Sandro Tonali discussed his playstyle, his passion for football and his admiration of former AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso in an interview in today’s print edition of the Italian magazine Sportweek.
First, he discussed the comments made by Andrea Pirlo, who said that Tonali was much more complete than he was. “Let’s say that Pirlo gave the right answer! We don’t play like each other. But to say that I’m a more complete player than he was… When two of my friends sent me the Instagram live, in which he said that, I stayed still. And I’m still speechless now. All I can say to him is, thank you.”
The 20-year-old Italian touched on the similarities between himself and Pirlo on the pitch. “I’d rather say what I’d like to learn from him. The long pass from deep, accurate to within a millimetre. I’m better at short passes today. Which, to tell you the truth, comes even more natural to me than the long pass.”
Tonali commented on his passion for football and whether it was passed onto him by his family. “More like the city, Sant’Angelo Lodigiano lives off football. I used to go to the stadium and there were always a thousand people, even in the third division. Enrico, my brother did the rest. From there my climb to the top of the mountain started.”
The Brescia midfielder discussed how AC Milan snubbed the player when he was a young boy. “Lombardia Uno was associated with Milan. Every two or three months five or six children were called to Vismara, where the club’s youngsters train. I can’t say that they rejected me, they didn’t really take me into consideration. Maybe I was too young.”
He spoke about his admiration of Gattuso, who he has a similar playstyle to. “I was struck by his grit and generosity. Had he divided his inner determination by ten, there would have been enough left to fill all his teammates. He was afraid of no one.”
He revealed who his current idol was. “Luka Modric.”
Tonali touched on whether he would rather play as a box to box midfielder or a deeplying playmaker, two roles which he has experience playing in. “You know what? I don’t know. I like them both. It depends on how the opponent is lined up, against a 4-4-2 I have more space like a mezzala, if I have a trequartista in front of me I like to be in front of the defence because, a part from him, I have an open pitch in front of me.”
The Inter target then discussed what his childhood dream was. “To become a footballer. I also asked for it in a letter addressed to Saint Lucia. I gave her a choice, either a footballer or a saint.”
Tonali spoke about his teammate Mario Balotelli and whether he thinks the former Manchester City striker is a ‘wasted talent.’ “No, I look at him and I stop at ‘what a talent’. In training he does things that very few people can do. Why ‘wasted’? He played for big teams, he scored a lot of goals, he won.”
Finally, Tonali spoke about his future and whether he would be a big player. “There’s never anything certain, I’ve achieved half of what I have in my mind, but I feel strong enough to make it. I’m on the right track.” :work:
