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00:00Good afternoon everyone, welcome along to this pre-match press conference on the eve
00:05of Milan-Girona with Younis Moussa and Sergio Conceicao.
00:09Thank you Nicola, good afternoon Gaffa, hi Younis.
00:12Coach, in 2021 we came up against your Porto side in Champions League, Milan hadn't been
00:19in Europe's Premier Club competition for 8 years and you could see that, whereas Porto
00:23you could tell were used to playing in that competition.
00:27Given that you know this sort of trophy, Milan are going very well in the Champions League
00:33table as opposed to Serie A, is that a coincidence or because of the way the team is built do
00:39you think that is explainable?
00:42Good afternoon everyone, no, I think every match is different, the competitions are different,
00:54sure being in the best club competition in the world is always a huge source of motivation
01:03and top teams like Milan certainly work year in year out to be there, but we're also doing
01:11so domestically to try and find the right consistency so that come the end of the season
01:17we'll be once again in the Champions League places.
01:27It's really nice because at Porto we were in the last 16 three times, we were into the
01:34quarter finals, we played in the competition six years out of seven
01:44and now we want Milan to press further ahead in this competition, given that the history
01:52tells us we've won so much in this competition, it's a very very challenging target, tomorrow
01:57night's game will be an important fixture for us in order to go further forward, that's
02:01it.
02:02I wanted to ask a question to Younes, hi Younes, you had a year at Valencia Mestalla, three
02:11years at the first team, you know La Liga well, you've seen Girona develop, what sort
02:17of team are you expecting tomorrow from our opponents Younes?
02:23Yeah I think when I went to La Liga I didn't necessarily think the teams would be that
02:30good but they've got a lot of quality individuals and as a team they also play well, they want
02:36to play football building out from the back with a goalkeeper and so tomorrow night's
02:42game will require us to be very solid defensively.
02:44Sky, hi coach, over the last 23 days several times you have underlined the fact that Milan
02:53have a glorious history, seven Champions League winners' medals, in the minds of these young
02:59players with these ups and downs on the pitch, do you think that can actually weigh heavily,
03:03it's the first time that you're preparing for a Champions League game here at Milanello,
03:07have you picked up on something unusual, nice about the atmosphere or is it the usual
03:11story?
03:12No it's the same, if I'm perfectly honest over the last few weeks besides the very little
03:20time that I've had available to prepare for these matches, the lads have looked focused,
03:30concentrated on preparing for this game and I said as much after the Juventus match, emotionally
03:42mentally this is a job that I need to do as a head coach, I need to find the right mentality
03:50and attitude for the squad as a whole, that's important, day in day out here at Milanello
03:56and the players know that and they're demonstrating that as well, they're motivated every day
04:02to work hard and to improve as a team which is what we want and indeed as individuals.
04:13The prestige of the club doesn't go out there on the pitch, ultimately it's just the shirts
04:17that we put on, it's up to the players to actually show what we want at every level,
04:21it's what I'm expecting not only in the Champions League, in the Coppa Italia and Serie A as
04:25well, in every competition we're involved in.
04:28Hi Sergio, I'd like to ask you, it was the opposite at Juventus compared with what you
04:48saw at Como, given that you speak to the players individually with the squad, we saw
05:00the training session came after your team talk, how have you and your staff explained
05:06the fact that you've never had consistency over the course of 90 minutes, you either
05:10play well in the first half or the second?
05:12That's what we're trying to do, I don't need to necessarily defend what I've done, I just
05:22spoke from the heart, said what was within me and the squad of players are well aware
05:28of what we need to do, there are some things that we haven't done well, that we didn't
05:30do well in that second half against Juventus, we need to work on the training ground and
05:36we need to believe in what we're doing in terms of our tactical, technical work, the
05:47players also need to grasp what didn't work above all in the second half but also in certain
05:52phases of the game in previous matches, to make sure that we are indeed consistent over
05:58the 90 minutes.
06:02The nice thing about football is that you're constantly starting again from scratch, constantly
06:08wiping the slate clean, after a good performance you need to start preparing for a game that
06:15you need to then produce another good performance but after a tough game then you need to go
06:19again to prepare for the next match and constantly wiping the slate clean does give you an opportunity
06:24to improve and get better.
06:28Younus, on behalf of the team, can you say yes, I promise that our next game will be
06:38the match in which we are consistent over 90 minutes and what has Sergio offered you
06:43guys in the first few days he's been here, what has he given to you?
06:49No we always give 100%, it's not that we're not giving 100% over 90 minutes but we're
06:53also trying to train that, to work on that, we're working very hard, watching video clips
06:59and training on the pitch to make sure that we are at our best over 90 minutes.
07:05When the new staff came into the club we did well in Saudi Arabia, beating two very good
07:13teams and that's certainly given us a big lift and a lot of confidence that we can achieve
07:18great things.
