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00:01Good afternoon everyone. Welcome along to the pre-match press conference on the eve of Inter Milan.
00:07Before we get started, the coach would like to give his thoughts on Pope Francis.
00:17I am a practicing Catholic and I go to mass every day at 6.30pm.
00:27Every day in Milan city centre, I've done this throughout my life.
00:32He was an incredible man with his words and his facial expressions.
00:40We will really miss him so I hope that may he rest in peace.
00:48Good afternoon, coach. A very important match.
00:52There's a trophy up for grabs, it's a derby, it's a semi-final at this stage of the season.
00:58Is it a source of pride or motivation?
01:02Everything that you've said, Mauro.
01:10Big clubs try and go as far as they can in every single competition.
01:15Congratulations to Inter on their run so far in the Champions League, their top of Serie A.
01:21That shows what a great side they are.
01:23We need to see this as a crucial match.
01:30We really want to win the game and make it into the final.
01:33We want to give the fans the joy of winning a trophy.
01:37But in order to win a piece of silverware, we need to produce a top performance tomorrow.
01:41We need to be very competitive.
01:42And understand that this is the fifth time that we're taking on Inter this season.
01:50The fourth time for me, if I'm not mistaken.
01:55Every game is different.
01:58Every match is a law unto itself.
02:02It's unique.
02:04And how this game pans out will depend a great deal on how we play.
02:08We want to be competitive at top level in order to win the match.
02:12Otherwise, it'd be very difficult to do so.
02:16Could you talk us through the training sessions?
02:19You often say that there's high intensity in training sessions, but not necessarily that doesn't translate on the pitch.
02:25Have you tried to give them a wake-up call?
02:27Because in terms of pride and dignity, this is a match that the players need to give a bit of joy to the fan base.
02:35And how's Kyle Walker?
02:36I'll start with Kyle Walker.
02:38He trained with the team.
02:39He's certainly not 100%.
02:40Same goes for Ruben Loftus-Cig, but he will be available.
02:45Physically, he's not 100%.
02:46But it is a good sign to have those two players coming back.
02:51As for the team, the week leading up to the Atalanta game, we played on Friday night in Urdine.
03:05We had a full week to prepare the game.
03:07I spoke to you about the good feelings that I had ahead of the game, ahead of the Udinese game.
03:16That was the same feeling that I had.
03:18I didn't speak to the media before the Atalanta game, but it was the same feeling.
03:21Then we went out there for the match, and I had to wait for the half-time interval to sort the team out, because the first 15 minutes we were up against an opposition side that's got a lot of quality.
03:38They recently won the Europa League, they're third in Serie A.
03:41Giampiero Gasperini has done a brilliant job with the team over the last few years, so they are a good team.
03:45It was a very even match, they didn't have too many opportunities, they had ball possession, but without too many chances in the first half.
03:55We tried to sort things in the break, and the first 15 minutes Atalanta didn't make it into our half.
04:01But then we conceded that goal with a number of mistakes, a number of individual mistakes, but I'd rather talk about collective mistakes.
04:12And that's what I said after the game as well.
04:16Typically players that come off the bench add something for the team, that wasn't the case, that was my feeling.
04:21We spoke about that, we looked at the footage in terms of what we didn't do well.
04:25We're already thinking about the Inter game, because the Atalanta match is water under the bridge, and the Inter game is the most important match tomorrow night's game, and the players are aware of that.
04:37Gazzetta dello Sport.
04:39The microphone's over there.
04:41Here I am.
04:43Hi coach.
04:45In Udine, you used that new formation with a back three.
04:50You picked that again on Sunday against Atalanta.
04:55Do you believe that this is the right fit, the right shape for Milan between now and the end of the season, regardless of the opposition that you're up against?
05:05I'm asking you that, because after the Udinese game, some of the players came out and made big statements, Rafael Liao, Theo Hernandez, Christian Pulisic.
05:16They said that they liked their positions within that new formation.
05:21Could this be the shape that you use against Inter, even if you've played them with a different formation in the past?
05:27Yes, the formation is important.
05:30It is important to work in a style of play and a system.
05:36But then it all comes down to how you operate within that system, what the team needs to do, what the players need to do individually in order to be a good unit.
05:47We need to defend against Inter's strengths.
05:52I'm talking not only defensively, but also in other formations, we've always had a fifth player in our back line, even playing 4-4-2.
06:02Once it was Yunus Moussa, another time it was Alex Jimenez.
