Today is presentation day for the last and only Rossoneri purchase of this soccer market session: here are his and Ibrahimovic’s statements.
Milan, la conferenza stampa di presentazione di Kyle Walker: tutte le dichiarazioni (foto AC Milan) – MilanLive.it
Sergio Conceicao has received only one reinforcement so far, it is Kyle Walker. The English right-back will be 35 years old in May and has great experience and a winning mentality. Fans hope that physically he is okay and has the right motivation.
At Manchester City he played many top seasons and had earned everyone’s esteem, however, in recent months he has been sidelined a bit by Pep Guardiola. This prompted him to ask for a transfer and AC Milan was a first choice for him, arriving on a loan with a right of redemption set at about 5 million euros. He should receive a salary of about 2.5 million net until June. Today from 3:30 p.m. the usual press conference to introduce Walker.
Milan, la conferenza stampa di Kyle Walker e Zlatan Ibrahimovic
IBRA INTRODUCTION – “His statistics speak for him. He made history with Manchester City. For us a great blow, a leader, he has great experience and brings great quality. We have several right-backs, however, a situation has arisen that we cannot say no to, he will bring a lot on and off the field. He will be important for our team.”
WALKER HAPPY TO BE AT MILAN – “For me to play at this club is something fantastic, a good experience to try this experience outside England. A good opportunity to express my talent.”
WALKER HAS TALKED WITH OTHER PLAYERS – “I talked to one of the big exes, he made it clear to me that this club wants to do well and do a lot. The team won the Italian Super Cup and now we want to improve in the league, while in the Champions League it is going well. I hope to bring experience and leadership, I want the team to get back to where they are in the league. We hope to have a turnaround to do better.”
IBRAHIMOVIC ON CONCEICAO-CALABRIA – “Situation with a lot of adrenaline, a hot moment, two winners who did what they did… It happened to me a thousand times, more off the field. The important thing is to resolve then, they had resolved before I entered the locker room. It happened to me in Barcelona, Inter, Milan, PSG, Manchester United… It happens when you play with champions with a winning mentality. Capello would tell me this was good for the team. The players and the coach work with emotions. It better happen, otherwise it looks like they don’t care. For the image outside it may look bad, however, it happens and it is important that they resolve.”
WALKER ON ITALIAN FOOTBALL – “During my childhood I used to see the big teams in Serie A, I wanted to experience these emotions. There were many teams interested in the past as well, however, I preferred to stay in the Premier. This was the right time to come here. Ibra was great when we talked, I want to prove that I am also performing in Serie A.”
WALKER ON WHAT MILAN NEEDS TO GO TO CHAMPIONS – “You need passion, desire to win in the 90 minutes. We have to put pressure on ourselves to win. When Parma comes to the San Siro we should take the 3 points. There was a difference between the first and second half. We need character and leadership on the field. Calabria and Conceicao care, they have passion.”
IBRAHIMOVIC ON THE MARKET – “We have our goals, but this is a difficult market. A situation arose for Walker and we took advantage of it. We’re working on what we need, hopefully we’ll get it done, it’s always a battle in these situations. There is never a guarantee, however, we are working.”
ZLATAN ON WALKER’S CHARACTERISTICS THAT BONDED HIM TO MILAN – “Strong character, he’s a leader, he’s an alpha in the locker room, he can help out in all situations. He is strong on and off the field. He is a right-back, but he can also play central defender. He has enormous experience.”
IBRA ON MILAN SEASON – “For me it’s a new situation, I’m working from a different perspective. As a soccer player it was different. Now I’m trying to help from the outside. This is not the situation we wanted to be in, we want to be as high as possible and win. The Italian Super Cup was a goal and so are the other competitions. In the league we need more continuity and recovering points to get to the top, we are working for that.”
KYLE ON CHAMPIONS BONUS IN THE CONTRACT – “It would be a dream to win the Champions League, I’ve been lucky enough to lift it and also lost a final. I experienced both situations with Manchester City. It will be talked about later… There is no financial bonus, I don’t play for money, only for joy and passion. Things were going badly at City, I was not playing enough and I came here to play more and win trophies. I was at Tottenham so many years without winning, then at City I won so many. I don’t want to stop, I’m here to win.”
