Christian Abbiati spent his last night as an active player at San Siro last night and thanked the fans in an emotional moment after the Rossoneri’s 3-1 defeat to Roma.
At the end of a bad night for Milan in which they were humiliated 3-1 by Roma at their own stadium, there was a very emotional moment as veteran goalkeeper Christian Abbiati thanked the fans at San Siro for the very last time.
Abbiati took the decision to retire from football and next week’s Coppa Italia final will be his last career match. The 38-year-old, who did not take part in last night’s match and watched the 90 minutes from the bench, explained why he decided that it was time to end his playing days.
“I certainly didn’t expect my farewell to be like this,” Abbiati told Mediaset Premium after the match. “The fans stayed behind and were really good about it. At one point I was afraid they’d leave without giving me a chance to say goodbye, but they stayed. I thank them very much.
“I took this decision because we’ve been far off the top for too long. Maybe I’m wrong to compare things with the past, but I think the right moment has come to stop. If we look at it, we’ve lost so many points against the smaller clubs who are below us in the table and when we had to make the step up in quality, we didn’t manage it. Now I will dive into my other great passion, motorbikes.”
Christian has made over 550 appearances in since making his debut with Monza in 1994. With the red and black of Milan he’s played nearly 400 matches in the 15 seasons spent, winning in the process 3 Scudetti (1998–99, 2003–04, 2010–11), one Coppa Italia (2002–03), two Suppercoppa Italiana (2004, 2011), one Champions League (2002–03) and one UEFA Super Cup (2003).
“I thought I would get more emotional, but I kept it all in,” Abbia told the Milan Channel. “I will keep thanking the fans, the club, President Berlusconi and Adriano Galliani for the rest of my life for all the wonderful moments I have enjoyed, with a host of great stars, we won everything.
“It’s a shame to say goodbye after a defeat like this. I wanted to thank the fans who waited to say goodbye to me. The save that will mean the most? To me it was the one in the derby in the Champions League in 2003 which we went on to win (beat Juventus in the final in penalties).
“Gianluigi Donnarumma? He doesn’t need me, he is a great lad, he has a sensible head on his shoulders. He has great abilities and he will keep performing well for many years. My role models were Maldini, Costacurta and Albertini and I still remember what they taught me.
“The Coppa Italia final? The mental approach is what will matter most for the final. It’s a one-off game and we can have our say, providing we don’t play with the attitude we showed against Roma.”
GRAZIE ABBIATI!
I thought abbiati would stay at least one more year at milan, to help donna improve, but unfortunatly he isnt, and its really sad because he is a true legend and could give the team a lot of boost even off the field. He has a strong character and he always was there when needed. I read about suso that he has a lot of offers and i do hope milan wont make the same mistake dumbing him without giving him a proper chance to show what he can do, we all saw what is he capable of and woult… Read more »
Grazie abbiati. Youll be missed
And the last of old Milan giants is gone….Grazie Abbiati.
Unfortunately yes. The last Mohican is gone, the last of the Milan Giants. We have none in the squad and none in the management (just Serginho as scout and Baresi as youth team coach).
.
Juve have strong old bone with Buffon & Chellini who plays many years for the club + veterans like Barzagli, Evra, Marchisio who can teach the young lads.
And also have Nedved and Pessoto in the management.
I wish we could bring in Maldini, Albertini, Boban, Billy, Gattuso…
I wish we could see Milan rise again.
We will miss you veteran
“I took this decision because we’ve been far off the top for too long”. That was a big statement to Galliani and Berlusconi, they have driven the club into deep mud and only young people with knowlege of football management and innovative thinking plus huge investment can bring the club back.
Currently the club is lacking all and if we go into 16/17 seasons like this, Milan could be out of top 20 clubs by d end of next season.
Thanks Abbiati. Respect!
Couldn’t be happier the season is over.. Abbiati thank you for everything you have given to Milan! I’m afraid that this summer Ee have a lot of work to do. Milan need to keep donnarumma Abate de sciglio antonelli romagnoli calabria kucka bonaventura and bacca.possibly niang too. The rest can go I don’t care. I hope we’ve learner from this season that if we don’t need to sell El shaarawy and he is willing to come back then keep him. Also bring back suso as he’s been very impressive at Genoa. I truly hope the Chinese investors get this done… Read more »
With SENOIR abbiati gone and Diego Lopez set to leave… What’s next?
El Sha just went to Roma for 13 million
Grazie Christian. You are a one tough loyal kind of man. Salute
He should have started the game. I’m guessing Brocchi had no say in the matter.
One of the best Goalkeeper in Milan Players, by 3 Scudetto (1998–99, 2003–04, 2010–11), one Coppa Italia (2002–03), two Suppercoppa Italiana (2004, 2011), one Champions League (2002–03) and one UEFA Super Cup (2003) shows that U are one of the best betwen another Milan best players .