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00:01Good afternoon everyone. Welcome along to the pre-match press conference on the eve of Milan-Sassuolo. We'll start with Milan TV.
00:08Thanks Nicola. Good afternoon coach. Coach, we spoke a great deal about tradition before the match away at Torino and now we need to do the same sort of thing ahead of Milan-Sassuolo.
00:19Sassuolo are one of your former clubs and tradition says that they've always beaten Milan and they're a newly promoted side just like Cremones in Pisa.
00:34We'll try and overturn this trend tomorrow because the numbers aren't necessarily in our favour.
00:39First and foremost, Sassuolo are an excellent team with a terrific league position and they're one of those sides that when you come up against them, the games are never over, whether you're leading or whether you trail.
00:56They've got a lot of technical players. They've got a lot more balance than they did compared with the start of the season.
01:03So this is a match that we need to be very switched on for. We need to show the utmost respect and above all, we need to be very neat and tidy.
01:13Sky, as ever, I'd like to ask you the latest from the treatment room. Could you tell us how the lads are?
01:20And secondly, you've coached some top players and Christian Pulisic has only played 550 minutes this season, yet he's been the most crucial player in Serie A.
01:34Compared with some of the other legendary players that you've coached, what's he like?
01:38He seems very shy and retiring and yet he's increasingly a match winner.
01:44And can he get better?
01:44Yes, he does still have room for improvement. He can still get better.
01:54He is very shy and retiring.
01:57But when he's out there on the pitch, he's transformed.
02:01Above all, he's devilish when he's in front of goal and that's the most important thing.
02:06He still needs to get back to full fitness because, unfortunately, injuries have held him back.
02:14Just like Christopher Nkunku is getting better, he's improved a great deal in terms of his fitness levels all across the board.
02:22He produced an excellent performance at Torino in the second half.
02:26From a footballing perspective, playing at centre-forward, Rafa Liao won't be available for selection tomorrow, but he'll certainly be available for the Super Cup semi-final in Saudi Arabia.
02:38Yusuf Fofana is completely back.
02:41Tomorrow I'm going to leave him at home because he still hasn't had a training session with the team, but he is fit.
02:47But Atakami is in the matchday squad.
02:50Santi Jimenez is working and we hope to have him available as soon as possible.
02:56Mediaset.
02:57Hi, Max.
03:00I'd like to ask you about your approach.
03:03It was an exhilarating win at Torino, but how do you explain that it often occurs whereby your approach isn't necessarily that dominant?
03:17I'm thinking about Mignon save against Lazio from Mario Gila.
03:23Inter hit their woodwork twice in the derby.
03:25You are struggling a little bit to start games well.
03:28How do you explain that?
03:31Over the course of the season, there are a number of different phases.
03:35There was the start of the campaign where we made good starts to matches like against Napoli and Parma.
03:42And then we'd start the second period by making the sign of the cross.
03:51Whereas now that situation has been turned on its head.
03:54So we need to strike a balance whereby we have the right approach both at the start of matches and above all at the start of the second half.
04:04They're the hardest moments of a game when you need to get back into action.
04:09We had an excellent second half performance at Torino, but in the first quarter of an hour we conceded twice.
04:14And that could have actually cost us three points.
04:19Do you expect a different start against Sassuolo?
04:22I hope that we don't concede goals first and foremost.
04:25That would already be a step forward.
04:26This is our first game at 12.30 tomorrow.
04:31We're moving into the Christmas period.
04:36There's always that slightly festive mood around the place.
04:43But we're up against the Sassuolo side and we need to make sure we're very neat and tidy
04:47because the game will last 100 minutes and we can't think that we can kill it off in 15 to 20 minutes.
04:53But we know that we're up against a team that either way can score against you at any moment.
05:03So we need to be very good defensively tomorrow to avoid giving them opportunities to really make the most of their skill set.
05:13They have some excellent players in wide areas, Berardi's out, but Volpato and Lorienté are very good 1v1 and driving into space up the field.
05:23So we need to defend well as a team and then when we're in possession we need to do a better job.
05:28But tomorrow's game is a difficult match.
05:31We need to come away with maximum points to take another small step forward.
05:34And above all, we then need to travel to Saudi Arabia and it would be nice to actually go on the plane with three points as opposed to a draw or a defeat.
05:46The zone.
05:47I'd like to come back to Nkunku.
