Tijjani Reijnders has shed a bit of light on how his first season at AC Milan is going, and he also declared his mission to nail down a starting spot for the Netherlands in view of the European Championship.
The midfielder is one of 15 Milan players that have been summoned for international duty, with the Netherlands playing Scotland on Friday in a friendly in Amsterdam, then Germany the following Tuesday in another friendly in Frankfurt.
Reijnders gave an interview to RTL Nieuws while away on international duty, and he began by talking about the idea of putting the name of his newborn son Xavién on his boots.
“No, that still has to be done. He’s a beautiful little guy. Luckily there is FaceTime. That way I can see him.”
Reijnders drives from his home in Milan through a beautiful landscape to the famous Milanello training complex with the mountains in the background.
“But the photos of Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard on the wall are less noticeable. It might become a bit like training at AZ, a daily occurrence,” he added.
Reijnders was asked what it means to play alongside someone who has won almost everything there is to win in Olivier Giroud, including international honours.
“I get along well with him. We joke with each other quite often. I don’t speak Italian yet, but I get along well with everyone. I have been accepted, I believe.”
Playing with shirt No.14, Reijnders has been a starter for AC Milan since the first round of the Serie A and he has played in 27 of the 29 league matches.
“I don’t think the title is possible anymore. But we are second and still in the Europa League.”
The former AZ Alkmaar star has convinced Ronald Koeman in his six international appearances and now wants to cement a place next to Frenkie de Jong in view of the Euros this summer.
“That is also the position I focus on at the Dutch team. In my six international matches, I have only played one half together with Frenkie and now he is unfortunately not there due to an injury. But I think we know what we have to do. We don’t have to play together very often for that.”
Teun Koopmeiners, Marten de Roon, Jerdy Schouten, Quinten Timber, Joey Veerman and Mats Wieffer will all provide competition for that role.
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