Father states Gimenez idolised four Milan legends and ‘demanding’ Conceicao is right coach | OneFootball

The father of Santiago Gimenez – Christian – has revealed that his son idolised several AC Milan icons and believes Sergio Conceicao is the right coach for him.

Gimenez arrived towards the end of the winter transfer window, signing a deal that will run until 2029, and he made his debut for the club during the 3-1 Coppa Italia win over Roma, setting up Joao Felix – a fellow January arrival – for the third goal.

Then, he made his Serie A debut in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Empoli and got his first goal since joining. After collecting a pass from Christian Pulisic, the Mexican cut inside on his left foot and curled a brilliant shot past Milan loanee Devis Vasquez.

It was certainly the ideal start for the 23-year-old, who tonight must return to face Feyenoord, the club that he scored over 60 goals for after joining from Cruz Azul two and a half years ago.

Christian Gimenez gave an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning about his son’s move to Milan and the pride that he feels, with his comments relayed by MilanPress.

You must feel pride as a parent…

“Santiago is incredible, he makes us very happy, we experience great emotions. We believe he can achieve the goals he has set for himself as a footballer.

“He brings dedication, passion for what he does, he is a professional in every sense of the word. Today at Milan he is very happy with the group and the technical staff, with the club which is an incredible club.”

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Is it true Santi pushed to join Milan?

“Yes, while they closed the deal, Santi continued to play and his focus was only on that. Football and Milan entered our house very early: Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, Kakà and Inzaghi were his idols when he was little.

“Just as he already loved the Rossoneri fans and the spectacle of the stadium. Finding ourselves at San Siro, meeting people of the calibre of Baresi, Dida, Shevchenko in the stands, and then his teammates: everything impressed us.”

Is Conceicao a good coach for him?

“The coach has a lot of experience and is demanding in everything: this will help my son grow. Just as Milan’s formation and style of play can develop him. The advice I give him is to always play with the determination he has: he will have teammates of great quality, an advantage for everyone.”

Where did the nickname come from?

“A team-mate came to our house and called him ‘Bebote’ because Santi was very tall when he was little and in the eyes of his young friend he was just a ‘big boy’.”