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00:00Good afternoon everyone, welcome along to the Matchday Minus One press conference out
00:06of Milan, Venezia.
00:07We'll start with Milan Suma, 70,000 fans are expected at San Siro for Milan, Venezia tomorrow
00:14night.
00:1570,000 fans that you can use as a starting point, again, that you need to try and honour,
00:21aren't you, ahead of a busy run of games?
00:29After the first three matches, it's a great display of love, the fact that 70,000 fans
00:35are going to turn out tomorrow, and of course, that is a responsibility for us.
00:42We need to keep progressing to make sure that we can make the fans proud of the team, and
00:50that's what we want to do tomorrow.
00:52We want to reward the fans' support.
00:57Sky, good afternoon Paolo.
01:02You want to pay back the support of your fans, so I wanted to ask you the fact that you've
01:10only got two points after a month, is the game against Venezia as important as the two
01:18matches following that?
01:20It's not as tough, but is it as big as the Liverpool and the Inter games?
01:25They're all very important matches, and even more so at this moment in time, given that
01:29we haven't won any of our first three games.
01:32However, it's always important to win.
01:36I'm confident, as I always am.
01:41It's important to win, and after that, we'll then think about the Liverpool game and the
01:47derby after that, but I think we have to be focused on tomorrow night's match, which is
01:53an important game for us.
01:54I also wanted to ask you, in terms of Teo Hernandez and Rafael Liao, not about the calling
02:00break, because that's been put behind you, but you did leave them out of the Lazio game
02:09because there was something that you hadn't necessarily seen from them.
02:12Now they've come back from the international break, have they come back with a different
02:16attitude, and will we see them start tomorrow?
02:20I don't know whether they'll start the game.
02:23We'll see tomorrow, but what I've seen since the international break, just like all of
02:31the other guys, they're two players who've got a great aura, there's a great atmosphere,
02:41they're very cheerful around the training ground, and that's always the case.
02:46Rai.
02:47Good afternoon, Gaffer.
02:53A lot has been written and said about the club over the international break.
02:59Do you feel under the microscope at this stage?
03:02I'm always under the microscope.
03:04We coaches are always under the microscope.
03:07We rely on results, but what I must say is that I'm solely focused on the job at hand.
03:17I don't think you can ever do things differently.
03:22If you're focused about what people are saying or writing in the press, then it becomes very
03:27difficult to work.
03:33We all need to work to try and improve, and that's what I'm doing.
03:39Dazon.
03:40Hi, Gaffer.
03:41Good afternoon.
03:42A question about Tijani Reinders, who's playing very well for the Netherlands, he's scoring
03:50a lot of goals as well with his late runs.
03:52In the future, could we see him playing slightly higher up the pitch and perhaps not too deep
03:58as a playmaker, because it feels like he's got goals in his game as well?
04:03Yes, that is an option, and I think he has that skill set.
04:13When I think about the dynamics of the team, I try and pick the players in the best possible
04:22position as per their skill set.
04:28We haven't looked at Tigi a little bit further up the pitch, because the team hasn't actually
04:33been attacking too much.
04:35We've had a number of moments in that first phase, but we haven't necessarily gone beyond
04:39that.
04:43That's why we haven't seen Tigi further up the pitch.
04:48I've often paired him with Youssef Ofana, but I'm always trying to pick the players
04:55in the positions which best suit their skill set and attributes.
05:01I really enjoy Tigi's performances for his country.
05:05Gazetta dello Sport.
05:10Throughout your career, like all experienced coaches, you've obviously been through some
05:16tricky times.
05:17I wanted to ask you, in terms of your experience, how did you come through those?
05:25What did you do to come through some tricky times in the past?
05:30What am I doing now?
05:31No, in terms of your experience, in terms of the issues you've encountered over the
05:34course of your career, is there a secret to it?
05:38I don't know if there is a secret.
05:43I keep working with the same passion and confidence, and I'm trying to resolve the
05:52issues that the team has encountered over the course of the first three matches.
05:57At this moment in time, all I must do is think about the team and the work that I have to
06:01do with the team and the players.
06:04I think that's the secret.
06:07There's a nice interview on YouTube where you talk about your experience at Shakhtar
06:25Donetsk and Roma, and you say that during your time at Roma you decided to defend with
06:31a back three because you were conceding too many goals.
06:33My question is, could that be a solution for this Milan side, move to a back three, or
06:39could you even have a midfield three, a 4-3-3?