05:49Sure, he has looked fitter as he did against Torino, but he doesn't seem a place lacking self-confidence.
05:55It feels like his time at Chelsea where he didn't necessarily respond to those expectations have left their mark psychologically.
06:06He's still looking for his first Serie A goal and yet he played the ball to Pulisic.
06:11It feels like he's lacking a bit of courage or that cutting edge.
06:16What is he missing to be the centre forward that Milan need at this moment in time?
06:21He needs to be a bit more relaxed.
06:25Because he's come into a club where we all wanted him here.
06:30His teammates have the utmost faith in him.
06:32So too does the club and the head coach in his ability.
06:36So Christopher Nkunku needs to simply smile a bit more.
06:40If he starts smiling, things will go better.
06:44That's what Kivu says to Lautaro.
06:46I don't know what Kivu says to Lautaro, but Nkunku is a very technical player.
06:50And I believe between now and the end of the season he'll produce excellent things.
06:54Correa de la Sera.
06:56Hi Max.
07:00On several occasions you've said this season that Inter and Napoli are the Scudetto favourites.
07:05So I'd like you to go into that a little bit more.
07:08Explain your reasons.
07:09Why is it the quality of the squad, the depth of the squad, experience, winning mentality?
07:13What is it that makes these two teams favourites for the Scudetto compared with everyone else?
07:19And what are Milan missing to reach that same level?
07:23Is it a transfer window, something else?
07:25If I'm not mistaken, Inter and Napoli finished first and second last season.
07:32The title race came down to the final weekend.
07:35So it's only natural, because of that, that they're favourites.
07:39Milan have changed a number of players in the squad.
07:44Some excellent players have joined the club.
07:46And they've now been mixed in with the excellent players that were here last season.
07:51And this is all part of a process whereby when we work, and I always say this, at Milan you need to have the ambition and the conviction to be able to achieve the utmost,
08:02but just starting with the foundations, which is namely, Milan need to go back to playing Champions League football.
08:09Tomorrow is another game where we need to take another small step forward for our league position, because the points we currently have in the table, sure, there are 31 and we're top of the table,
08:21but we're still missing a huge number to actually secure our season's target, namely that Milan qualify for the Champions League.
08:29I know I'm like a broken record and I'm boring, but we need to make sure we're going to march in the best possible conditions.
08:37Gazzetta dello Sport.
08:39Hi.
08:43You've given us the latest on the injured players.
08:47With regard to Santi Jimenez, you said, let's hope to have him as available as soon as possible.
08:54You said that he won't, that Rafa Liao won't be available tomorrow, but he'll be back for the Super Cup.
08:59Are you a little bit concerned by the fact that, in terms of numbers, you've been shorthanded in the final third for the last few weeks,
09:10because Jimenez has been out for a while, and I don't know whether you need to find some solutions in the January transfer window or not.
09:21As for whether we're shorthanded, between now and January, even if we wanted to, no one can join the club,
09:29so we need to come up with some internal solutions in-house among a squad of players that do give me options and solutions,
09:37and I'm very relaxed about that.
09:39If we don't have two strikers, we'll play with one striker.
09:42If we have two, we'll play with two.
09:43Either way, we'll find a way.
09:47The club are keeping a close eye on what could happen in the January transfer window,
09:51but we're currently focused on tomorrow's game, which is the most important match.
09:54Once we've played that game, we'll see what we've done,
09:56and then we'll think about the trip that we have to Riyadh to play in the Super Cup.
10:01Hi Max, I wanted to ask you whether you have shown or you're thinking about showing some of the Milan-Sassuolo games
10:14from the recent past, maybe the five goals you can see that at San Siro.
10:19We have seen that San Siro have a very steer, clear skill set,
10:25but even one of the first games they played against Inter at San Siro, they produced a good performance.
10:31They're a team that will cause you problems at any stage of the game.
10:34So what do we need to do?
10:35We have to have the utmost respect, and we need to make sure we're neat and tidy defensively.
10:41If we start wandering all over the pitch, they can cause you problems,
10:45and then the game becomes complicated as a result.
10:49So we need to make sure that we produce a very professional performance tomorrow,
10:55physically, technically, and above all mentally, if we want to come away with the three points.
10:58Hi coach, I wanted to ask you whether come the Christmas period before the Super Cup,
11:14whether you expected to be at this stage with the team.
11:17I'm not talking about the league position, whether you're first, second or third.
