The former midfielder was impressed by Conte’s player: “He’s one of the best in Europe, congratulations to whoever brought him to Italy.”

There is always (at least) one date in everyone’s life, and Demetrio Albertini, who has 365 days eternally filled with himself, his talent, and his intelligence, occasionally comes up with something special on January 15. Thirty-seven years ago, in 1989, he made his Serie A debut, but look at that, in Milan-Como (almost as if it were yesterday, but with the teams reversed), and 37 years later, he walked around Pavia, torch in hand, for this Milan-Cortina that envelops him. “And while waiting for the moment to arrive, I felt the great pleasure of experiencing this day. The moment I put on my tracksuit and then saw the torch and held it in my hands, I was very moved.” Demetrio Albertini is a man and also a footballer from another era, one that ultimately remains forever, a glimmer of a time to be jealously guarded, like novels that gently imprison you. Torchbearer Albertini does (almost) everything on January 15…

“Well, I haven’t been bored for the rest of my life. Nor do I intend to be. But it was really nice. The similarity between these two events: the fog. There was fog at San Siro then, and there was fog during the journey to Pavia.”

Today’s Albertini observes the soccer of yesterday and today.

“He doesn’t make the mistake of getting stuck in melancholy or the past. Society has changed a lot, and soccer is no exception. You have to put things in context. And this world, our world, now needs to be more attractive. It’s something I learned in Spain, a culture very similar to ours, an approach that comes mainly from Real Madrid and Barcelona. Having a group of young people who belong to their own country must be a factor. Another is the desire to score more goals than the others. It’s the nature of the game.“

It’s an ideological principle.

”Competition has grown, there’s an open market, but we have to give meaning to identity and take a look at Italianness. That said, when we buy players, I would like to see players who seduce us in one-on-one situations.“

Or, if anything, dominant figures like Scott McTominay.

”He amazed me with his outstanding qualities, with the universality he has been able to impose in a year and a half. We’ve seen him do everything, play as a central midfielder and winger, striker—even that—and then defensive midfielder and playmaker. How many players like him are there? I’m not the only one who says he was the best midfielder in Italy; his colleagues said so too, electing him MVP at the Gran Galà del Calcio. Votes come from people like him and are worth more.”

Added value: goals. If they’re not beautiful, he almost doesn’t score them.

“He scores a lot. And they’re usually decisive. That’s another big difference from the norm. Given what he’s showing here, even after winning the Scudetto and the Super Cup, I don’t know if he’s the best in Europe, but he’s certainly among the best, and it may seem like a minor detail to me, but I’d also like to add: congratulations to whoever had the idea of bringing him to Naples.”

Is there anything good in this country?

“First of all, I hope Gattuso takes us to the World Cup. He has the ability to do so by building a team, because evolution is not just about tactics. We’re not bad, we have quality but we lack quantity. I’m living on hope before saying who could become world champion. On the other hand, confidence is free.“

You have a number of bonuses: name a few players.

”Pio Esposito is a 20-year-old to watch out for, and don’t be surprised. You have to have the courage to give young players a chance. Like Fabregas, who said: I’d like more Italians, but I can’t find them. His Como is beautiful. And then, easy: Nico Paz, who has been allowed to show himself for who he is and is only 21 years old, even though he has now taken center stage, and then Bernabé from Parma.”

What does Albertini see in the distance?

“Inter are the strongest, you could say. But it’s not always the strongest team that wins the Scudetto. The finish line is a long way off, they still have to play each other, there’s Milan, Napoli, Juventus and Roma, each with their own qualities. None of these surprise me: Milan, with Allegri, has Modric, the conductor that no one else has; Napoli has Conte, also a winner, with strengths and weaknesses, but demanding enough to raise the club to new heights; that Juve, with Spalletti, is there doesn’t surprise me, precisely because it has Spalletti; and Gasp’s Roma has a high standard.”