Giroud, Ibrahimovic: Papin judges the season of AC Milan attackers
Before the clash of Serie A between Napoli and AC Milan (this evening at 8:45 p.m.), Jean-Pierre Papin, who made the Rossoneri happy from 1992 to 1994, gave a long interview to our transalpine colleagues from the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Giroud does not always mark but he marks the spirits”
The one who was nicknamed “JPP” first returned to Olivier Giroud’s great performance against Inter Milan (a double giving his team victory on February 5): “That’s Olivier, that sums up his career. He does not always mark but he marks the spirits with exploits. »
Not to miss
An Olivier Giroud who has only scored at San Siro this season (7 goals in total in Serie A) but that doesn’t worry Papin: “There are footballers, like Ibrahimovic, who are galvanized by the whistles of opposing supporters and then there are others, like Olivier Giroud, who give the best of themselves when they feel loved. Scoring a goal at San Siro is an indescribable feeling. And then as I have already said, Giroud always scores in moments. You will see that he will soon score goals away from San Siro. »
“Ibrahimovic, he’s still a champion”
Apart from Giroud, AC Milan has three other French players in its ranks: Mike Maignan, Pierre Kalulu and Théo Hernandez. Three players who impress “JPP”: “I have always said that Maignan accomplished great things in Milan. He’s only had one bad game so far. And if you make a single mistake in the season, it proves that you are on top. Hernandez impresses me in club and selection. Maldini said about him that he would become a very best three full-back in the world and he already is. As for Kalulu, he is the one who surprised me the most: in two years, he has deteriorated considerably and I did not expect to see him succeed at this level. »
Finally, the Gazzetta dello Sport asked “JPP”, a formidable scorer (he was five times top scorer in Ligue 1 and three times in the Champions League), what he replaced in the season of Zlatan Ibrahimovic (8 goals in Serie A): “Let’s not forget that he is 40 years old. Technically, he hasn’t lost anything but he can no longer contribute as much physically as he did ten years ago. But he’s still a champion who helps his team win. Playing ten minutes at the end of the match is enough for him to score a goal. »