Bianchetti insists Cremonese are ‘fired up’ to face Milan and recalls Inter past

Cremonese captain Matteo Bianchetti cannot wait to face AC Milan at San Siro, especially because of his past as an Inter player.

The Grigiorossi are back in the top flight having won the Serie B play-offs last season, and there are few tougher tests on paper in round one than a trip to San Siro to face Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan.

However, sometimes it can be a positive thing to play one of the bigger sides early on while they are figuring things out, especially when Rafael Leao is expected to miss out due to a calf issue.

There will be a bit of added motivation for Warren Bondo and Filippo Terracciano too, who left the Rossoneri for Cremonese during the current window and will want to leave a mark against their parent club.

‘Whole team are fired up’

Bianchetti spoke at a press conference ahead of Cremonese’s Serie A debut against Milan to preview what will be a big first test for them, and his comments are via MilanPress.

“I can’t wait to face Serie A with Cremo. The whole team are fired up and enthusiastic. This is a team that deserves to be in the top flight, and it would be great to be able to secure survival. We’re very fired up and enthusiastic, and we can’t wait to get started,” he said.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

“There are a lot of new faces, but a great group is being formed: many Italian players have arrived, or have been playing in Italy for many years, so integrating has been easy. We’re trying to implement the coach’s requests on the pitch.”

On playing at San Siro, as an ex-Inter player: “It’s a special experience. My first experience with top-flight football began there with my first call-ups. San Siro is a special stadium in itself, and for me the emotions will be doubly intense. Plus, there will be a lot of our fans there, and that makes me very happy.”

On the players he’s looking forward to facing: “There are so many strong players, I have a soft spot for Dzeko, who’s a super complete striker. But it’s really full of great players like Thuram, Lautaro, Leao… I can’t wait to face them with Cremo in Serie A because we can get some satisfaction.”