In an interview with France Football, the former Rossoneri said: “With Maldini’s example, I transformed from a player into an athlete. In 2012 I left due to the club’s financial problems. Now I want to move to the bench”
Captain of Fluminense at 41 years old, Thiago Silva is preparing to end a long career as a champion. However, the Brazilian is already thinking about his future as a coach which could also bring him back to Italy, to his Milan. At least this is the plan of the central defender who dreams of leading the teams where he played. And won.
MEMORIES
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In the meantime, the Brazilian is enjoying the present, speaking to the monthly magazine France Football: “The idea of playing for as long as possible germinated while observing Maldini when I arrived at Milan in 2009. I couldn’t play for administrative reasons, but Ancelotti asked me to follow the team anyway. So I was able to observe Maldini closely and I understood that to last, many sacrifices had to be made. And from there I changed my mentality, also becoming an athlete and not just a player.” Having now become an example for younger colleagues such as Marquinhos or Andrey Santos, Silva leafs through the memory book, evoking the various chapters of his journey. Like when he played with Mbappé and Neymar at PSG: “At the beginning they were in tune, then they argued and I didn’t understand why. It’s a shame.” Or the criticisms suffered during his career: “Some right, some not, especially at PSG. Now I prepare my children to handle them.”
DREAM
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Back in his homeland, there are those who want him back in the national team in view of the World Cup: “We haven’t talked about being called up to Ancelotti, but he knows he can count on me. The absolute dream would be to end his career with a World Cup title.” However, the central defender can look back to the past with serenity. Even to the complicated moments like when he had to say goodbye to Milan: “In June 2012 I was convinced to stay at the Rossoneri, but Galliani called me to tell me that there were financial problems and so I signed for PSG, where I then felt at home.”
DISAPPOINTMENT
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Then also the farewell to PSG in 2020: “Which I haven’t understood yet”, adds the defender recalling the breakup with the then sporting director Leonardo: “He was the one who convinced me to come to Paris, even though I had a pre-contract elsewhere. We had a relationship of trust, but in the spring of 2020 he called me to tell me that I was no longer part of the project. I was disappointed but I agreed to play the summer phase of the Champions League Final 8 anyway (and the final lost to Bayern Munich, ed.) And after the final, Leo asked me if I had already signed elsewhere, as if he wanted to take me back for the three matches I had just played, as if he didn’t know me.
FUTURE
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Silva won the Champions League anyway the following year with Tuchel’s Chelsea, enriching his personal trophy case. However, the future of the former Parisian remains in football, as a coach who is inspired by the work of Luis Enrique, Guardiola, Tuchel and even De Zerbi: “Even if he coaches Marseille”. In any case, the centre-back’s objective is clear: “I want to coach the teams where I played.” So also Milan. And also PSG: “Maybe it won’t happen but it would be magical.”
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