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00:00Good afternoon everyone. Welcome along to this pre-match press conference on the eve of
00:06Napoli. Milan will start with Milan TV. Thank you, Nicola. Good afternoon. Coach, I wanted
00:11to ask you the following. In the last few matches, because the team have played well,
00:17because you've been applied, you've been organised tactically, there have been very comfortable
00:23wins. Milan taking the lead. Milan essentially controlling and commanding games. After these
00:35four matches, the difficulties that you'll encounter tomorrow night against the top team,
00:41the reigning Italian champions on maximum points, are Milan ready for those challenges?
00:46Good afternoon everyone. We know that we're up against Napoli tomorrow night and they deservedly
00:52won the Scudetto last season. They've also made a real splash in the transfer market and they're
00:59still the favourites to win the Scudetto. Antonio Conte is brilliant at setting his team up,
01:06in motivating his players and in getting the best out of his individual talent. So we're up against
01:13the team based on the statistics where we need to do a good job to overturn the statistics because
01:19in their last 26 matches, Napoli have won 18 and drawn eight.
01:30Milan have always lost against Napoli in the last four occasions in September. So there are a few
01:35numbers that are going against us. We hope to overturn these. We need to be very switched on because
01:41Napoli have some excellent players and quality players. They don't afford many chances defensively,
01:46so it'll certainly be an excellent game. Good afternoon, Max Allegri. Before the Udinese game,
01:53you dubbed it one of the four crucial matches of the season. How can you define the first big
02:00match of the season against this Napoli side? It's a great game. It's the first big match of the campaign,
02:08so it's going to be a significant test for us. We're in good form, both mentally and physically.
02:15We've also got Rafael Liao back. He'll be available for selection. The last players that joined the club
02:22are also getting fitter and it's only natural. The more time we spend together, the more we work as a
02:27result and therefore the players get to know each other a lot better out there on the pitch. So we need
02:32to approach the game in the knowledge that we will encounter a number of difficulties. We need to
02:37make sure we play well for 100 minutes. Sky, coach, besides what comes to pass tomorrow or the season
02:45in general, the feeling that we have, don't know whether you share it, is that you have aroused,
02:51you have reawoken Milan. I'm not talking only about the atmosphere, the mood around the club, but
03:02people really trust you. Do you share that feeling? And did you already have that feeling on the 7th of
03:12July when you took charge of the club? First and foremost, I'm pleased that the crowd will fill out San Siro
03:20tomorrow and they'll get behind the team. That's important. No, the fans have trusted the club
03:26as opposed to me, but I always say the club is at the heart of our results. The club needs to be strong
03:33and solid with a very clear strategy. I think we've all started working well together. A lot of excitement
03:41this season. We're very focused as well. As I said, the team got some good results at the start of the
03:48season, but we mustn't think that we have resolved all of our issues. We need to keep working because
03:53we have another important game tomorrow, a wonderful match to be involved in. It's an important test to
03:58try and take another step forward. And that's what we need to work upon. And above all, on a daily basis,
04:06we need to get better. We need to do that with great enthusiasm, with a lot of desire to make sure
04:14that we can secure certain results. Corriere della Sera.
04:19Hi, Max. Hi. Over the last few days, I was really struck by what Antonio Conte said when he said
04:25Milan are built as a Champions League team. They played the Champions League last season, whereas Napoli
04:35aren't. Do you think that Napoli have a worse squad than Milan do? I don't know.
04:42The club have worked very well in the transfer market. We've got an excellent squad of a nice mix of
04:49more experienced and younger players. So we need to think about ourselves, about working, and we need
04:58to try and lay the ground to make sure that come March we're in a good position to try and compete.
05:05First and foremost, our target is to finish in the top four positions. There are a number of teams that
05:11will be competing for Champions League football, so it will be tough. Serie A is very challenging as a
05:18league, but we need to think about ourselves. As for what other people think about us,
05:24I'm not overly bothered by that. What matters is
05:30keeping this trend in terms of feel-good factor, enthusiasm, wanting to improve, but make sure that we
05:36stay on an even keel. That's hugely important. Mediaset. Hi Max. From a psychological perspective,
05:44a big game like this, a six-pointer, what can it give you in terms of self-belief,
05:49for self-esteem within the squad, in terms of your targets? And could you explain how much
05:55Rafael Liao could be involved in this game, given you said he's available for selection?
06:01How long he can last, I don't know, because he's only trained twice with us.
