AC Milan announce the signing of midfielder Sandro Tonali from Brescia Calcio on loan with the option to make the deal permanent. The player will wear the number 8 jersey. The announcement was made on Wednesday 9 September 2020.
Sandro Tonali was born on May 8, 2000 in Lodi, Italy. Tonali started playing football with Lombardia Uno, an AC Milan academy, before moving to Piacenza and then 12 years old, to Brescia. Tonali came through the youth ranks of the Rondinelle, making his senior début in Serie B at 17 years old. In three seasons as a professional player with Brescia, Tonali made 89 appearances, scoring 7 goals.
Sandro has also played for the Italian U19 (11 apps) and U21 (5 apps) teams and made his Italian senior debut on 19 October 2019. He has 3 international caps for the Italian National team.
Ivan Gazidis, CEO of AC Milan, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sandro Tonali to AC Milan. He is one of the most promising young talents in international football. Sandro has a love for the Club and an understanding of its values that will add to what we want to build together. Welcome Sandro!”.
Paolo Maldini, AC Milan’s Technical Area Director added: “We are excited to welcome Sandro to the Rossoneri family. As a talented, young midfielder he will not only embrace the values of AC Milan but also make a significant contribution to the future success of the Club.”
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini continues preparing the team on Wednesday 2 September 2020 for UEFA Nations League games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands. The team completed training on Tuesday 1 September at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which will host Friday’s game against AS Roma forward Edin Dzeko’s Bosnia.
Good and bad news. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) reported that some players have been left out of the team due to injuries. Mancini had to give up to Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali. Latest to leave the squad also for injury is Juventus forward Federico Bernardeschi due to muscle strain. Instead, Jorginho will train with the group this afternoon; the Chelsea midfielder, who arrived at Coverciano yesterday, tested negative for coronavirus in the necessary medical exams.
The good news for Italy Head Coach Mancini is to see the Serie A Top Scorer Lazio forward Ciro Immobile with 36 goals determined to give his best. Immobile will look to score his 11th goal with the national team. Immobile, winner of the European Golden Boot – becoming only the third Italian to ever win the award after Luca Toni and Francesco Totti.
During the press conference, Immobile said, “the Golden Boot is an important award. It gave me a lot of satisfaction to win this award ahead of some amazing players. I’m proud of what I’ve done and I’ve come here feeling really good. I want to do well with Italy too. Everyone expect a lot from me and for me to do what I did at club level.”
Photo: via figc.it
Surely, the presence of Immobile is an added boost for the Italian team. Immobile is conscious of the importance of the UEFA Nations League, “I need to go into the Euros in the best of form. It’ll be a long and complicated year, so I’ll need to be in the right frame of mind in the difficult moments. I think everyone needs to think they can start. Mancini has always had me and Belotti playing in a game each and, while physical fitness is a big topic, I think that’s the right way to go. The competition between us is healthy. We need to go into the Euros as a group of 23 players; if we stick together, then we can do something great. Postponing the Euros was good for us because we’ll have an extra year to develop.”
“We’ll need to play smart against Bosnia, perhaps because our physical condition is not optimal. We need to start with a win.”
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).
*Suspended call-ups awaiting the outcome of medical tests once the players’ respective isolation requirements are complete.
👉 The Italian National Team schedule (all times CEST):
Wednesday 2 September
13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium
17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Thursday 3 September
17:00 – Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (location TBC)
17:30 – Italy’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes – location TBC)
18:30 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence
19:00 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
Friday 4 September
20:45 – Italy vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (Stadio Franchi in Florence)
Followed by a press conference with the Coach
Saturday 5 September
10:00 – Training (behind closed doors)
17:30 – Transfer Florence to Venice
Sunday 6 September
10:45 – Transfer Venice to Amsterdam
11:00 – The Netherlands’ training at the KNVB Campus (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
13:15 – The Netherlands’ press conference (Coach and one player) at the KNVB Campus
17:30 – Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Johan Cruijff ArenA
18:00 – Italy’s training at the Johan Cruijff ArenA (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
Monday 7 September
20:45 – Netherlands vs. Italy (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
Followed by a press conference with the Coach and the squad’s return to Italy
Italy Head Coach Roberto Mancini resolving doubts ahead of the UEFA Nations League games against Bosnia & Herzegovina and the Netherlands. As reported by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) on Tuesday 1 September 2020, earlier on this evening, Jorginho from Chelsea FC arrived at Coverciano, where, as per protocol, he will be subject to tests to ascertain whether he can join the National Team in training. Brescia midfielder Sandro Tonali resulted unavailable and Manccini has decided to exclude him from the called up players.
Photo: via figc.it
The team trained at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, where they’ll take to the field on Friday evening. Head Coach Mancini sent out three teams, and they faced off in a mini tournament. During the session, Alex Meret and Lorenzo Insigne picked up knocks to their left knee and left ankle respectively. However, neither injury is currently a cause for concern.
Forwards: Andrea Belotti (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Francesco Caputo (Sassuolo), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Shanghai Shenua), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Moise Kean (Everton), Kevin Lasagna (Udinese), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna).
*Suspended call-ups awaiting the outcome of medical tests once the players’ respective isolation requirements are complete.
👉 The Italian National Team schedule (all times CEST):
Tuesday 1 September
13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium
17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Wednesday 2 September
13:45 – Press conference with a player at the Coverciano Auditorium
17:30 – Training (behind closed doors)
Thursday 3 September
17:00 – Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (location TBC)
17:30 – Italy’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes – location TBC)
18:30 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Stadio Franchi in Florence
19:00 – Bosnia & Herzegovina’s training at the Stadio Franchi in Florence (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
Friday 4 September
20:45 – Italy vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina (Stadio Franchi in Florence)
Followed by a press conference with the Coach
Saturday 5 September
10:00 – Training (behind closed doors)
17:30 – Transfer Florence to Venice
Sunday 6 September
10:45 – Transfer Venice to Amsterdam
11:00 – The Netherlands’ training at the KNVB Campus (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
13:15 – The Netherlands’ press conference (Coach and one player) at the KNVB Campus
17:30 – Italy’s press conference (Coach and one player) at the Johan Cruijff ArenA
18:00 – Italy’s training at the Johan Cruijff ArenA (open to the press for the first 15 minutes)
Monday 7 September
20:45 – Netherlands vs. Italy (Johan Cruijff ArenA)
Followed by a press conference with the Coach and the squad’s return to Italy
By Anna Italia
AC Milan announce the signing of midfielder Sandro Tonali from Brescia Calcio on loan with the option to make the deal permanent. The player will wear the number 8 jersey. The announcement was made on Wednesday 9 September 2020.
