GdS: Spell in Spain, derby hero, Azzurri – Gabbia’s story has just begun | OneFootball

If you asked AC Milan fans who their favourite player is at this point in time there would be a lot of shouts for Matteo Gabbia, and it is thanks to a rise that truly begun at the start of the year.

La Gazzetta dello Sport recall how Gabbia has been working day by day, one step at a time, to try and conquer Milan. In the summer of 2023 he left his boyhood club to try a new experience at Villarreal, in January he returned to base in a hurry for emergency reasons.

Game after game he climbed the hierarchies first with Stefano Pioli and then with Paulo Fonseca, benching some expensive signings, scoring a derby winner and becoming the leader of a group looking for pillars.

The latest example comes from the 2-1 defeat suffered against Fiorentina before the international break in which he spoke to the media and called for everyone to react.

“We are not satisfied with how we approached the match, we feel this defeat. The team did not do our best, we have to look ourselves in the face and understand why we played like this,” he said.

“We did not have the continuity to be able to win, during this break we have to work and have a different continuity. Everything must start from us, in the locker room I saw the right disappointment. There is little positive.”

In these words we can find the reasons that have led the defender to be among the most appreciated by the fans today: the sense of responsibility and the attachment to the shirt, things that have often been lacking in recent weeks.

In such a confusing moment, Gabbia is seen by many as an example to follow to start again. He is composed in his statements, focused on the pitch, always respectful and an emblem of ‘Milanismo’, given his growth path that started in the youth team in 2012.

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His journey also represents one of the greatest aspirations for a boy from the youth team, who grew up with the Rossoneri being his team. From watching matches as a fan at San Siro – next to his grandparents Gilberto and Adriana – up to his arrival in the first team and the joy of the derby winner.

He has earned it by overcoming difficult moments (until recently, he wasn’t even considered a candidate to start) and also by working as hard as he could, even leaving home to grow as a footballer and as a man in Spain.

For Fonseca, he has now been a starter since the match against Venezia and his excellent start even led to his first call-up to the Italian national team. The curious thing is that even with the Azzurri Matteo made it clear that Milan is always in his thoughts, choosing ‘Sarà perché ti amo’ by Ricchi e Poveri as his initiation song.

After the week with Spalletti, the challenge will be to give a hand to Fonseca in reuniting the squad and getting results back on track, maybe with the consideration of having the armband.