Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Welcome to Yunus Musa's press conference. We will now be hearing from Milan's new midfielder.
00:07 Rino Gattuso, Gennaro Gattuso was your manager at Valencia.
00:20 Did you have any good fun, any jokes or did you share any stories about Milan with Gennaro Gattuso and his fellow coaches?
00:32 Yes, Gennaro Gattuso told me the story about when he was playing at Milan and with Gigi, his collaborator after the World Cup.
00:47 He was telling me a few jokes about what life was like at Milan and what you have to do at Milan.
00:55 When you were presented, the fans were amazed by your Italian, how you speak Italian so well and how you speak correct, impressive Italian.
01:15 Is that your way of showing respect to Milan, to try and transmit respect but also to show your joy?
01:21 Well no, I'm very happy to be here. I can't wait to get going to play. I can't wait to help my teammates, to give everything and I can't wait to be a Milan player. I'm really happy.
01:40 You've played everywhere, America, Italy, Spain. You've played in different positions in midfield as well.
01:49 Are there any players that you feel you can compare yourself to, your style to or do you see yourself as a more attacking or defensive?
02:04 I like to do a bit of everything in midfield. That's how I see myself. I can drop deep but I like to bring the ball forward. I like to be aggressive when I'm defending for my team.
02:17 To be honest, I want to be a midfielder that does a bit of everything and I think I've got a physical power to bring the ball forward.
02:31 You've got a lovely smile as is Samuel Chikwueze. Did Gennaro Gattuso call you after you signed for Milan?
02:49 The smiles? Yes, Samuel Chikwueze smiles a lot. I smile a lot. It's good to have someone like Samuel Chikwueze in the dressing room.
03:01 No, I haven't spoken to Gennaro Gattuso since I signed for Milan but I will give him a call. I will speak to him.
03:12 You're only 21 years old but you've already done a lot. You played for the under levels of the England team, you played for America, you played for Arsenal's youth teams.
03:28 I would never have dreamt of a career like this. It's a wonderful career to have done so much at my young age and then to join Milan. I would have never dreamt of something like this. It's a great club Milan and I'm really happy.
03:48 What does it mean to you to arrive in a dressing room like Milan's? What do you need to bring and what relationship do you have with Stefano Pioli?
04:02 It's a dressing room full of talent. It's a dressing room with people who have done a lot in football. For example, working with some of these players every day will only help me.
04:20 I want to take this opportunity. I want to improve as a player. I want to learn from the experienced players and become the best player I can. I want to get to the highest level possible. I'm ready to work hard every day to arrive at these achievements.
04:40 Can you tell us about your childhood growing up in Italy? Was it difficult or easy being a young man growing up in Italy? What did you think of AC Milan when you were growing up?
04:56 My childhood in Italy was wonderful. Really, really wonderful. I've got lots of very good memories. I played in youth tournaments. Sometimes I played a few futsal tournaments as well and it went well.
05:13 Then in the summer I was always outside playing football with my big brother and my friends. My mother had a shop near the football pitch. So when we were hungry we just went into the shop to get a quick snack. Then we were straight back out to play football.
05:31 Italy is wonderful. Italy is beautiful. Castello Franco, where I played, we went out and our parents weren't worried when we went out. It was very safe. It was a beautiful place to grow up.
05:47 The fact that you'd grown up in Italy, do you think that can help you? Did that encourage you to choose AC Milan, accept AC Milan's offer and play in Italy? And growing up playing for a team in the Veneto region, did that give you an extra push to choose AC Milan?
06:10 Well, it was the decision that... the fact that I'd lived in Italy helped me make the decision. I knew that I wouldn't have to start learning a new language and learning the new culture because I already knew Italy. I knew I would be comfortable because I know Italy fairly well and that helps a lot.
06:35 My brother was always watching AC Milan when we were growing up, when we were small. He loves AC Milan. So we'd always watch AC Milan together. I know lots about AC Milan. I know enough about AC Milan.
06:53 In your first few days at AC Milan, is there a player who has really impressed you and why? And have you already started to absorb the history of AC Milan?
07:09 As I said before, everyone has impressed me. Everyone has made an impression. There are players of very high levels, players I used to watch on television. So being able to play with them is a privilege. I'm really, really happy to be able to play with them and to learn from them.
07:37 AC Milan has changed a lot in the summer transfer window, particularly in midfield. Have you spoken to Mr Pioli about what he would like from you in this new midfield?
07:51 Yeah, I'm talking to Mr Pioli a lot. He's teaching us what he wants. He's showing us what he wants, how he wants us to play. He wants us to play quickly, as fast as possible. He wants us to pick things up quickly. When I have the chance to play, I'll be ready. I want to get integrated to the group as quickly as possible and Mr Pioli is helping me a lot.
08:18 How did you feel when you went to Milanello, Milan's training centre, full of some of the most famous football players and winners in the world?
08:32 Yeah, I'm really hungry. I'm hungry to do well. I really want to help the club to keep up the level. I want the club to get better, to improve. Milan, as you said, in the last few years it's improving, it's returning to the old levels and I want this to continue.
08:57 Coming to Milan from the outside is a great opportunity, a really big opportunity and I'm really pleased.
09:07 Did you say Mr Pioli is explaining to you what he wants from you? The role and does he want you to play as a wide midfielder or a central midfielder? Are you working on certain things? Can you tell us what you've been working on? A couple of words. And your first appearance.
09:32 At the moment Mr Pioli is asking me to play wide midfield, mid-sala. He's explaining to me the positions, where he wants me to be, when to join the attack, get into the penalty area. He wants me to help the team. He wants me to fit into the system and he's teaching me things to help.
09:56 Considering your brother supported Milan, do you have a hero, ex-Milanista or someone in modern football in midfield who inspires you or a reference point?
10:11 A reference point in midfield? When I was younger I used to love watching Yaya Toure. He was a reference point for me. I've watched videos of Yaya Toure. He was a mix of skill, power, everything really.
10:40 For me Yaya Toure is a reference point.
10:44 You're young but you've played in the World Cup, you were a regular starter for Valencia in the Spanish league. The feeling is that you've still got room to improve though. Where and how, personally and tactically, where do you think you can improve?
11:09 Yes, I think I can certainly do more in the attacking positions. I can create more, I can certainly score more goals and improve my goal count.
11:28 Tactically I think I can improve, I can reach another level. I know I lack that somewhat, I can improve that and now with the training sessions that we're doing I'm improving and that will help me to improve my tactical levels.
11:48 Thank you for watching Yunus Musa's press conference.
11:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]