Milan derby is “a game that changes a season”, says Kalulu

In Milan, the derby is a game that “changes a season”, he explains to AFP French defender Pierre Kalulu, from Milan. The athlete and his team will face the Inter Milan this Wednesday, in San Siro, at 4 pm (Brasília time), for the first leg of the semifinal of Champions League.

Kalulu, who was revealed at Lyon and has been at Milan since 2020, said that in the local derby everything is maximized, especially the “atmosphere of the stadium and the external factors surrounding the duel”.

“For me it’s like Lyon-Saint Etienne or Olympique-PSG, but multiplied by two. There’s pressure on a daily basis. At first, when I arrived here, it didn’t affect me so much because I didn’t grow up in Milan, but after a time you already feel the whole atmosphere. You feel that it’s the biggest game, that changes a season directly. It can save a year or kill part of it. That makes everything more beautiful, and even all this in the Champions League, I don’t even dare to think how could be,” he said.

Milan have seven Champions League titles, against three for Inter Milan. The defender focused on the club’s goal of lifting another cup and declared that the squad wants to “go as high as possible”.

“The history of a club counts a lot. If we were in a normal club, with this semifinal they would be saying that everything is fine. But here, with the weight of history, due to the level of the club and the fans, everyone thinks about winning. Afterwards, having beaten Tottenham and Napoli, we told ourselves that we have to go as high as possible.”

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Check out other excerpts from the interview with Kalulu:

Is it disappointing not to play in England or Spain in the Champions League semi-finals and have to play against a team from your city?
“In the quarter-finals (against Napoli) it was sadder not to play against a non-Italian team, but at this level, in the semi-finals, you can’t choose. It’s a derby and it will be incredible. People talk about it all the time.”

Does Inter arrive more confident having won the last classics?
“It was a moment in which we had more difficulties, it was easier for them to beat us, we were not at our level. But we know what we are capable of in this competition. In the Champions League everything is different”

At 22, how do you see your evolution with increasing competition, with the return of Simon Kjaer in particular?
“It’s a season in which I played a lot, then I got injured (in my calf) during the Fifa date (in March, with the France Under-21 team) and that meant a short break. These are the first days that I don’t have pain. I’m fine, at the right moment. It’s up to me to give everything to recover my position, but competition is normal in football. With each absence, another player is ready, but that makes everyone evolve and makes the team stronger.”

You have sometimes been compared to Lilian Thuram, who was a right winger before becoming a centre-back. Are you used to both positions, do you have a preference for one?
“At Milan I play a lot as a defender. In the (French Under-21) national team, coach (Sylvain) Ripoll prefers to use me as a full-back. For me, that allows me to evolve in both positions, to be prepared for any eventuality. To be honest, the What makes you love a position has more to do with who you play”