Gabbia: “My objective is to always give my all for Milan, I hope to play against Fiorentina, Romagnoli is a Champion” | OneFootball

Matteo Gabbia has spoken to MilanTV a few days after making his Serie A debut.

The 20-year-old came on as a substitute for Simon Kjær after the Dane center back suffered an injury during the match against Torino on Monday.

Gabbia is the Rossoneri’s 4th choice center back, but since Mateo Musacchio had a physical problem of his own, Matteo was thrown into the mix before the end of the first half. Gabbia played an excellent game and helped Milan get an important 1-0 win. The Italian gave an interview to MilanTV on Thursday:

Let’s go back to your debut… “Those moments passed very quickly, but it was great, they are still printed in my mind. I immediately focused on the game and I’m happy I came on with the right mentality and did well, but now I’m focused on my future.”

How’s your understanding with Romagnoli? “Alessio is a great guy, a Captain who instills calm into the team. I’m really happy I played 45 minutes alongside him and I hope there will be more; Alessio is a true Champion and I hope to learn from him just by training together every day.”

Who’s your mentor in the team? “Lots of teammates have been of great help, naming just one would not be fair to the others. My current teammates have been really great, always supportive in every training and I just have to thank them. I can only improve by learning from them too.”

Your favorite moment after the final whistle… “I was really pleased to receive so many messages and phone calls, this means I have lots of people who care for me, who I impressed, but surely my favorite moment after the final whistle was with my family and my girlfriend and I wish to thank them for always being on my side, always supporting me and those moments are unique.”

Who do you owe all this to? “To both my parents, because only they know how hard it was, how many difficult nights I’ve been through, and have always been there supporting me, finding the right words. Therefore, my parents have been the most important people in my footballing career, even not being on the pitch with me, but my development off the pitch is equally important.”

Your idol is…? “I don’t have one specific idol, there are plenty of players I look up to and I’ve grown fond of, such as Thiago Silva, for Milan, back in the days; referring to other teams, I always liked De Rossi, for what he represented for his beloved club.”

Fiorentina up next… “It’s a really important game for us all, from my perspective, it’s an important game like all the others, with three important points up for grabs and I hope to play, but it’s up to the coach to decide and I will accept his decisions.”

Your objective as a Rossonero… “My objective at Milan is quite simple: to do the best we can to win all the games we play and most importantly, always give my all for this club.”