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00:01Good morning, everyone. Welcome along to the pre-match press conference on the eve of Milan
00:06Atalanta. We'll start with Milan TV. Thank you, Nicola. Good morning, coach. I wanted
00:11to ask you the first question, and I think this is clearly something which is very close
00:16to your heart and that of the team as well. We often talk about the fan base. We often
00:21mention the supporters. But tomorrow night, more than ever, do you feel that you really
00:26need their support, that they give you a helping hand, that they try and make it a fiery atmosphere
00:37given the stakes on the line. Until now, all we simply need to do is thank them because
00:44ever since the 17th of August, when the season started, they've always got behind us. We've
00:49always felt their support. They will do so again tomorrow night, an important, decisive
00:58stage of the season. We face a tricky fixture because before matches, everyone wins games,
01:08but you actually need to then go out there and walk the walk. We've had a good week on
01:14the training ground. But tomorrow night, we're up against this Atalanta side. We'll try to
01:19return to winning ways, above all at home. We haven't won in front of our own fans for
01:24a while now. On Sunday, you said it was the worst performance of the season. With your staff
01:33over the last seven days, have you given that some thought? Has it come down to a fitness
01:40issue? Is it a mental issue or is there a certain player that's performing below par? How have
01:48the last few days gone with the team from a psychological perspective more than anything?
01:56At this stage of the season, it's not a case of if you do one extra training session or one
02:02fewer training session, you can't necessarily improve your fitness levels. Ultimately, at this
02:07stage of the campaign, it's the mental side of things that comes into play. The desire,
02:12the belief, and above all, the feel-good factor. We mustn't lose that because we are really in
02:17the midst of competing for Champions League football. We need to be brave in our approach
02:24tomorrow night. The same goes for our match away at Genoa and our final fixture at home to
02:29Cagliari. We mustn't expend energy on other things. We need to focus and concentrate first
02:42and foremost on tomorrow night's match against a very strong Atalanta side. They still have
02:50that target of hanging on to seventh place in the table and that could give them a European
02:56spot next season. So we need to do a very good job tomorrow night. As for the match last Sunday
03:04against Sassuolo, it's a very strange game because we were down to 10 men after just 20 minutes and we
03:12needed to avoid conceding the goal early on in the second half and we leaked that goal a little bit
03:17too
03:17easily. But football always gives you a second chance to bounce back and we have a big opportunity
03:22tomorrow against Atalanta.
03:28DAZN, with regards to the psychological perspective, you're up against a side that are really drained psychologically.
03:35Raffaele Palladino said that himself in terms of them trying to chase down their rivals in the table.
03:43So how much of an impact will that have? The fact that both teams are a little bit psychologically trained
03:48and how much have you had to be the psychologist and wear your psychologist hat over the last few days?
03:54We now need to walk the walk. There's no point talking the talk. We've had four very good days training.
04:00We'll have the final session today and then tomorrow morning we'll have those last few fine tweaks before the game.
04:09Atalanta aren't all out of puff. They're a very good team. We need to produce an excellent performance in order
04:14to bring home maximum points.
04:16Hi Max. I'd like to ask you the same question that I asked you after the Sassuolo game in Reggio
04:26Emilia.
04:26A few days have gone by, but I'll ask you again. Are you concerned?
04:30No, I'm not concerned. I'm not worried. You need to look at the things with the glass half full, not
04:36half empty.
04:37It's only natural that when you're on the back of a defeat like we are from the Sassuolo game at
04:42a decisive stage of the season,
04:44then of course you do see things a little bit more negatively than they actually are in reality.
04:48We still have our fate in our own hands. We have a very important game tomorrow.
04:54And football's great on that score because 90 minutes can change everything and they must change everything.
05:01And they'll have to change everything in the opposite direction.
05:07So what we're seeing negatively, we need to actually see positively.
05:10And that said, however the game goes tomorrow, we'll neither be in the Champions League mathematically nor out of the
05:19Champions League mathematically.
05:21There'll still be 180 minutes of football to play, but the game is tomorrow night.
05:26Mediaset.
05:27Hi Max. I'd like to go a little bit further back before Reggio Emilia.
05:32It's been a second half of the season where you've not necessarily produced performances and results.
05:38And there's been a real clear drop off.
05:41So I'd like to ask you above all with regards to how prolific your forward line is and they've been
05:47found wanting.
05:49How do you explain that?
05:52How did the switch suddenly turn off?