06:42Do you plan to make any tactical changes?
06:48With regards to defending, I don't think we'll change.
06:52I don't think we'll play with a back three.
06:58Given that we're talking about formations, often we talk about two plus one, one plus
07:02two.
07:04It's just a starting point, because ultimately the dynamics are different.
07:12What I can say is when I talk about structures, I'm talking about formation.
07:18When we're in one phase, phase one, it's different to what we do in phase two, and almost all
07:24of the top teams start with a 4-2-3-1, but then in phase two they're in a 3-5-2.
07:31So the dynamics, the team's intentions, are more important than the actual rigid formation
07:37as a starting point.
07:38I think that's what matters most.
07:39Good afternoon, Paolo Fonseca.
07:42I wanted to ask you a couple of things.
07:47First, over the last few days, have you spoken to Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the phone?
07:54Have I spoken to Zlatan Ibrahimovic on the phone?
07:58Yes.
08:00Second, you know Maurizio Sarri.
08:07He's a coach.
08:08I think he's one of the best Italian coaches.
08:13He coached Ruben Loftus-Cheek in London with Chelsea, and in one of his interviews he said,
08:20I think he is a No. 8, and he had a league season as a No. 8, who's excellent.
08:29Svonimir Boban, you know Boban.
08:32He said that he thinks that he needs to play with three in the middle of the park, based
08:38on the attributes of your players.
08:42Given that these two are experts in the field, is it now time, or over the course of the
08:51international break, during the experiments that you've done, have you considered mixing
08:58things up in the middle of the park?
09:04I always respect other people's advice and their opinions, even more so given the way
09:12that Sarri and Boban have done things in a constructive way, so I respect their views.
09:18But what I must say is that they are opinions, and I'm the one who works with the players.
09:23We don't all have the same ideas, we're different coaches, and I need to follow my beliefs,
09:34not what other people believe.
09:37Good afternoon, Gaffer.
09:41Coming back to what the colleagues have said, a lot has been written and said over the course
09:45of the international break, including about the absence of the senior management figures
09:51at the club, so I'd like to extend Franco Ordine's question.
09:56What's happened with the senior management?
10:04It's quite hard for me to talk about this when we speak to each other on a daily basis.
10:09It's either here or on the phone, or we go for dinner together.
10:13It's difficult to understand why these news stories are coming out when we're constantly in contact.
10:21Paolo?
10:24Good afternoon.
10:27During the international break, have you considered Milan's issues out of possession?
10:37Because above all, when you're off the ball, the team keeps conceding when out of possession.
10:49We haven't had a lot of players here during the international break because they're all away with their respective countries,
10:54but we have had a number of defenders here.
10:59I don't think it's merely an issue which pertains to the defensive area of the team,
11:06but as I've said, we have worked a great deal on how the defensive line operates
11:15and the individual approach within the defensive line, because I think it's also important for defenders.
11:22And as I've said, they've stayed here, we've worked here over the last fortnight,
11:29and we've worked on those defensive matters.
11:33Aria?
11:36Good afternoon.
11:39I went to watch Venezia against Torino.
11:42Venezia lost undeservedly, and they tend to counter a lot, a bit like Parma.
11:48Are your Milan side a little bit more ready to actually withstand those counter-attacks that Parma caused you so many problems with?
11:56And above all, tomorrow night, is there only one result, any other result non-negotiable,
12:03given the matches you've got coming after that?
12:05Do Milan have to win?
12:07Milan always have to win.
12:09It's not only tomorrow, it's always the case.
12:12When we approach any match, we're always trying to win games.
12:16We don't think about any other result, and the same will go for tomorrow.
12:21I watched Venezia's games.
12:25It's true.
12:27They are very dangerous on the counter.
12:31But I think we have made progress since the Parma game, between the Parma and Lazio matches,
12:37because we struggled at that moment against Parma.
12:42But I think against Lazio we improved a great deal,
12:46because the issue that we faced ultimately at the start came down to defensive shape.
12:53Yes, we have worked on that.
12:57We're well aware of Venezia's strengths.
13:02But I think we are prepared for Venezia's possible threat.
13:08Hi, Gaffer.
13:10Your squad is now complete, and looking at the make-up of your squad,
13:17rather than having characteristics to actually keep the ball,
13:22is this more a squad made up of counter-attacking players,
13:27players that require space and that can outpace their opponents?
13:34As you get to know the players that you're coaching,
13:37could you actually move from a possession-based brand of play
13:41to a more counter-attacking transitional brand of play?
