Tonali: I was anxious before my 10-month ban on the game and came back. Now our whole family is a Milan fan

May 12th Newcastle midfielder Tonali was interviewed by the club. The 26-year-old Italian midfielder talked about Newcastle's performance this season, his daily life, his life in Newcastle and his girlfriend, etc. What is your daily life like?

My daily routine is very, very simple, because I wake up at 8 o'clock every morning and will go out after 20 minutes. So I went straight to the training ground. It doesn't take long to prepare. I had a coffee at home and went to the training ground for breakfast because we all had breakfast at the training ground and spent 20 to 25 minutes with our teammates to dress and clear our minds.

But my daily life will never change. I never change my routine. I don't like to take care of my hair or skin care for training. The game day may be a little different, but I don't do it for training. It looks good naturally.

Talk about your dog, Margo

I have a French bulldog named Margo. She is very cute. She always stays with me at night and sleeps with me. This is my first dog, and it is a bit difficult to raise, but she is not a dog, but a family member.

Is it helpful for you to adapt to the environment with her? After all, you just moved from Italy 18 months ago and it was a bit difficult for me because I was alone in the first two months, new houses, new cities, new places, and usually you will wait for your family or dog to come. But the preseason in the United States is great because I found a house, a car, and settled my daily life. It's completely different for me, my girlfriend and my dog.

Are you adapting too much now?

I think the first week I just signed was actually good because I found it was a great team: young, teammates were great, the head coach and staff were great. Everyone took the initiative to talk to me in the first two or three weeks. I like this because it is the same with new players when I was in Milan.

I love when we have a team and have staff help with everything. The atmosphere at the training ground is great because the people here are happy every day. The atmosphere of the training base is very special, and the people here are full of happiness every day. Even if you have a bad day, it will be different when you come here, the staff are always active and the whole team is in a different state.

Will this happy environment affect you? For example, make you happier?

Of course! I think the key is people. If you have top people, top teams, top head coaches around you, everything will be much easier. Which teammates are

closest to?

I like to stay with Willok because he returned to the first game after eight or nine months of injury. This is crazy! I also often chat with Bruno, Jolington, and Jacob. Jacob is a good guy, I like him, whether it is in the game, training or daily life, young players like him are very important to the team.

What places do you like to go in Newcastle?

I like to try restaurants and often go to the city center for coffee. But as the focus of this city, it is always surrounded by fans when you go out, and it is very special. You know how important you are to the city and the fans. The people here live for Newcastle and are crazy about the team. This is so wonderful! The first time I saw someone wearing jerseys in downtown Monday, I have never seen such a fanaticism outside of game day in my life!

I think we will take the dog out for activities after training every day. Either here or outside, Julia and I will be with us. It may be similar every week, but the rest days will be a little different. But I like this because it's uh...it's a quiet place, people are quiet, and people are all very good, and we like to live here. To me, for Julia, for dogs, too. I think this place is perfect for us.

You were recently engaged, right?

Julia (Tonali's girlfriend): Yes. It's quite strange, because I didn't expect it at all. So I was completely shocked at the time, but of course I was very happy! We decided to get married this year because there will be a World Cup next year. So we are scheduled to get married on July 1st, and now we are almost ready.

Are you preparing for the wedding?

No, it's Julia! Of course, I will discuss it with her, but it's just a talk.

How does it feel to live here together?

We live together. But she went to the United States for two weeks on vacation and I stayed here with Margo. She is pretty good.

Is it enough to take Margo alone as your company?

is enough. When I was alone, Margo was the perfect partner. She is particularly quiet. She has lived a comfortable life for two weeks, and it is the same for me and the team. We have performed very well this month, and I think we have played the best performance of the season now. The past four or five games have been very, very good, and they have played very beautifully. I feel like we have to keep moving forward because there are four games left. We need to stay focused every day and every week.

Let's talk about your childhood in Italy?

When I was a child, my life was actually similar, because if you play football, the weekly schedule was the same in every country and every city. But it’s a little different in Milan, because my family is very close to me, so are Julia’s family. But here we live alone.

I, Julia, dog, and some friends. But the sense of distance is completely different. But we were doing well, and it was okay without family. Occasionally my family and Julia's family would come to the game or simply come with us. I think this is perfect, neither completely separated from family nor too lonely.

How much impact did your family grow up on you?

may be 14 or 15 years old. I am very close to my family, especially with my father and mother. Because I played football in Brescia until I was 15 years old, and it took me an hour to go home from the training ground every day. After I was 15 years old, I lived alone in my house in Brescia, which is very similar to Newcastle now. My family is 1 hour away from me, and my daily training takes up a lot of time, so I have less time with my parents.

You have been a Milan fan since you were a child, right? Is this influenced by your father?

Yes. Is my father the only one? No, the whole family is. But my mother used to be an Inter Milan fan because her mother's family supports Inter Milan! But in 2019 she's 'rebelled' (laughs). Now the whole family has become a Milan fan.

Did you and Julia meet in Milan?

No, we met in the UK.

how did we meet?

In a nightclub, you know, it's the place to dance at night. I was "working" there.

Are you dancing?

No, no, no! (Laughs) Just to play. We met there.

Transfer to England to play football is also a big deal for you, right?

Of course! I always loved England but it was a tough, brand new experience at first. But now it's very good, I have my own 'family ': my teammates' wives group, and my own life. But it's different for Julia, but we met a lot of good people in Newcastle, which is so important to us, especially her.

You have some difficult times in the first year, how critical is this support?

I think this kind of support is supported by everyone, whether it is the people on the team or every fan I meet now, from the first day I came to Newcastle to now. This is awesome! Because this is difficult to see in other teams and other cities.

Remember the comeback against Nottingham Forest? What did it mean to you at that time?

Of course! I was very anxious a week before the game and didn’t play football for 10 months! But I focused on the game for 1 minute and wanted to win. I was exhausted and paralyzed after 65 minutes. It was a magical moment in my career. You know, I only played 8 games for Newcastle, and fans still supported it after 10 months of ban. This is incredible.

I think after 60 minutes, 65 minutes, I'm already very tired, especially after the game, it's a magical moment for me, a magical moment for my football and my season because it's my first game since the suspension and I've played before Nottingham Forest. I only played eight games in Newcastle, which is really amazing to me because it's hard to find the support of fans for you after 10 months of suspension.

Why are your midfield combinations with Jolinton and Guimarães so tacitly?

We trained a lot together, but I practiced myself 10 times to kick the No. 8 position. After the first five or six games of this season, I spent a week practicing No. 6. This is for me and Guimaraes, we frequently switch positions on the court, and even rotated 90 minutes after six games. We change positions. But I discussed this with the head coach many times. For example, can I play No. 6 or No. 8, and so will Guimaras.

We communicated with each other and decided to let Jolinton play the No. 8, while Guimaras and I switched flexibly at No. 6. So I played No. 6, he played No. 8, and he could be interchanged at any time during the game.

Now we play great football, and I, Guimaraes, Jolinton and Willoc are very good at understanding. The substitute midfielder was also very happy when he came on the court because we were really playing well now.

How do you view the current situation of the team?

I observe the competition between the league and the Champions League qualification, and every game is difficult for any team. So we have to come one by one, and now there are only the last two games left... No, we have to play all the games, and we only want the next game every week. But we 100% want to play in the Champions League next season! Although he won the League Cup and also obtained the Europa League qualification, fans deserve the Champions League qualification. Everyone is worthy of this team, staff, and Newcastle!