05:54How can you turn things back on because you keep changing the personnel, but the result is still zero in
06:01terms of the output from the forwards?
06:03What we've done, what we've achieved over the last 10 months, good.
06:07We had a good period.
06:08We had a bad period.
06:10Second half of the season.
06:11We can't change any of that.
06:16Tomorrow we have a mini league starting with three matches.
06:18And that's the way we need to look at things.
06:21We have a three point cushion.
06:24If we get a result and we deserve to qualify for the Champions League, we'll go there.
06:30If we don't get results, it's only right that we're not in the Champions League because we haven't deserved to
06:34finish in the top four.
06:35That's what it all comes down to.
06:37Do you plan to make any changes up front?
06:39No, it's not like just simply changing things.
06:42I'll make my decision on the start 11 tomorrow morning, but I need everyone at this moment in time.
06:47And that has been the case the whole season long, apart from Luka Modric, who's injured, and Fikaru Tomori, who's
06:53suspended.
06:53Everyone else is available for selection.
06:56Gazzetta d'Orsport.
07:02After a game like Sunday's against Sassuolo, are you a little bit tempted to make wholesale changes in the starting
07:1211?
07:13Perhaps pick players that are a little bit more motivated.
07:18They've got their desire to prove a point because maybe they've had less playing time.
07:21I'm referring, for instance, to Santi Jimenez, who, because of his injury and his fitness levels, has played less football
07:32than his peers this season.
07:35As I said, we still have our final session on the training ground today, and then tomorrow morning, as ever,
07:42we'll look at set pieces, as we always do, and then I'll decide who's going to start.
07:46But given that matches are long, and ultimately substitutions decide the game in the final 30 minutes of matches, tomorrow,
07:53regardless of who starts the game, and who begins on the bench, everyone needs to be switched on, because it's
08:01a very important, crucial stage of the campaign.
08:06I wanted to ask you two things.
08:15First, what have you noticed in terms of the atmosphere outside the training ground, outside Milanello?
08:20And from a footballing perspective, the fact that Santi Jimenez is in the team, is he more compatible with Pulisic
08:32working off him or with Rafa Liao, or with Christopher Nkunku?
08:36Because they're all players with similar characteristics.
08:41So if Santi Jimenez plays, there'll be one or two players operating around him.
08:53I think we've worked very well inside Milanello, and that's been the case all season.
08:57And there are times when the going is good, and the going gets tough, and when you're lacking results.
09:04And in recent times, in the second half of the season, we have been found wanting with regards to results.
09:10And it's up to us to turn it around. No one else can do it for us.
09:14We're the only ones that can do it, both during the week on the training ground and tomorrow night when
09:18the ref blows the first whistle at 8.45.
09:27How do you explain this drop-off over the last few weeks?
09:30Earlier on, you spoke about how the mental side of things really matters.
09:33But the difference in performance between the first six months of the season and then the last few weeks, how
09:39do you explain that?
09:42What's the why?
09:44And something else very quickly. At the start of the season, you spoke about the crucial matches over the course
09:49of the league season.
09:50Is tomorrow night's game one of those?
09:54Tomorrow night's game is one of those because we're at the end of the campaign and there are only three
09:58matches remaining.
09:59Tomorrow is a crucial match. I said it earlier on.
10:06Expending energy at this moment in time, trying to explain things, because everything and the opposite happens in football.
10:17It's hard to predict, but we're better off doing so two weeks from now when the season's finished.
10:22We need to harness all of our energy on tomorrow night's game.
10:25Tomorrow night's match. After the result, we'll see where the league table is.
10:30Then we need to go to Genoa and play another game, which will be no doubt very difficult.
10:35And it'll be a lively game as well, that one.
10:39Luka Modric is unavailable, so what role will he play even though he can't necessarily play?
10:46And do you hope to see him maybe on matchday 38?
10:52Even if Luka Modric comes to Milanello and trains, he does some very specific work, it's very unlikely he'll be
11:00available for selection in round 38.
11:04Sport Italia.
11:06Good afternoon, coach.
11:08I had a question for you, but I want to come back to something you said.
11:13You said that if Jimenez starts, then one or two players will operate off him.
11:20Does that mean you're planning on playing with the front three?
11:24Do you not think that when you were focusing on trying to win the Scudetto, everyone was pulling together
11:30and then everyone started to look at the World Cup, their fitness levels?