07:19Hi coach, coming back to what my colleague from Mediaset said, you've had an impressive
07:35career as a coach and a team that's only able to play well for 45 minutes and you have two
07:45performances which are completely different within the space of one game, has that ever
07:49happened to you in your coaching career and how did you step in to resolve the issue?
08:00Worse has happened to me, sometimes they've not actually gone out there at all in previous
08:06years but that happens, we're up against opposition sides that have got a lot of quality, even
08:16if you play against teams that theoretically are a lot worse than us there are times in
08:20the game when the opposition are on top and that's part of football, that's part and parcel
08:27of every game, every match is different, you've got the opposition, the various phases of
08:32the game that can only turn your way, turn in your favour, there are a whole host of
08:40very important details within a match, you need to understand what the foundations are,
08:47what the priority is, namely these are non-negotiable, I always say this and that's what we're working
08:52on because when we need to dig in we'll dig in, when we need to defend more we'll defend
08:58more but ultimately it all comes down to result, that's what you guys look at even
09:06when we don't play well, you know in the first half in terms of game plan and tactically
09:13our first half performance was very positive, Juventus had one shot on goal, we could have
09:19even scored two or three goals and the game would have changed, we lacked something in
09:22the second half absolutely but we're here to assess things, we're also looking the players
09:28in the eyes and the players are aware of what we need to do to improve, that's the basis,
09:33that's the foundations, they need to accept that message, we need to move forward and
09:37the team need to get better, need to evolve as we want them to.
09:41Hi Sergio, after the Juventus match you said in your post-match press conference when talking
09:53about the substitutions you said, do Juventus have certain players available on the bench
09:58whereas the changes that I can make are of a certain level, you know you throw in Kamar
10:06who would be a great player but he's still 16 years of age so I wanted to ask you quite
10:09simply without asking you which players you're expecting from this January transfer window
10:15but what do you think the transfer window can bring to your Milan side, how can you
10:19improve, where, thanks to the transfer window?
10:24I said that that wasn't a criticism, it was a statement of fact, it's the truth at this
10:29moment in time, tomorrow we have 12, 13 or 14 players from the first team, we have three
10:37goalkeepers and three kids, Kamarda, Zeroli and Partesaghi and that's a message for the
10:48fan base as well because they're the heart and soul of the club, they need to understand
10:51that besides the fact that they might like me or the players or the senior management
10:59Milan and Milan, they need to look at the club's badge and we're the ones here at this
11:04moment in time, they need to support us, they need to be the 12th man, no they need to be
11:15the first player, not the 12th because without them the team and the club doesn't exist,
11:20without the heart and soul, the fan base that are passionate about Milan, I'll do everything
11:28in my power so too will the players to defend the club's interests but they also need the
11:33supporters' passion, their support, tomorrow is hugely important because we're struggling
11:40at the moment for one reason or another, there are a number of players missing, there are
11:44a number of players that are injured, other players that are banned like Tomori, it's
11:49an emergency situation so we need everyone because we all win, we all draw, we all lose
11:55tomorrow that's the truth of the matter and that's the message, that's the appeal I'd
11:59like to make to everyone, okay maybe I'm not a handsome guy, maybe I'm not a very nice
12:04guy but I'm the one who's here, I'm the one who's here and they need to give us all of
12:09their support to the players who go out there and the players can pick up on the atmosphere
12:14it's important that we're all coming together, you know we might get on or not, we might
12:19disagree, everything that's gone on in the past that's water under the bridge, what matters
12:25to me is preparing the team to try and win the match but I had to say this because I've
12:30felt it and I had to get this off my chest because I see too much division within a historic
12:36club and who loses, who comes out losing at the end of it, Milan, Milan are the team that
12:41lose, maybe in the future I'm no longer here, the other players will move on elsewhere,
12:47they're professionals, they have their career path but ultimately the Milan fans start with
12:56a club when they're one year of age and then you know they're fans until they're 80 or
13:0190 years of age their whole lives so we need to keep this in mind because I think it's
13:04very important. Let's go to Corriere dello Sport, good afternoon coach, you've spoken
13:11about a number of players that are missing, will Pulisic be in the matchday squad tomorrow
13:17and you've spoken about will to win, desire in recent days, no I haven't yet eaten that's
13:23why I'm hungry, a player like Karl Walker, can he bring a winning mentality to Milan,
13:32he's won a number of trophies, he's got experience and leadership. Pulisic will be with us, we've
13:48got a training session tomorrow morning, he'll train with us tomorrow morning, we'll see
13:53how he is, I really don't want to run any risks when it comes to Cristian, I don't want
13:56to be without him for a month or two months, if he's at 100% he can help us out, maybe
14:01we'll put him on the bench if we need him during the game but if not it's better not
14:06to risk him, that's the situation but he will stay with us, he will be with the team overnight,
14:12that's why I was saying 12 or 13 outfield players. As for the other matter, tomorrow
14:20night's game is the most important thing.