11:19I'm talking about the improvement that the team has made over the last few months,
11:25and whether you expected to find a group of players that were so receptive to your instructions.
11:30At the start, I didn't know whether or not they'd be receptive because I didn't know the players,
11:38but they immediately got down to work.
11:42And as I said, everyone's aim here is to get back in the top four to be involved in the Champions League.
11:48It's not easy because there are seven or eight teams competing for that target.
11:56If then we've got to this stage as a team, I think that means that we're working well,
12:00but we still need to improve a great deal in certain areas of the match.
12:06When the opposition are struggling, we need to kill them off.
12:09So there are a number of different things that we still need to improve upon,
12:12but you need to do it one step at a time without necessarily losing sight of what the main goal is,
12:19namely tomorrow's match.
12:22We mustn't focus on what the game is for data now.
12:25We need to do everything in our power to win the game tomorrow.
12:28Daniele Longo.
12:31Hi, I'd like to come back to what my colleagues have asked you.
12:33Milan are currently top of the table.
12:35Well, after the win over Torino, some people said Milan aren't in the Champions League.
12:41Milan have Rabiot and Modric, so they're one of the leading contenders for the Scudetto.
12:47But then I see there are some objective issues.
12:50You've only got two forwards tomorrow.
12:52A number of players left in the summer.
12:55Reinders, Teo.
12:58Got the issues of new players coming in that still need to settle.
13:01Does that mean that you're very highly rated or are people simply trying to put the pressure on Milan?
13:08No, I don't know whether they're shying away.
13:10That's part of the game.
13:14I would be very happy to play every three days and to be involved in the Champions League
13:19because that's what we're working towards.
13:20All of the other chatter as to whether it's an advantage or a disadvantage.
13:29I think the advantage is to have a strong team with the strong players, a strong club behind you
13:36in an environment that you're able to manage a match every three days physically, mentally and tactically.
13:46Otherwise, you can't be at a top club.
13:48That's definitely the case.
13:49That's whether it's an advantage or a disadvantage.
13:53I don't know whether it's an advantage or an edge, but the nice thing is to be involved in the Champions League besides Serie A.
14:00That's what I like.
14:01Playing a game every three days means that you possibly prepare games in a worse fashion.
14:11I don't believe so, but that could be the case.
14:13It depends on what you think, but we want to be involved in the Champions League.
14:16That's what we're working towards.
14:18Good afternoon, coach.
14:21Tomorrow against Sassuolo, then Napoli on Thursday and then potentially the final on Monday.
14:26Can you plan how to manage Luka Modric given you might play three games and therefore I'd like to ask you whether Adon Yashari would be ready to take the reins in these three matches?
14:42Yashari has improved a great deal and he's done very well since his injury given his last year performance.
14:49If you think about there's the game on Thursday and then the potential final after that, what's the closest game?
14:55Tomorrow's match.
14:56And tomorrow we need to try and come away with three points.
14:59So I need to make selections based on tomorrow's game, not Thursday's match.
15:04Let's hope that the game goes well tomorrow.
15:06That's the most important thing.
15:07Then we'll see who's alive, who's alive and kicking and who the casualties are.
15:13Based on that is we'll pick a team for Thursday.
15:15From Udine to Turin, 80 days elapsed.
15:26You were banging your fist on the table in Udine about Milan's 3-0 win and you were apparently on the phone a lot more relaxed when you were trailing a 2-0 to Turin.
15:38What's made you so relaxed in those 80 days?
15:44No, I wasn't very relaxed when we were trailing 2-0.
15:49I couldn't figure out, I couldn't fathom how we conceded those two goals.
15:53The team seemed very relaxed.
15:54There was a number of minutes still to play.
15:57Games really last a long while.
15:59A hundred minutes.
16:01Ten minutes of the ball in play are really important.
16:03Where did we make mistakes the last five minutes against Lazio in the Coppa Italia?
16:09We were chasing the game.
16:13Lazio were trying to go all the way.
16:15They were breaking up play, fouls.
16:18And we chased the game.
16:20We tossed the ball into the opposition box.
16:23We spurned possession.
16:24Whereas with one minute remaining, you need to try and create a chance.
16:28If it goes well, you score and equalize.
16:30Otherwise, you lose the game regardless.
16:33But you need to give yourself the best opportunity to play the game.
16:35And that's where we lost the game.
16:37Whereas at Torino, the team were very relaxed, ordered.
16:42Radios scored a lovely goal.
