Rafael Leão: “I’m a different leader, I don’t talk much”
Portuguese international is Milan’s leader on the pitch, if Calabria and Theo Hernández are out, and says it is a source of pride, despite not being the most important
After a turbulent start to the season, Milan ‘s victory over Inter in the Milan derby helped the atmosphere around Paulo Fonseca’s team, followed by a home win over Lecce (3-0), something that Rafael Leão confirmed.
“Winning is part of Milan , the fans always want to win, we do too, but everyone is calm, the coach too. The atmosphere is good, of course beating Inter in the Milan derby gave us a lot of confidence. We want to maintain this level, this good form and keep winning,” he began by saying, in a quick interview with the club on social media, before commenting on Tuesday’s duel, in the trip to the Bundesliga champions , Bayer Leverkusen , with Xabi Alonso.
“Obviously we have a vital game tomorrow because we want to win the Champions League . We know we have a difficult league season, but we are Milan and we want to win. We know they are a good team, they play very good football, one of the best at the moment, but we have prepared well for tomorrow’s game and even if we don’t play our best football, because they are at home with their fans and we are away, the most important thing is to win,” he explained.
The Portuguese international then praised the two men up front, and summer signings, Álvaro Morata and Tammy Abraham : “They say that strikers are the first in the line of defence and in front of me we have these two who fight hard and never stop. I feel very comfortable behind them, seeing how hard they work and I can do no less than that. I think we are all happy with the work that has been done by these two players, who are so important for this team because they are strong in attack and defending without possession.”
Finally, he commented on the fact that he is third on the list of players to wear the captain’s armband, a source of pride, even though it is not the most important: «I am a different kind of leader, I don’t talk much, because that is my personality, but my experience of being at a club like Milan – I have been here for six years – means that I can help the younger players. Having also won the Scudetto (Serie A title), I know that I have to give everything on the pitch, but the first captain of the club is Calabria and when he is not there, we have Theo , then me, Maignan and Tomori . But this is not the most important thing, it is just a bonus and, obviously, I am very happy to be able to wear the captain’s armband, but we are all important players in the team.»
