[hashkal]

Some news from an unsung hero at Milan.

"Andrea Pirlo has been basking in the light of another excellent performance for Milan, this time in the win over Ascoli on Wednesday. His lofted ball for Marek Jankulovski's only goal of the game had been described as a 'Golden Ball pass' but the midfielder smiled and said: 'I am not expecting it ... I haven't read the papers yet but I am very pleased to have provide the telling pass for the goal. This is my aim to set up my team-mates to aid such an important victory.'

It was a tough game against Ascoli: 'It became more difficult when we failed to score in the first half and they became more closed. However, once we broke the deadlock it went a lot better. We have started well but there is a long campaign ahead of us. Even with the penalty, we are looking with more optimism to the teams ahead of us. We can't look at anything else, we have to keep going, starting on Saturday.'

Andrea added: 'We know Livorno will be a difficult game, as it is in generally away. We are going there looking to win and play the best we can. We have found the right method with the turnover. We have a lot of good players in the squad and there are plenty of opportunities to experiment with everyone.'"

Always enjoy reading what A.Pirlo has to say.

This post has been edited by hashkal: Sep 21 2006, 11:25 PM