The captain’s words after the match raised a fuss, then the two spoke to each other and the player clarified that his was not an attack on the coach. Which has something to review
In the four years on the Rossoneri bench – completed on 9 October – and throughout the 200 games he spent sitting on it – which ended just yesterday in Paris – Stefano Pioli has seen more or less everything. Epochal thuds, perhaps unimaginable and therefore particularly enjoyed triumphs, high-ranking colleagues fallen under the ax of his perfect tactical moves, others almost invincible (Inzaghi), titles that had been missing for (too many) years, embarrassments at the infirmary level. But it had not yet happened that one of his players became the protagonist of a heavy post-match event like the one at the Parc des Princes. Furthermore, this player is the captain, and therefore Calabria’s words had a certain effect. That is, what would seem like accusations to some comrades (“Every day we go to work our asses off at Milanello, now those who no longer believe in us can stay at home”), but also to the technical guide (“The problem is both psychological and tactical. We were unbalanced, accepting one-on-one matches against these players.” When they reported Calabria’s words to him, Pioli closed the topic dryly: “he was wrong. There is no one who works at Milanello with little attention or little availability”. Here, from the direction that the day after at Milanello took, everything would arise from a sentence reported incompletely to Pioli, because Calabria at Prime, in addition to declaring “Whoever doesn’t believe in it can stay at home”, he added “And we we believe.” Put in these terms it would look more like a slogan (with a sort of semi-quotation of Nereo Rocco) than a real indictment.
despondency
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In general terms, it is understandable that such a heavy defeat – especially given the shortcomings it highlighted – generates nervousness at the end of the match, when perhaps guts and not rationality are in charge. But to many people Calabria’s words do not seem dictated only by the discomfort of the moment, perhaps giving the impression of targeted statements. Of a player who, with the armband on his arm, brought out something conscious, even in the context of a hot outburst. Also because Calabria – and on this aspect his words are those, and only those -, touched on the two most important areas of a coach: “The problem is both psychological and tactical”. And if we talk about Pioli, they are even more so because the mental aspect has always been one of his strong points – as they say, office always open, personalized daily conversations, evident empathy with the group and with individuals – and many times so was the tactical approach. In these four years there have been several matches essentially won by the coach, the problem if anything is that over time they have become increasingly rarer. Losing all the first three clashes of the season with the big teams – Inter, Juve, PSG – is a bad sign about the Devil’s potential.
good faith
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The ways in which certain defeats arrive also weigh on the scales. That is, with errors that are repeated over time. Calabria cited, not surprisingly, the one-on-ones, or rather the problem that the defeat against Juve had also generated. Those who know Davide well, meanwhile, are certain of his good faith and use one word above all: self-criticism. Probably resulting in words that were far from perfect, but still within the scope of personal and obviously collective examination of conscience. It should also be underlined – and in a similar context, it is the most relevant thing – that after speaking after the match, coach and player clarified, with the captain explaining to Pioli how it was not a criticism of his actions. In short, the day after he inevitably starts again from the unity of purpose to get out of the dark moment. Furthermore, Milanello points out that the relationship between the two is optimal, complete with a birthday party organized on Calabria’s own pitch for Pioli’s 58th birthday (whose trust on the part of the club, it is worth underlining, remains unchanged regardless of the complicated moment). Certainly – and we add this – in tactical terms there is certainly more than one thing for the coach to review. And also in terms of attention: PSG’s second goal, on the development of a corner where the Parisians go into a hole with three men in the area against nine Rossoneri (ten with Maignan) is a sequence of errors and horrors. Which probably justifies in some way the outburst of a defender at the end of the game.
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