Ignazio Abate returns from Euro 2012 duty to find a much-changed Milan, but is certain “by August 31 we will be competitive.”
Ignazio Abate returns from Euro 2012 duty to find a much-changed Milan, but is certain “by August 31 we will be competitive.”
The Rossoneri welcomed back their Italian internationals from summer vacation, but have lost the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thiago Silva, Alessandro Nesta, Gennaro Gattuso, Pippo Inzaghi, Clarence Seedorf and Mark Van Bommel.
“This season will be different for the team. Many important players have left and now it is up to us to unite and try to win something,” Abate told Milan Channel.
“It is too early to pass judgement. As long as President Silvio Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani are here, I am certain by August 31 we will be a competitive squad.
“I am happy Mattia De Sciglio is doing so well, as he came from the youth academy like me and knows what it means to wear the Milan jersey.
“Everyone will miss Ibrahimovic, but coming here and not seeing people like Gattuso, Nesta and Inzaghi is really strange. This year we all have to shoulder more responsibility.”
Abate is fresh from an impressive Euro 2012 run that took Italy to the Final.
“The best memory of the Euros is certainly our unity as a group, because reaching the Final was a result of that unity. Now it’s normal to struggle in the first few training sessions, but the vacation was so short that I am already in good shape.”