‘A lot more pressure’ – Sportiello reflects on Milan experience after sealing Atalanta return

Marco Sportiello was unveiled as a new Atalanta player on Monday, and he reflected on his two seasons with AC Milan.

One of the areas that Milan were perhaps not expected to change much this summer was the goalkeeping department. However, rumours surfaced about the idea of Sportiello leaving to return to Atalanta, and sure enough his exit was confirmed just over two weeks ago.

The Italian leaves the Rossoneri have held the deputy position for the last couple of seasons, and he was replaced by Pietro Terracciano who joined on a free from Fiorentina. We compared the two in an analysis published after the latter signed.

‘I didn’t think about it for a second’

Sportiello spoke at a press conference this afternoon to officially kick start his latest spell with Atalanta. He commented on what he learned from his time with Milan, as MilanPress relayed his comments.

“These have been two important years. I’ve gotten to know a different environment, a historic club, but this year, not having any European competition and having a goalkeeper of a certain calibre [Maignan] wouldn’t have helped me make a few more appearances.

“I’m really happy, I didn’t think about it for a second. At Milan I certainly trained and played with players of a certain calibre, but compared to here, there’s a lot more pressure.

“I think that’s the only difference there is. Then I trained with Maignan, he was an important example, you always try to ‘steal’ something to grow, but there are no differences.”