Adrien Rabiot insists he ‘understood what Ruben Amorim wants’ at Milan and shrugs off the ‘controversy’ about his extended vacation. ‘That’s what it’s always like in Italy.’
He came off the bench and within minutes had provided the assist for Alphadjo Cisse to open the scoring, then netted the second himself 120 seconds later for a 2-1 victory away to Torino.
Rabiot ready to embrace Amorim’s Milan
“I am glad to be back, to have seen what ideas the coach has, and I also spoke to the Boss,” Rabiot told Sky Sport Italia, referring to patron Gerry Cardinale.
There had been some suggestions that he was unhappy with the dismissal of Max Allegri and wanted to follow his old Juventus boss to Napoli.
Amorim is certainly using him in a different way, a more advanced trequartista role behind the striker that saw him replace Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
“I already had a similar role with Roberto De Zerbi at Olympique Marseille. I like to attack the goal, so I’m happy,” assured Rabiot.
The France international had not played a minute of football since the World Cup third place final against England, as both he and Bleus teammate Mike Maignan were given extra days off this summer.
The delay returning to base prompted controversy and irritation from some fans and media, but the midfielder made an immediate impact in his season debut.
“The World Cup was good, we reached the semi-final even if we wanted to win it. I needed that time off to rest both physically and mentally, because it was a tough season, especially the way it ended at Milan.
“I returned with great hunger, we asked the coach for a couple more days and he told us to take four, so I don’t understand why it was controversial. Then again, that’s always what it is like in Italy.
“I’m pleased to be back on the field after just one week of training, but I understood what the coach wants, what he expects from me, and I’m glad to have contributed a goal and assist.”
How is Rabiot adapting to the change of philosophy from Allegri to Amorim at Milan?
“I am closer to the goal when we recover the ball, so this season we’ll try to have more possession than the opponents, and then it ought to be easier to create chances, score goals and provide assists,” he concluded.
