On coaching AC Milan for the 2009-2010 season:
"[AC Milan] was great...Thiago Silva needed confidence, directions. Europe isn't easy for a skilled Brazilian defender. Abate and Antonini had to improve mentally and believe: I can. It's nice to see Antonini on the national side. Borriello needed room. Dida never said anything, but he worked like a madman. He was great. Pirlo's silence was powerful. Ambrosini carried us in his first year as captain. Seedorf showed character. Ronaldinho regained his energy and enthusiasm. Occasionally he would start to fade and I would give him a push and he would come back. Pato's first season as a starter was marked by injuries and difficulties. Nesta returned after being written off. It was great. From the exterior they look like champions, but from an insider's view they are fragile, sensitive people. Leading them was personally an exciting and gratifying experience. It was great."
On his decision to leave and Silvio Berlusconi:
"Milan was so many things for me. I was a player, executive and coach for the club. At a certain point in time, after 13 years with the club, I thought that I would be with Milan forever. Instead, I broke it off. I'm going to need this year to change who I am, to see things objectively, not as part of the AC Milan organisation."
"Let's make two things clear. The first is that I would have never left after 13 years for tactical reasons, also because today Milan play the same way as they did before. The second thing is that I decided to leave. I forewent the final year of my contract to leave on the best terms possible. I left because my character and style were not compatible with his. I said all the same things to him. Narcissus does not like anything that is not a reflection of him."
Read the full text of the September 2010 interview with Leonardo here:
"Leonardo takes a Swipe: Berlusconi like Narcissus." La Gazzetta dello Sport. September 18, 2010. Interview by Luigi Garlando.
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