13:45That's a good question.
13:48We all believe in our ideas.
13:53And with the qualities that we have here,
13:57I can't believe that the players with this ability can only play in one way,
14:02namely on the counter, sit deep and hit teams on transition.
14:07I think top teams have the responsibility to dominate proceedings.
14:12Not at this moment in time the way I want things,
14:15but this is a big overhaul, a big change that we need to enact.
14:27Clearly this is something that we need to improve.
14:30We need to make sure we don't concede so many goals,
14:34and a team that doesn't want to concede many goals needs to have more possession.
14:40This is a change that we're currently working on.
14:45It is different, but the players are grasping the importance of keeping possession
14:54and dominating the match with the ball.
14:57Bressi.
15:03You've often said that you've acknowledged the team's problems.
15:06So what exactly are these issues that Milan are currently facing?
15:14And one of them is perhaps the fact that you're always conceding the same type of goal
15:19with the ball down the flank and across into the middle.
15:22What might have prompted that?
15:27I don't want to talk about our issues in great detail.
15:34I think it's clear for all to see that we have some issues,
15:37and that is one of the issues, the way that we have conceded goals.
15:42They have been very similar in nature, and that's something we need to improve.
15:48Bell'Omo.
15:50Good afternoon.
15:53As has been said during the international break,
15:56a number of rumours have come about, and they were talking and speculating
16:01as to the fact it might be the worst start to a recent Milan season.
16:09And yet in the 2010-11 season, Milan had five points and four games,
16:14and Milan won the Scudetto under Massimiliano Allegri.
16:17So have you seen that desire from your players that they want to bounce back
16:21and send out a message to a disappointed fan base?
16:27And is your stated aim still to win the league title?
16:30It still is. No shadow of a doubt about that.
16:39What can I say? I think it's important to say that again.
16:46When you're going through times like these, when you're not getting results,
16:52you might see that the team is sad, the team might lack confidence.
16:58But what I see on a daily basis is a team that has belief, a team that wants to improve,
17:07a happy side that are working in a cheerful way, and that's why I'm very confident.
17:15These are the signs that the players are giving us.
17:19So I couldn't be here otherwise when I see the players working as they have been doing,
17:26and that's why I'm still very confident.
17:30Then the results are a whole other matter, but I can't be here in a negative mood
17:35when I've seen the way my players are training, and I've got a lot of faith in them as well.
17:41Shasha. Good afternoon, Gaffer.
17:48Mike Maignan made headlines with his motivational team talk for his France side against Italy.
17:56Could he be a leader in this side?
17:58Because you've been missing a leader at Milan at times, haven't you?
18:04I don't know what Mike Maignan said in the France dressing room.
18:11Mike is a big character. I think he's already one of the leaders in the squad.
18:17There's no doubt about that.
18:21He's already an important player and he's one of the leaders in the dressing room,
18:26and we need leadership like that.
18:33We have other players that have just joined the club who can also become leaders,
18:43but it's always important to have players like Mike in the squad,
18:49players that bring character and personality to the team.
18:55Milan Press. Good afternoon, Gaffer.
18:59I wanted to ask you what sort of player is Silvano Voss, what have you made of him in training,
19:06and where do you expect to pick him as a defence midfielder, a central midfielder or a number 10,
19:13and when will he be ready for the first team?
19:17Voss started training this week with us.
19:24He had already watched the player in the past and he's confirmed that he is a quality player.
19:33He wants to get on the ball, he wants to get involved in attacking play,
19:40a bit like all of Dutch players in general.
19:47He's a very skilful player and I think he could play both in central midfield and as a number 10.
19:57He can play in both spots, but I really like the job that he's done this week in first team training.
20:07With Ismael Benasser's injury, he along with Kevin Zeroli will train with the first team.
20:19What I can say is that he confirmed what we've seen in him.
20:23Final question. Good afternoon, Gaffer.
20:26Unfortunately over the last few days you haven't been able to see your players a great deal
20:30because they're away committed on international duty.
20:33Does that have an impact on the team you pick tomorrow?
20:37Might you pick someone that you've seen a bit more in training at Milanello
20:41as opposed to someone who's come back from international duty?
20:44I don't think so, because almost everyone was away on international duty.
20:56Our players away on international duty all performed very positively.
21:03As head coach, I need to maximise the confidence that they come back in from with international duty
21:12and that won't influence my team selection tomorrow.
21:14Thanks very much, everyone.