06:06He's been out of action for 45 days, a month and a half, so in the sense that he's been training
06:11separately. As for the result, we mustn't think about tomorrow night's result. We need to focus
06:16on producing a good performance in a big game. It's above all a test to see how far we've come
06:24against the reigning champions.
06:29Hi Coach. You and Conte have really underpinned your two teams, so Allegri's Milan and Conte's
06:40Napoli. What's so difficult in terms of preparing a game against Conte as one of the best coaches
06:47around? And have you been in touch with one another recently? Have you seen each other
06:53recently? Or do you simply respect each other from afar? As for Conte, no, I haven't been in touch
06:59with him. As for Antonio, Conte's teams, besides always being very organized in an attacking sense,
07:08they're defensively teams that afford you very few chances. It's difficult to score goals against them.
07:13I remember his three years at Juventus, his year at Inter, last season with Napoli,
07:22where, if I'm not mistaken, I think Napoli only scored 56 or 59 goals, but they conceded very few,
07:30and that allowed them to win Serie A. So those are the characteristics of his team, but you don't need
07:39me to talk about Conte. Clearly, the numbers speak for themselves. And what was the first question?
07:44Oh, that was the question. Okay, that's it.
07:50Hi Coach. Now that Raffiogliau will come back to full fitness, the question is, will Milan keep playing
07:57with a 3-5-2 with a two-man strike force? Or are you considering bolstering the front line by putting a
08:06third man up front, by having a front three as was the initial idea? We'll see that over the coming
08:13days and weeks. Raffiogliau needs to get back to 100% fitness. He is improving. He had a good hour.
08:19Christian Pulisic is also improving. Santi Jimenez got off the mark in terms of goals. We hope that he
08:26can kick on from that. And within matches, there are a number of substitutions which are crucial.
08:35League seasons or targets that you need to achieve ultimately come down to the substitutes. We're
08:44coming off the bench and winning or losing matches. If they do a good job off the bench,
08:51you can secure your targets. If so, you might miss out because you can't allow your intensity
08:57to drop when you make substitutions. I think Milan also have this type of play on the bench as well.
09:02It will be very difficult for me to pick a starting 11 tomorrow. I hope to get it right. But what matters
09:07is that those that are on the bench will be willing mentally in order to give a helping hand
09:14as and when they need to come on to try and ultimately swing the match in our favour.
09:24I wanted to ask you from a physical perspective and from a mental standpoint as well, where are the
09:32team at? And above all, whether Tuesday night's Coppa Italia game against Lecce and you picked a few new faces
09:44in that, has that given you a few more selection headaches ahead of tomorrow's starting 11?
09:50I've got quite a few doubts about tomorrow's starting 11, so I hope to resolve that before
09:56tomorrow night, otherwise it would be a bit of an issue. But Tuesday night's match against Lecce,
10:03even when it was 11 v 11, that game confirmed that Kony de Winter,
10:10Zachary Atacame when he came on played well, Christopher Cuncu performed well. It shows that
10:16there's a group of young players that are becoming a team and we need to work on that. Above all,
10:25because we all need to have a goal in mind and our personal targets need to be geared towards the
10:32team's ultimate goals, which is our aim as a whole, ours, the clubs and the fan base, namely that Milan
10:39must play the Champions League next season. Pietro Massara. Hi, coach. Hi. A couple of days ago,
10:47Mike Mignon on his Instagram profile published a story with the Curva saying we're missing you.
10:57There was a good turnout from the fan base at Udine, but we know you're missing that atmosphere at San
11:04Ciro. How nice would it be nice to hear everyone, including the Curva getting behind the team in
11:09such a big game against Napoli? There's no doubt that having the fans giving us a big lift is hugely
11:19important. So we expect that tomorrow night. Sport Italia.
11:28Hello, coach. 20 years ago,
11:33you unveiled your dissertation at Coverciano about three midfielders in a 4-3-3 with Spal, no? Milan's
11:42midfield now has three central midfielders. Modric is untouchable, Rabiot probably the same. The other
11:50number eight, Fofana, Loftus-Cic, Ricci, Yashadi will come back soon. What are you asking for in that
12:00position? The most important thing the club did, and I'm delighted about that, is the fact that Rabiot's
12:09signing, he's an international footballer, has certainly raised the bar in terms of competition
12:15for places. So we have six very good players with different skill sets, apart from Luka Modric,
12:27who's something that you no longer see in football. Thank goodness we've got him at our place, but I'm
12:36very happy about that. They're very reliable players, and that's what matters most. In order to get
12:40results, you need to make sure that within a team you have players that are 100% reliable.