16:43And then we came on leaps and bounds.
16:45So there was the penalty and then Zapata's counter-attack.
16:51That's what we afforded in terms of chances.
16:53After that, Torino didn't create anything else.
16:55We stayed cool-minded.
16:58And that's what we need to do.
17:01Games don't always pan out as you want them to.
17:03So you need to make sure you do a good job of managing the unforeseen circumstances.
17:08Because these things can happen.
17:09It did happen at Torino.
17:11It's happened a few times at home as well.
17:13So until the final whistle goals, you need to make sure that you stay in the game and play in a certain fashion.
17:21Hi, Max.
17:22Hi, Max.
17:26That strength and determination defensively, keeping cool minds, is very important for certain players.
17:33You need to try and convey that tomorrow.
17:35Because often the players switch off.
17:38Someone like Fikaiu Tomori occasionally goes to sleep, doesn't he?
17:41No, Tomori doesn't have that.
17:44We all have that as a team.
17:45And that's something different.
17:47We can see the two goals at Torino, two against Pisa, two against Cremonesa, two goals at Parma.
17:54So these are situations we need to improve upon.
17:56There's always something that you need to get better at.
17:59It's only natural that these situations need to be improved upon.
18:02Because after 12 minutes, you can't find yourself 2-0 down.
18:05It does happen.
18:06But we need to make sure that we make sure it doesn't happen again.
18:13Hi, coach.
18:14I'd like to bring you back to the Torino game.
18:19Milan trailed 2-0.
18:20You lost Rafa Liao.
18:22It was a real uphill battle for the Rossoneri.
18:26And yet you managed it.
18:27What more was there in terms of character, personality?
18:35How much has that given to this team ahead of tomorrow's game, which is an awkward game?
18:40And thinking about Riyadh as well.
18:43What has it added to us?
18:44What has the Torino game given us?
18:45It certainly has given us three important points.
18:48It's given us a lot of enthusiasm and energy.
18:51But as the players are well aware, the more you raise the bar, the smaller that margin for error becomes.
19:02So you need to be even more switched on because there's a danger around every corner.
19:08That's why we need to make sure we're even more switched on tomorrow.
19:11Because when there's too much positive energy surrounding a game,
19:17and then occasionally your immune system can drop.
19:22And we need to make sure that we don't let them drop.
19:25We need to raise them, if anything.
19:27Arie, hi Max.
19:29During the week, I was really struck by Filippo Galli's comments on Bartesaghi
19:36and how highly he was rated as a kid.
19:40And it didn't feel like he had a great character.
19:42And yet determination actually seems one of his strengths.
19:47What sort of squad have you encountered?
19:51I'm thinking about Mattel Gabbia and other players at the back, Pavlovich.
19:55But even in other areas of the pitch as well.
19:58What sort of people have you encountered that you work with?
20:05And in terms of trying to keep cool-headed, as you said earlier on.
20:08I've encountered a group of lads, of footballers, above all young guys that look themselves in the mirror
20:16and they want to improve.
20:17And they've also grasped the fact that they have a huge opportunity, namely, to play for Milan.
20:23And as I said many times, when you're at a top club, like Milan, you need to make sure that you keep hold of that Milan jersey.
20:32And how do you do so?
20:33Through professionalism, passion, in terms of what you do, and enthusiasm.
20:38Because then when you leave Milan, it's very difficult to come back to the club.
20:43So for everyone, it needs to be seen as an opportunity to improve.
20:48It needs to be an opportunity to try and achieve something significant in Milan and leave your mark in history.
20:58The players have grasped that.
21:01And we're all trying to do that as a unit.
21:03Hi, coach.
21:09What have you written in your letter to Father Christmas?
21:14Fewer goals against, a striker, a defender?
21:22No, we're not even going to spend Christmas this time around because we've got to train.
21:26So Father Christmas doesn't exist this year.
21:28So I'm not even necessarily going to be able to spend Christmas with my family, but we've got matches.
21:36So all jokes aside, I haven't written anything because I'm very happy with the players I have to pick from.
21:41And as I said, we need to be focused and work on that because that's what matters most.
21:48I've got an extraordinary group of players.
21:51A bubble will have a great will to win, but that goes for the club as a whole, everyone working at Milan in.
21:57But we've not achieved anything thus far.
21:59So we need to keep working hard.
22:01We need to keep our feet on the ground, keep an even keel.