14:24Hi coach, I wanted to ask you your opinion on the performance levels of your forward
14:41line, your strikers, Alvaro Morata and Tami Abraham, they've each scored six goals across
14:47all competitions thus far, do you expect more from them, are they the forwards that best
14:54suit your system and where can they actually be helped by the team in order to score a
15:01few more goals?
15:04That's the point, as a head coach and even as a former player I've always been of the
15:11opinion that it's not that the centre backs or goalkeepers that are to blame for the goals
15:18that we concede nor do I agree that the team doesn't win because the strikers don't score
15:24goals because it's a collective process, it comes down to the way you play as a team.
15:29I've had certain sides where we've had for more than one year the best, the top scorer
15:36in the team was also the leading goal scorer in the league and the midfielders and wingers
15:41didn't score too many goals and I've also had the opposite where we had fantastic players
15:46with other attributes that didn't score too many goals but did allow the wingers and midfielders
15:50to score goals.
15:51You need to strike the right balance, if they're doing what I'm asking them to do at every
15:55moment of the game that's great because if they don't score then other players will find
15:59the net, ultimately what it comes down to is the final result, the team winning matches.
16:04Of course forwards like to score goals, they live and breathe for that and then you will
16:09look at statistics and numbers to do with that and that's certainly right but I look
16:13at other things as a head coach.
16:15I don't know if I've disappointed you with my answer or...
16:20Let's go to TuttoSport.
16:23Hi coach, I wanted to ask you how is Strahinja Pavlovic given that you almost have your
16:35hand forced with absences?
16:38No, he's available for selection just as he was for previous matches, it's not Pavlovic's
16:45fault if he hasn't yet played under me, he's always trained well.
16:51At times he's even had incredible desire and he occasionally strays out of position
16:59but we're talking about that, we're looking at that but I'm happy with what Pavlovic is
17:03doing day in day out to make himself available for the team and ultimately it comes down
17:09to me, team selection, tomorrow we have two centre-backs available and so I could play
17:16a midfielder back there.
17:20Good afternoon, one of the things that's really caught the eye in recent matches particularly
17:32against Como and Juventus was the issues you faced in midfield, at Como they were often
17:38chasing after opposition players as opposed to nipping in front, after the Juventus game
17:43you said it's not a problem of fatigue, what does it come down to then, skill set, quality,
17:48what are we missing, it's the coach's issue, the coach needs to explain all these things
17:55to them, it's not the players, the players are trying to carry out what the coach is
18:00asking and they really are trying to do what I'm demanding of them, I'm the one who needs
18:04to do a bit more, that's what I'm here for.
18:09Final question with Carlo Pellegatti, for both of you, otherwise Moussa is here and
18:15you know, Younus is here, let's have him answer a question please, Younus, you must
18:24have watched the Super Bowl many times on television which is famous in the United States,
18:31you've played in the Champions League since you moved to Milan, is it an incredible atmosphere,
18:36do you explain to your colleagues what the Champions League is all about, those that
18:40don't play in the competition?
18:42Yeah, we really are lucky to play in competitions such as these, because my international teammates
18:51that play in MLS watch us, they get up early to watch Champions League matches and it's
18:59the best club competition for us to be involved in and we're really hungry to get out there,
19:05we want to play in the competition year in, year out, I dreamed of playing there when
19:11I was at Valencia, I wanted to be involved in the Champions League and that's why I moved
19:13to Milan in the first place.
19:16This will be the headline, you know, your appeal to the fan base, talk about division,
19:24that was great, but another source of pride is Milan playing in the first half like they
19:29did against Juventus for 90 minutes or how they played against Real Madrid under your
19:35colleague Paolo Fonseca, maybe your best performance of the season, can you get to
19:40the semi-finals of the Champions League and outdo your own personal record?
19:47You need to have a lot of thought, give this a lot of thought, thank you for these huge
19:54lofty goals Carlo.
19:56No, I apologise, but we're at Milan, absolutely, absolutely and you're right, you're right
20:02to say that, I went very close when we took on Chelsea and even when we played Liverpool
20:10if I remember rightly in the quarter-finals, but it's a dream and I have this dream to
20:16get as far as possible in the Champions League and that would be beyond the quarter-finals
20:21into the semis and into the final, win, I don't know.
20:24Can this team make it, I hope so, that's what we're working towards, it's not that we go
20:32out there in the stadium, we start every match with the scoreline goalless and we try
20:38and win games, quite honestly what I can say is that we'll try and give our utmost tomorrow
20:48in this competition to go as far as possible, then we'll see how we get on, thank you very
20:51much everyone.