Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recalling his time with Ronaldo ahead of the AC Milan game
Ahead of the game against AC Milan on Wednesday, Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang recalled his time spent at the Italian club when he was young and what he learnt from one of the greats of the game, Ronaldo Nazario (h/t Football.London).
The Aubameyang family has a special connection with Milan as a club. It is a place where father Pierre Francois worked as a scout while eldest brother Catilina and second-born Willy made first-team appearances. The youngest, who is currently at Stamford Bridge, joined the club in 2007.
The 33-year-old did not play a single first-team game for the club despite his obvious talents. But, with the team Milan had back then, it was nigh on impossible for the youngster to get a game. Out of all the great talents in the team, it was Ronaldo, at the tail-end of his career, who made a lasting impression on Aubameyang.
Here’s what the Gabon star said about his time in Italy and Ronaldo (h/t Football.London):
“To tell the truth, he was a bit fat by then but he was still the best. I will always remember when Carlo Ancelotti had a go at him about his fitness. He asked, ‘What do you want me to do, run or score goals?’ Ancelotti replied, ‘score goals’. In the next game, Ronaldo scored twice! That is part of the character and as a striker, you need that confidence because you have to be strong mentally.
“I was just a young kid among all those stars, just playing and training. I was just trying to get as much as I can and pick up all these things in my career. At that time, the team was really strong. Ronaldo, [Paolo] Maldini, [Alessandro] Nesta. I was very young and that is why I chose to go on loan for a few years.”
Although it didn’t happen for the striker in Milan, he has gone on to become one of the best marksmen in Europe after he arrived at Borussia Dortmund. He was great at Arsenal and for a brief period at Barcelona before coming to Chelsea.
The Blues fans would be hoping that the 33-year-old does well in not just one, but both the games coming up against the Italian opposition in the space of six days.
It is important for the club too as they are currently bottom of their Champions League group. So, they have to at least beat Milan once and not lose against them in the other to arrest some hope back to qualify for the knock-out stages.
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Aubameyang’s goal against Crystal Palace, his first in Chelsea colours, should give him the confidence to further express his quality and cause problems to opposition teams.