12:53Hi, I wanted to ask you a question about you as a person.
12:58People said that Allegri at Juventus wanted to win matches by a nose and all you cared about was
13:09getting results. Now people are saying that you like to play football and you've evolved. How can we
13:14strike a balance between these assessments on you? I really beat the drum about balance because
13:28everyone has their opinions in football and ultimately people's perceptions change their opinion
13:39on someone's job one season and then how they performed the year after. What ultimately matters
13:45are results. There are some games that will win 1-0 and I hope there are lots of those. And there will
13:52also be some matches where we'll win 2-0 or 3-2. But what matters is that the team need to make sure
14:01they keep their shape. They need to know that when we have the ball, we need to try and score a goal.
14:05And when we're out of possession, we need to try and not concede. And that's very important.
14:10Hi, coach. Looking at the clips of Teo scoring goals in Saudi Arabia, a lot of people are saying
14:18it would be nice to see Teo Hernandez under Max Allegri. But I feel in the last two or three games,
14:23Pervis Estupinian has been very convincing. What's your opinion on the Ecuador international? He's an
14:29excellent player. That's why we signed him. He's improving and he still needs to settle in.
14:33We shouldn't forget that we signed 10 or 12 new players. Estupinian is a consummate professional
14:40and I'm delighted to have him available for selection. He's improved in the last few games,
14:45both physically and technically. La Repubblica.
14:49Hi, coach. People have been making comparisons between Conte's Napoli last season with no European
15:01football, a bit like this Milan side that started with a defeat in match day one and the Rossellini
15:07side this season. I want to ask you, on the 29th of October last season, Napoli won at Milan and sent out a
15:14message to the rest of Serie A. How much do you identify with that? And before the Udinese game,
15:21you said it'd be one of the four important games. And what about tomorrow's game?
15:26Tomorrow's game, as I said, is an important match. It's a big game against the team that won the Scudetto
15:31last season. As for whether we're playing Champions League football or not, the games you're not
15:35playing. I'll say it again. I've said it in the past and I'll keep saying it. We're working towards
15:44Milan getting back into the Champions League and we all need to play on Wednesday. I need to be out
15:50there on a dugout Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I need to be out there in the dugout in the Champions
15:55League and Milan need to be involved in Europe's Premier Club competition because Milan have to
15:59be involved in that competition. I'd rather play a game every three days as opposed to repairing one
16:04game a week and only playing in Serie A. Good afternoon, Max.
16:15You've followed in the footsteps of Conte. You've come up against one another many times in the past.
16:19You know each other well. Work ethic, pressure on the players, will to win and very focused
16:28defensively. But does a player have more fun being coached by Allegri or Conte? I don't know. You need to
16:35ask the players. I don't know. What I will say is I've got the utmost respect for Antonio Conte because
16:44he's a consumer professional all across the board and everyone has their own character. Maybe we're
16:52very different or maybe we're as different as we are similar. I don't know. But over the course of
16:58his career, Antonio Conte has got some great results and he continues to do so.
17:04Hi, coach. I wanted to come back to what my colleague was asking in terms of
17:07the opinions on you and maybe you've managed to win over some of your detractors in recent weeks. But
17:14has Max Allegri evolved over that last sabbatical or ultimately is it the players that make the
17:23difference like Modric you mentioned earlier on? I watched a lot of football matches
17:30last year when I was out of work, just as I did the two years when I took some time off before.
17:36You know, that's why I said people need to be balanced. I hope it's not the case tomorrow,
17:41but if we lose tomorrow, people might say Allegri has no longer evolved. But what matters is the team
17:47producing good performances and get results. But ultimately, when you look at results, there are some
17:54matches where you play well and you score goals, other matches where there are difficult games you
17:59need to roll up your sleeves and still get across the line. It's all part of the team's development.
18:06And there are some games where you might not necessarily be your best and you still need to
18:10get results because ultimately you can't secure your targets always by playing champagne football,
18:16because there'll be seven or eight games over the course of the season that you need to win ugly
18:20and you need to prepare for that. You need to be prepared for those ugly games.
18:27La Gazzetta, let's do some last few questions. Marco Guidi. Hi, coach.
18:34You reeled off a few statistics about Napoli earlier on. They're on maximum points, top of the table,
18:40reigning champions, and yet all of the betting companies have Milan as favourites tomorrow.