22:04When we came away from that defeat at Lazio, we did react very well.
22:14There was a silent reaction.
22:18And that showed, at that moment in time, that all of the players are willing to step up and take responsibility because we went out of the Coppa Italia.
22:27One of the main criticisms that's been leveled against this team is that you struggle against the small teams, almost as if you struggle to create chances against the deep-lying defences.
22:46But if I look at the statistics, you scored a lot of goals against the smaller teams, a lot more than you scored against the big teams.
22:53But you've also conceded a lot more than you have in the big matches.
22:56How do you respond to this criticism?
22:59How do you solve this problem when it comes to goals conceded?
23:04Because football is illogical.
23:10There's often no logic to football.
23:12There are times when you concede goals against smaller teams.
23:15There are times when you concede goals against big teams.
23:18There are times when you win six-pointers.
23:19There are times when you don't win those six-pointers.
23:21What matters is keep analysing what we need to improve upon.
23:26Without necessarily being influenced by these situations.
23:31We conceded two goals at Torino.
23:33They were avoidable goals, if you will.
23:36But there's also those 50-50 challenges.
23:39There's a chance that comes into every match as well.
23:42So, we mustn't fall into the trap of not managing those situations as well, because these things can happen.
23:53We'd all love to score a goal, keep a clean sheet, not afford the opposition shots on goals.
24:00Football matters will become dull as a result.
24:02But that's what we're working towards, in the knowledge that they're also the opposition.
24:07And the opposition are thinking the same things as we are.
24:11Sartorio and Delia.
24:13Hi, coach.
24:16I'd like to come back for a moment to Chris Pulisic.
24:18You described him as devilish.
24:23And that's certainly the most important characteristic that a striker needs to have.
24:28So, can we still talk about looking for an attacker in the transfer window?
24:33Or are you thinking about Pulisic playing a little bit deeper in the future?
24:36Would that make sense?
24:36I don't know whether in the future, Christian Pulisic could play in a slightly deeper role.
24:42All I would say is that we need to try and get Santi Jimenez fit and available.
24:47Let's hope that then we can have four forwards where I can actually pick from.
24:56And in January, we have a number of matches.
24:59Because we have a midweek game, which is the game against Como away.
25:05So, there are six matches as a result.
25:08And six matches are a lot.
25:11And above all, that's a delicate moment of the season.
25:15That's why, in terms of numbers, the fact that we've already got Atacame, Fofana and Liao back in available.
25:24We're already bolstering the squad.
25:26We're bolstering the bench, regardless of the team that I pick.
25:29That's why it's important to get Santi Jimenez back again.
25:33Good afternoon, coach.
25:35I'd also like to ask you about Christo Nkunku.
25:38I'd like to follow up the DAZN question.
25:41Because after a forgettable first half at Torino in the second period, I think Nkunku played better than he has all season.
25:47Not that he necessarily did anything particularly spectacular, but he was more present.
25:54Are we right in thinking that this player needs intensity, high tempo to show what he can do?
25:59Because it feels like he struggles when the game sort of drops off.
26:03He needs an active team.
26:05No, he needed to get back to 100% fitness, because when he joined the club, at the end of October, he didn't have good fitness levels.
26:17He's worked a great deal, and the data has backed up that.
26:20As for the Torino game, we scored the second or third goal.
26:28I can't remember which one, but we scored that goal because he attacks the front post very well, and then he frees up Pulisic.
26:36He's a very good player in terms of his technical ability above all in front of goal.
26:40He can score a lot.
26:43Last question with Milan News.
26:46Good afternoon, coach.
26:48I wanted to ask you, after the Torino game, your assistant Marco Landucci said that it's one of the best squads that you've worked with.
26:57So I wanted to ask you, what makes this group of players so special?
27:01What makes these players so special?
27:02It's a group of players that never moan about how hard we're working, about what we ask them to do, because as I said before, they all have a very clear goal in mind,
27:20and above all, they want to make the most of this opportunity to be at Milan, stay at Milan, and above all, they want to leave their mark in the club's history.
27:29That's the most important thing, that's what we need to work towards, that's what needs to allow us to improve, but we need to stay focused on what we're doing,
27:36without necessarily getting distracted about Milan this or Milan that.
27:40We need to think solely about working hard, because come the 25th of May, we need to make sure we're in the top four teams in the table,
27:48because next season, as I've said, Milan must play Champions League football next season.
27:52Thank you very much.
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