06:06It depends what we want out of the game.
06:09It depends how the opposition are performing, because, as I said, the opposition always try and do something a little bit different every game.
06:20Even though Inter know Milan very well, and we know them very well as well, they're always individual players, and there's always a unique dynamic to every game.
06:31Because, yes, you look at the strengths of the opposition and some of their weaknesses as well.
06:36And the idea is to try and exploit those weaknesses and be focused on all of their individual quality, and plus the fact that they have three excellent central midfielders.
06:50They've also got some very wide wing-backs, they stretch the pitch a great deal, both in terms of width and depth.
06:59One striker plays a lot with his back to goal, the other one stretches, the pitch runs in behind.
07:04They're a team that's got so many assets in possession.
07:09But so too do we.
07:10I've seen some fantastic things that we've done, in terms of the way that we attack.
07:16Defensively, there are some moments where we want to be defensively, but ultimately you build houses by starting with the foundations, from the ground upwards.
07:32I'm just going to dwell on Inter a little bit.
07:45They're on the back of a very significant defeat, because when the team that's top of the table loses, do you think they're tired?
07:53What sort of match are you expecting?
07:56Is it an Inter side that might start to feel the fatigue of all of these matches?
08:04Could that be key to the match?
08:06They're involved on a number of different fronts, but they are used to being involved in several competitions like we are.
08:14And these days, with all of the staff that a club has, it's very quick in terms of players' recovery.
08:24I watched the Bologna match to see the game itself.
08:29And our match analysts give us clips of every game, but before the Atalanta game, I actually watched all 90 minutes of four matches, right from the first minute to the 90th minute.
08:46That's how I am.
08:47That's how I like to see things.
08:48I saw the same thing with Inter as well.
08:50But as for whether they're tired or not, they've got a very big squad, so they can always keep quality and even making changes.
08:57Rocky Rai.
08:59Good afternoon, coach.
09:02What sort of Milan side are you expecting?
09:05Because we often struggle as well.
09:07Are you expecting the dominant force from Udine or the slightly stuttering performance against Atalanta?
09:13Which one do I expect?
09:15I'd be crazy if I were to say anything other than the best Milan side possible.
09:19That's what I expect.
09:20It will certainly be a very competitive Milan side tomorrow with a lot of confidence.
09:29Yes, we have to take on the top side, that's true.
09:31But we're very ambitious.
09:32We've got a lot of motivation in terms of winning this match.
09:36La Repubblica.
09:38Hi, coach.
09:42I wanted to ask you something.
09:45This is the fifth derby between Milan and Inter.
09:48Milan have never lost to Inter.
09:50You've won to and drawn to thus far.
09:54Tomorrow's game for Inter is a real turning point because they have publicly stated that they are chasing a treble.
10:03Does that give you added motivation?
10:05Are you talking about that in the dressing room, the fact that you could be the team that could ruin, if you will, Inter's dreams of glory?
10:13Does that give you added motivation compared with what you already have in terms of your goal to win the Coppa Italia?
10:20To try and be the team that spoils Inter's treble dreams?
10:26No.
10:29No, you haven't even spoken about it.
10:31No, motivation doesn't come from our opponents being able to do this or that.
10:36It comes from the work we do day in, day out in terms of what we've done today.
10:40The players played only two days ago.
10:44That's true.
10:45But we're talking about how we can cause problems for the opposition.
10:54We also spoke about the game that we played against Atalanta, as I mentioned.
10:59We're not talking about things like that.
11:01They're not in the dressing room at all.
11:08I'm disappointed to say this, but we can only talk about the Coppa Italia because the Serie A is out of the question.
11:14So too is the Champions League.
11:15It's no longer possible.
11:16So our most important game is tomorrow's game.
11:18We're only thinking about that.
11:20We're focused in terms of our work on the Coppa Italia.
11:23So we find nothing more than that.
11:24Fran Kortine.
11:28Fran Kortine.
11:31I wanted to ask you the following.
11:39A little earlier you said I had to wait for the halftime interval to sort the team out.
11:46But I'm wondering, given that you'd had from Saturday after the Udinese game up until the other day, the Sunday,
11:57all of that time to work with the team.
11:59Why does this team need to come back in at halftime to be tweaked and sorted out?
12:07And unfortunately, that didn't last very long because it was only 15 minutes.
12:11And after you conceded a goal, why weren't you able to then score an equaliser?
