of weaning him. He has always liked Leao, whimsical and rebellious like him. But then Zlatan admitted the hole in the water. Pioli, on the other hand, managed that water like the drop that digs the stone. A patient and daily work of support and stimulation, of caresses and reprimands. A coach-psychologist: that is exactly what Rafael needed, too in love with himself and his qualities to understand that with talent alone you can stop soon. Until last season they talked about training at the limit of indisponenza – dangling, in fact – and then everything seemed clear on the pitch. Screaming goals and numbers followed by sequences of matches without a trace. Leao learned to sweat this week and learned the language of sacrifice. Helping your partner. He taught him Pioli, taking it aside dozens of times, with the patience of an educator called to value an investment by the club. Because that’s what it was.
“Marking”
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They explain that the coach still continues to “mark him closely”. An accompanying work that continues uninterrupted because – they say – Pioli has taken it into his head to make him a true champion, first-rate, and the path he has finally taken is the correct one but nothing is enough to get lost along the way. Obviously, the passage of time has lent a hand. Leao is 20 years old and in June he will turn 23. he He grows up. The merit of him was to understand that he had inevitably reached the crossroads: turning or half player. There was no middle ground. Rafa has chosen the right direction. Now he’s negotiating a contract renewal that shouldn’t be too long, and his price has jumped from 25 million to 50 million. Destined to further grow, remaining on these levels. One hundred appearances with Milan and ten goals this season, never so many in his career: the team’s striker together with Giroud. But this is the easiest part of all for him.
February 14 – 15:27
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