WALKER’S THOUGHT ON PARMA AHEAD 2-1 WAS ‘WHO MADE ME DO IT? – “No, soccer is like that, but in the end Milan won 3-2. Now there are important games on Wednesday and Sunday.”
ZLATAN ON BALANCE AND SERENITY – “Serenity comes with results, when you win you get into a winning rhythm and there is also more balance. After two-three wins you can find continuity, so it becomes easier to play and have confidence. Positivity is needed, soccer players are not machines. We always want to win and we do everything to win, we are trying to do everything. With Parma and in the Super Cup we didn’t win because of quality, but because of attitude. With this attitude and spirit, even what happened between Conceicao and Calabria can happen, although from the outside it may look like more than it is. I have been in the locker room for 25 years and it has happened many times, obviously the image was not the best.”
WALKER LEADER – “This is what I have to do with my age and experience, I can convey a message. I can’t do it alone, there are other leaders as well. Maybe there is a lack of confidence because it has not been consistency of results. Sometimes you need discipline, that fire inside. Maybe that had been lacking a little bit. I know Loftus-Cheek, Tomori and Abraham, I hope they know they can follow me, I come here to win.”
LEADERS FOR IBRAHIMOVIC – “There are two kinds of leaders, one on and one off the field. Kjaer and I did both when we arrived. Without a leader, you don’t have one who takes things in hand and acts as a driver. For me in the team there are leaders, there are different kinds. Kyle is a leader, he has experience and has won everything, he can control the situation at different times.”
INTER FOR WALKER – “I played against them again this year, we will play a different game. They came with a low block in Manchester, we could have done better but we were early in the season and looking for our rhythm. Sunday’s will be a different game. In the Super Cup Milan won, so Inter will be looking for a rematch. We will have to give our all for us, for the league table and especially for the fans.”
DID GUARDIOLA TELL HIM ANYTHING? – “No, when I talked to Pep it was not an easy conversation because there is a mutual respect after so many years together. I am here to play and work, but Manchester City was my family. I think I was appreciated there, I want that to happen here too. I want to learn Italian, I will take lessons. I have so much hunger and fire inside, I want to win abroad too.”
GIMENEZ LIKES IBRA? – “A talent with great potential, he’s strong. A midfielder? We have great midfielders, one injured like Loftus, then we have Bennacer, Reijnders, Fofana, Musah… We are strong, they are doing a great job. Then we’ll see what we can do.”
MILAN IN KYLE’S DESTINY – “I don’t believe much in destiny, more in hard work. You reap what you sow.”
LEAO SECOND WALKER – “The quality he has speaks for itself, I’ve seen games. He has all the quality in the world, it’s up to him to become one of the strongest. All the players have quality at Milan, you need 10 percent more character and presumption, not arrogance. You have to work hard, then the results come.”
JOVIC-MONZA: IBRA SPEAKS – “There is no news. He is doing well, the coach is satisfied. Let’s see what will happen, we also have to understand what is best for the player.”
THEO HERNANDEZ FOR WALKER – “He is a top player, like Leao. He is 27 years old, the same as I was when I came to City, this is the most important period. The peak of the career. If he needs advice, I will be available.”
CHAPTER RENEWALS: IBRA – “With Reijnders, Maignan and Theo we are talking, everything is under control, they are fine here and want to continue in Milan. We are talking not only with them.”
CONCEICAO MORE MANAGER? – “The way of working with Conceicao is the same with Fonseca, Paulo was as involved as Sergio. One coach likes certain players and another likes others, but the way of working has not changed. Self-criticism to the management? I can say that we want to do the best we can, there is no guarantee in what we do, but we are working hard. When you know you are doing a good job, the results come.”
HAMILTON-FERRARI AND WALKER-MILAN CHALLENGES: KYLE ANSWERS – “I hope he can win with Ferrari. I could have stayed in Manchester, I would have respected the contract if City had not let me leave. Life is about challenges and sometimes you want to try something different, I have talked to players who have not tried other experiences and would have liked to do it. When there is a club like Milan that is interested in you, you cannot say no. It was the kind of challenge I wanted, Ibra was clear with me, Milan wanted to take me and that reassured me, I understood it was the right decision. I hope there can be a good end to the season for me and the team.”
The article Walker charges Milan: ‘I have the fire inside, I want to win’. The truth about the Champions bonus was written and published in its original version on Milanlive.co.uk.