18:45Are you surprised by that or are you surprised that Milan are already competitive against a team
18:52like Napoli? I don't know what other people think. I know what I can see in terms of what
18:58we're working on. And we're only into match day five. So there are still 34 matches to be played.
19:13And that's four per 30. So 102 points.
19:21So there's a lot of water that still needs to go under the bridge. But I think we need to take
19:25things step by step, keep improving. We need to remain on an even keel. And as I've said,
19:31this is something that we all need to work upon. And we need to know that at Milan winning matches
19:41is the rule. Losing should be the exception. That's why focusing on getting results and having our
19:52target clear in mind is something that can get us a few extra points.
19:56Hi, coach. I've looked a little bit at the data and the numbers. Tomorrow,
20:04so I'm also looking ahead to the Juventus game next week, maybe it'd be better to actually,
20:08in terms of the six pointers, to get two points rather than three. So how important is it not to
20:15lose tomorrow? Because if you get two points, you drop four potentially. But if you get three,
20:21maybe you lose up six points. Is it important not to lose? I don't know. It's important to play well
20:27to try and get a result. If we win the game, then we'll all be a lot more delighted and a positive result,
20:37a draw. We'd happily accept that as well. But of course, if we were to come over the defeat,
20:43then we need to work on things that didn't work well. And we also need to keep working on things,
20:51even if we get a result. We mustn't focus solely on the result. We need to work on our performance.
20:56As I said, tomorrow is a game where we're up against a team like Napoli that over the last 26 games have
21:01won 18 and drawn eight. I think they only lost once at Como last season. In Milan history, I think in
21:10September Milan have very rarely beaten Napoli. And so we need to do a very good job to try and
21:18overturn the odds. Because that also comes into it. Sartorio. Hi, coach. I'd like to come back to
21:26the strike force. I'm not asking you who you're going to pick tomorrow, but I'd like to ask whether
21:31Christian Pulisic and Christopher Nkunku can play together or whether you need someone to actually
21:36fill the box of Ruben Loftus' cheek, for instance. As I said, they're all doing a good job. And I
21:44have some selection headaches. What matters is those that start the game and above all,
21:48those that are on the bench, that they are ready as and when the game gets into its crucial stages,
21:54they all need to be ready above all those coming off the bench. Also understand that everyone wants to
22:00play, but I can't pick more than 11 players. And above all, ultimately, all of us secure our targets.
22:09It feels counterintuitive, but the players that ultimately decide seasons are those coming off the bench.
22:21Only a month has gone by since Milan Cremonesi, since the 23rd of August, but it feels like a lifetime
22:27ago. You deserve a lot of credit and the teams have a lot of credit for the feel-good factor that's
22:31come back, the club as well. But do you think that Milan have matured to the right degree over
22:37the last month to not necessarily go overboard over the last few weeks? Now you've got crucial
22:45matches coming up, Napoli, Juventus. How mature is your team? We'll see that tomorrow. Our first test is
22:52tomorrow night. But every Sunday night, every Saturday, when we plan a Saturday, there'll be
22:59some important tests. As for credit, we need to keep working. As you said, a month has gone by.
23:07We've gone from the 23rd of August when we lost against Cremonesi. It's not that we've resolved
23:12anything over the last month, because we're not in the Champions League at this moment in time,
23:16nor have we won the Scudetto. We're not out of the Champions League places. Tomorrow night's game
23:23is a great match to be involved in. It'll be wonderful and it'll be a terrific test. So tomorrow,
23:29the Scudetto won't be decided. Champions League football won't be determined tomorrow night either.
23:33So there's a whole host of other matches to be involved in. We need to go in step by step,
23:38step because you need a certain number of points to get into the Champions League and they won't give
23:46you 70 points tomorrow by beating Napoli and you're automatically in the Champions League. If you
23:52win, you get three. If you lose, you get none. If you draw, you get one. Kanta, you said that Adrian Rabiot has
24:00raised the bar in terms of competition for places, but having a player like Luka Modric in a game like
24:05tomorrow. For you and for his teammates, what can he offer? What can he offer? He can offer what he's
24:12always offered throughout the course of his career, playing 13 years at Real Madrid, winning a
24:19host of trophies over the last few months since his arrival at Milan. His professionalism, his humility,
24:25he's got a lot of techniques. It's wonderful to watch him play for everyone. As I said, it's a shame
24:35that there are so few players in world football like Luka Modric and I'm not even sure you can
24:42necessarily count them on the fingers of one hand. Thank you very much, everyone.
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