Capello Says Leao is Confused, Not Pioli

Former AC Milan coach, Fabio Capello, has shed light on Milan’s current season performance in an interview with ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’. He shared his viewpoints on the management of Pioli, the performance of Leao and the transfer market, as well as the chance of Milan making a comeback in the title race.

Capello drew a comparison between his days at Real Madrid and the current situation at Milan saying, “With Real Madrid, I overtook Barcelona, but there was only one team in front…and it went to sleep. Here, Milan has two teams in front.”

On the management of Pioli, Capello seemed impressed, stating, “I see a clear progress, yes. If then the penalties are missed…”

Capello also commented on the Milan striker Leao, stating, “Leao has insane quality but is a bit confused. Sure, even in confusion he’s almost always the one to pull aces out of his sleeve and resolve matches. At the very least, with him, opponents have to shift their entire defence…”

When queried on who would be sacrificed amongst the big players, Capello responded, “That’s a beautiful question with an equally beautiful answer: the coach knows. I believe a coach can only lose a key player, a cornerstone, only if he is sure that two reinforcements will arrive to fix two problems. The difficulty, however, is another…Finding players who make a difference. In my opinion, Milan cannot make acquisitions hoping they will grow over time. Milan must acquire guaranteed players, who will change the team. Look at Inter Milan. Inter spends money in a different manner.” His comments likely reflect the challenges Milan faces in the current transfer market.