AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani has stated that prodigy Mattia De Sciglio is the icon of the club’s respected youth set-up, labelling him the emblem of the Centro Sportivo Vismara.
The 70-year-old also revealed plans regarding the construction of a new stadium whilst admitting pride in some of the youngsters.
“De Sciglio, in this regard, is the emblem of the Vismara centre,” he told reporters at the Vismara Sports Centre.
“He arrived ten years ago and has made the whole transition on the field [coming up through the ranks], and I have said to all the boys that I hope they become like him.
“We acquired the local curia in the city and this gives us the opportunity to invest on the structure. We have already constructed the building where there are offices and the gym.
“Filippo Galli says that this is the most beautiful part of Italy. I do not know if it really is but it certainly is one of the most beautiful.
“I’m very proud of all the guys who are part of the national under-16, 17, 18, and 19, and last Friday, president [Silvio] Berlusconi spoke to them on how to play for the national team, not just domestically.
“Last week there were five players in the Italy under-17 squad, and a couple of other guys that could have made it into the squad if not for injuries.
“Yesterday [Wednesday], [Davide] Calabria also scored the winning goal for the under 19s and the under 17s played well too.
The transfer pundit then discussed new signing Diego Lopez, revealing that he was at the receiving end of jokes for striking the deal, but remains confident that the Spaniard will help the club progress.
“Lopez is a great goalkeeper. I remember everyone made fun of me when he arrived.
“I never said that he was the best goalkeeper in Europe but he certainly is one of the best. I am convinced because Carlo Ancelotti, his previous trainer, has reassured me.
“When there was this opportunity to sign Lopez, we couldn’t miss it and thus signed a keeper who has already shown his worth at the San Siro.
“Besides saving a penalty [in his debut against Lazio], he made many saves and portrayed confidence and controlled the defence well.
“I like him a lot because he gets down well and he can deal with all sorts of balls in the box.
“De Sciglio? He did well in the national team because he has never played the 3-5-2 formation, and in my opinion, he has done well very well as a wide midfielder.
“He is versatile and can play in any role, be it at right back or left back. He once also played as a central defender. If we didn’t have Lopez, we could even make Mattia the goalie,” he joked.
“Our next encounter? Last year in Parma I remember we played poorly in the first half, while we did better in the second half and deserved a win but we failed in the final instances.
“If we had won that game, we would have probably made it to the Europa League. It went differently, though, and now we think of the championship this season.
The Rossoneri will resume normal service following the international break when they visit Parma on 14 September.