11:36Do you think that's what's happened psychologically with the players?
11:44I think you need to be in everyone's mind to know exactly what's happened.
11:48But I think we have a huge responsibility now, namely to take the club, Milan, into the Champions League.
11:55So we need to do everything in our power to make sure that this comes to pass.
12:01Why?
12:03Because the group of players that started the campaign in July will certainly be part of next season as well.
12:12So everyone needs to have the ambition, the desire, the belief and the responsibility to make sure that we secure
12:21this target.
12:24As for a front three, could be. We'll see.
12:29Calciomercato.com
12:30Calciomercato.com
12:33I wanted to wind the tape back to when you first took over.
12:38There was a lot of controversy, the fans protesting against the ownership.
12:46You said that you've worked a great deal on the club and on the players' mindset
12:49and it felt like things were going very well, whereas now it feels like everyone's going to be protesting again.
12:55There's going to be a petition signed by certain fans on social media against the CEO Giorgio Furlani.
13:04I'd like to ask you, what are the issues after a year at Milan?
13:08And how difficult is it to try and find a slightly more together environment, both at senior management level and
13:15further down the pyramid?
13:18At senior management level with the club, regardless of the meetings that we've conducted,
13:24whereas everyone says their piece and we can't necessarily all agree and I think that's only natural
13:30and I think you actually grow from having this dialogue.
13:34But we all share the aim of trying to qualify for the Champions League.
13:39As for tomorrow night, any supportive protests, all I can say is we need the fan base
13:45because it's not simply a case of the coach and the players of the club and the fans going out
13:51there.
13:51We all need to work together to try and secure this target.
13:55It will be difficult and I've been saying that for a long while now
13:57and that's because Serie A is a very difficult league
14:02and finishing in the top four with seven or eight teams all vying for a spot in the Champions League
14:07places,
14:08it's come down to the business end.
14:10We need to make sure that we harness all of our focus on that game tomorrow night.
14:17I know that it's not an easy answer, but in my very modest opinion, the fans have really been protesting
14:26the club
14:27and the way it's being managed.
14:31You worked under Silvio Berlusconi and Andrea Agnelli, so you know what it means to have a very strong club
14:36behind you that conveys that winning DNA.
14:40Do you believe that this ownership group has that?
14:43Do you believe the senior management has at least the potential to convey that?
14:47Or in terms of the transfer market next summer, next season, do you think once again you'll have to be
14:52battling on your own?
14:53No, I've never been on my own. As I've said, when we've held meetings, we've always discussed things
15:04and we've tried to make sure that the team could secure results.
15:10All the while we wanted to make sure that this was sustainable because we're well aware of the economic constraints
15:18in the Italian games.
15:19So we've had a big turnover in terms of players. It's not been easy because even if we're talking about
15:27players that did a little bit less this season,
15:29but maybe they've come from foreign leagues where it takes a little bit of time to settle in.
15:34Not everyone performs well right from the word go and that's only natural.
15:38And so I think we have laid some good foundations.
15:41But at this stage, everything we've done, whether we'll do better or worse, I don't know.
15:46But all that matters at this stage of the campaign is that there's positive energy,
15:51positive vibes from everyone to make sure that Milan can play in Europe next season.
16:01I'd like to also follow up from the previous two questions.
16:05You dodged the question earlier on about the mood outside Milanello.
16:09You didn't answer that question. We'll tell you the supporters are fed up.
16:13They feel like they're being taken for a ride and perhaps you're the only guarantor of this team,
16:19given that this club has changed 10 to 15 senior management figures from Leonardo and Allegri in terms of head
16:28coaches and senior management figures.
16:30This morning we've been hearing about Tony D'Amico and Vincenzo Italiano, one in the technical area and one behind
16:37the sporting director's desk.
16:39Are you at least saying, telling the truth to the fans that, you know, they're signing petitions,
16:46they're still protesting their club, even when they've got Allegri in the technical area and he could be the guarantor?
16:54We've worked well this season. Unfortunately, we have lacked some results at times.
16:58But I think at this moment in time, I think the fans need to give us a helping hand because
17:02all together,
17:04we need to try and make sure that Milan are playing Champions League football next season.
17:08After that, as I've said, and as I've already said three times, when you then have meetings,
17:14there are obviously things that we all agree upon and that's difficult to find because it's only natural.
17:20It's very unlikely that everyone agrees in the scope of a meeting, but you actually grow by having this dialogue
17:26and contrasting views.
