ABBIATI: I ALMOST LEFT MY BELOVED MILAN
CHRISTIAN ABBIATI has admitted that he was on the verge of leaving Milan before once more being given the chance to prove his worth to the club.
The former Italian under-21 goalkeeper, who is keen to prove himself to national boss Giovanni Trapattoni and earn the third goalkeeper spot behind Gianluigi Buffon and Francesco Toldo, has been in impressive form since Fatih Terim took over as coach and made him his number one.
But things could have been very different, with the talented custodian losing his first team role last season, and almost leaving his beloved Rossoneri.
"I did almost leave, but I realised it would be a bad decision," Abbiati told planetfootball.com. "With this team I have become a very happy man.
"I won a title, and that is the dream of every player, and if I left at that time it would sour my story. I would lose my wonderful feelings for the club.
"I had a lot of offers, some of which were from major clubs, but I am happy I stayed, even if there was a time that I was convinced I would have to leave if I could not be the main goalkeeper."
Abbiati, criticised in the past for his temperament, believes that the lean times have helped him mature.
"I am a lot more experienced now. You have to remember that I spent the last four months on the bench. This gave me the time to think about a lot of things.
"I am hoping to play every game I am available for in the first team this year, this hasn't always been the case in the past.
"I want to see continuity in the team, and obviously I want to win something important. Only if this is the case can I hope that Trapattoni will take me to Japan [for the World Cup]."
Abbiati has also added his weight to that of the majority of the first team, who have been unfailingly supportive of coach Fatih Terim - who many believe would have been sacked if he had not picked up a brilliant 4-2 win in the vital Milan derby against Internazionale.
"Terim is a very strong character, and only sends players on to the pitch who deserve it.
"He's very straight with us and always says what he thinks, and this is wonderful, because it is not always easy to have a relationship that is so open."
Abbiati has not targeted anything particular in his game that he needs to work on, but acknowledges the importance of the top quality coach Milan have.
"There is nothing specific I need to improve, which is fortunate because it means that I can work on trying to improve everything a little.
"I'm helped now by Pazzaglia - the goalkeeper coach at Giuseppe Meazza and he has been a Milan player in the past so he knows the pressures."
Finally, Abbiati told planetfootball his reasoning behind taking the number 18 shirt at the club, admitting is a testament to a former player.
"I took the number 18 from Leonardo, and he was a very special person."
