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Sandro Tonali - "Everything is different"

by Jaspar Shepherdson ·
Sandro Tonali - "Everything is different"

In any other circumstance, saying a 24-year-old footballer with a league title and £55m transfer fee to his name would need a major career comeback would be an odd thing to say.

But in the case of Sandro Tonali, the Italian has shed some light on his own comeback this season, in what’s been a rollercoaster eight months for our Italian maestro.

In a new interview from Bein Sports, Tonali has spoken to Andy Kerr on his determination to give back to fans and the club following his suspension, discussing our cup final win, the support he's receiveed, his chants and Champions League ambitions.

Newcastle "dream" turned reality and

Upon his initial return back in August, Tonali spoke very openly about how much the support of the Toon faithful, alongside professional help from the club, meant to him during his long term ban.

"Wow. It was amazing. Before the game it was a dream, but after 10 minutes I felt we had a chance to win. It was the best feeling in the world.

"Every time I played, from the first game until the ban, I felt different. When I had the ban for 10 months, I was still inside St James' Park, and everything from the fans felt the same (levels of affection). It was the same as before the ban.

"Any player who had a 10-month ban if you have those fans it makes it easier and it felt quicker. Every game we have great fans and have 50,000 home fans every game whether it is raining or in the sun.

"Even if you lose three games, the stadium is always still full. It is amazing. In Newcastle, everything is different for the people because it is passionate."

Tonali also acknowledged the fans for having blessed him with not one, but two different chants to his name, saying he preferred the quicker tempo of ‘Ole Ole Ole’ as a motivator.


On form and reaching the next level at Newcastle

As a Scudetto winner who was likened to Andrea Pirlo on the past, it’s hard to imagine just what a high ceiling means to a player of Tonali’s calibre.

But the maestro from Milan instead feels that the best is still yet to come for him and the team on Tyneside, and that any post-cup lull is just a small obstacle they will have to overcome.

“After the trophy, everything is difficult, but we need to be very very strong. Because we’ve won the trophy in England, I think sometimes it’s often for the players to go down for a couple of weeks, but we need to push.”

Tonali's Champions League ambitions

Tonali only managed to start three of Newcastle’s six group stage games in the 23/24 Champions League, which is something he will be hoping to put right next season should the Magpies qualify - and it’s fair to say he likes our chances.

“We spoke in the team because we have a chance (of qualifying) this season, with five team qualification it  is different than four. We have played one game less."

Like his coach, Tonali has ingrained the “we have 10 finals” mentality to each remaining game, and with him and the equally-charismatic and talented pairing of Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton in the heart of midfield, it’s not hard to see why we’re considered one of the favourites to play in the UCL come September.

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