17:28I think the most important thing is that everyone's working for the club in the best interest of Milan because,
17:33as I always say, I've learnt this and they've taught me this.
17:38I've discovered, namely, that in the past, Berlusconi, there was Gagliani, there was Allegri Sacchi, Allegri's back.
17:51These people come and go, but what always remains is the club.
17:55So those that are working at Milan need to work in the best interest of the club because the club
18:01has a history that needs to be defended, wonderful DNA.
18:06And that's why we all have this huge responsibility.
18:11But do you see that in the senior management figures?
18:14I've seen that, yes, but it's not easy to get results because everyone always says winning is easy.
18:22No, winning is something extraordinary, exceptional.
18:25So this season, if we were to finish in the top four, if we succeeded, and I understand that Milan
18:31always have to have the ambition to win.
18:33That's what we had this season as well. Unfortunately, we haven't succeeded.
18:39But we haven't been working to try not to win. We've been working to try and secure the utmost, the
18:48maximum.
18:49But if Milan's maximum will be to finish in the top four positions, that means that we've done a good
18:56job.
18:57But there are good foundations for next season to make sure that we try and improve next season with regards
19:03to our league position this season.
19:05If Milan finish sixth, that means that we've deserved to finish sixth. And from there, Milan have good foundations to
19:13kick on next season from there.
19:17What matters is that we all have to work for the club. Personal goals need to be set to one
19:29side.
19:30The ultimate goal collectively is that Milan need to get back into the Champions League and we have the chance
19:37to do so.
19:38So we need to show desire, enthusiasm and courage and try and get there.
19:48This conviction that you had on the 7th of July, this determination, this consistency with regards to qualifying for the
19:55Champions League doesn't feel like the players necessarily picked up on that at the Sassuolo game last week in Reggio
20:05Emilia.
20:06How have you worked on the players psychologically over the last few days?
20:09How have you tried to really get into their hearts and minds to make them aware of the importance of
20:15result and above all to secure this target to get to the Champions League?
20:22Ever since we started the season, until our most recent training session yesterday, we'll have another session today, the players
20:29have always given 100% to secure the maximum possible result.
20:34But there are times of a season when the going gets tough and that's down to a number of factors.
20:40So we will certainly make mistakes along the way, but at this stage, as I said, we need to look
20:45at what tomorrow's game offers.
20:47That's the most important thing.
20:51Last two questions, Milan Vibes and then Carlo Pelegatti.
20:55Good afternoon, coach. We've spoken a lot about picking Yashari over Ricci to replace Modric.
21:04What are the various skill sets that makes you lean towards one player rather than the other?
21:11They're two very reliable players and I think the club secured an excellent signing in the shape of Ardon Yashari.
21:18But unfortunately, he's on the way back from an injury and he also had Luka Modric ahead of him in
21:28the pecking order and he played every game.
21:30It's not been easy for him. It's his first year in Serie A.
21:32The tempo is different in the Italian league. The tactics are also different.
21:39There are teams that set up differently compared with how things are set up.
21:47Ricci has really shown that he's a very reliable player, both from the start and indeed as a substitute.
21:59Maybe I should have asked you this question personally on the phone, but this is something we've never spoken about.
22:05At the end of the Napoli-Milan game, Antonio Conte said if I was at the Fiji Chi, I would
22:13call myself.
22:14I hope that you stay at Milan, but people say that you're one of the possible candidates for the Italy
22:20job.
22:21Is Massimo Allegri a coach that likes to work on the training ground day in, day out?
22:27Could he be a selector of players like in a national team set up?
22:33How would you approach a possible phone call coming in? I'm not asking if you'd take it or not.
22:38You personally, are you good actually just selecting players and not coming to the training ground day in, day out?
22:46That's an issue that I've not considered for the moment.
22:53I try and find solutions to problems as and when they arise.
22:57At this moment in time, the most important thing is Milan, whether it's these next three games and then next
23:04season as well.
23:05So the most important thing is Milan. We've worked for 10 months with a great deal of focus, dedication.
23:21Because once again, the players too, everyone needs to actually have respect for everyone that goes out of their way
23:28to make sure that we can perform at our best.
23:31So with these three games beginning tomorrow, we need to feel that responsibility.
23:35I've got not thought about anything else because as I said, my target is to try and stay at Milan
23:43for as long as possible.
23:44Thanks very much, everyone.