12:16Is there an explanation for that?
12:17I'm not talking psychologically necessarily, because that would mean being philosophical.
12:22But from a footballing perspective, technically, how do you explain this?
12:28The explanation is simple.
12:32We played quality opponents with a good coach,
12:34who knew how to shut down our strengths.
12:43He had Martin Derone and Edison, the two midfielders, who dropped in.
12:48He tweaked things in terms of his shape.
12:50And that surprised us.
12:51That's caused us a little bit off guard.
12:53They closed down all the space.
12:57They didn't have too many opportunities.
12:59We allowed them to have the ball.
13:01They didn't have any chances.
13:02What more could we have done after the break?
13:04We wanted to make sure we had that defensive solidity once more,
13:07so we could be more daring offensively.
13:10And that's what we tried to do.
13:12There were some individual mistakes.
13:13We conceded the goal.
13:14We conceded a game against the run of play.
13:19But that's part and parcel of football.
13:21There are some footballing reasons,
13:23which there are two or three individual mistakes
13:26that shouldn't have been there.
13:29That's how we conceded that goal.
13:30And in terms of the way we were in the game,
13:35we were either going to win the game or score a goal.
13:37But that's how football is.
13:39Sport Italia.
13:44Good afternoon, coach.
13:46I wanted to ask you,
13:48Fofan and Reinders as a central midfield pairing,
13:52is that working as you would expect them to,
13:54or are they still missing something?
13:56Maybe they were both struggling against Atalanta.
14:01I wanted to get your perspective from a tactical point of view,
14:04not in terms of the two individuals.
14:06I know you don't like to talk about the individuals.
14:08No, the two individuals are incredible players
14:10with a huge amount of ability.
14:12We can talk about the pairing of Christian Pulisic and Luka Jovic,
14:23and so on and so forth.
14:26It's not just one pairing that needs to be pinpointed.
14:31No, we need to have balance at the team.
14:35They know what I want to see.
14:37It's both when we defend and attack in midfield.
14:40They're part of that dynamic and shape.
14:41It doesn't only come down to them.
14:43It's something that didn't work yet.
14:46Tell Lombardia.
14:49Hi, coach.
14:50Why is that striker that the fan base really wanted that Milan spent a great deal of money on?
15:04Why is he third in the hierarchy?
15:05Nothing against Abraham and Jovic.
15:09No, there's no first, second, third or fourth in the hierarchy.
15:12It comes down to the player's form.
15:13We've spoken about this a great deal.
15:15He came in and immediately performed well and scored some goals.
15:22After that, he had a slightly trickier run.
15:25In the last few weeks, he's been injured as well.
15:27Are you listening to me?
15:29Yes or no?
15:33I'm talking about Jimenez, no?
15:35I'm talking about Jimenez.
15:38Yes, I'm talking about Jimenez.
15:39Yes, Santi Jimenez.
15:43Yes, I understood that.
15:43No, I'm talking about Jimenez.
15:47Rocky, I'm talking about depression.
15:51Supplementary.
15:52No, I understood.
15:57You were talking about Santi Jimenez.
15:59He also had an injury over the last few weeks.
16:09You know, I picked my team.
16:10It's not first, second or third in the hierarchy.
16:12It's the strike at this moment in time that gives me the most guarantees to start the game.
16:17But often the player that comes off the bench is even more crucial.
16:21Daniele Longo.
16:22Good afternoon, coach.
16:23Besides being a derby, a Coppa Italia semi-final and so on and so forth,
16:28do you think this match could actually change the perspective of this season?
16:32If you were to go and win the Coppa Italia,
16:35could you turn a mediocre, difficult season into a good one?
16:39No, we need to do our job.
16:40We need to try and win tomorrow.
16:43It is a hugely important game for everyone, for the players,
16:47for everyone working at Milan, for the fan base.
16:49And we are well aware of that.
16:51A positive season for Milan would always be winning the Scureta,
16:57going all the way in the Champions League,
16:59because it's a club that's used to that.
17:01I'm not saying that necessarily in the last few years.
17:04It's been a few difficult years.
17:06There's no need to dwell on that, rake over old graves.
17:11But it's only natural for a club this big to get into a Coppa Italia final.
17:17Aria.
17:18Ciao, Sergio.
17:19Hi, Sergio.
17:19Could you have a different approach to the game because it's a cup match
17:27and are Inter not necessarily favourites because of the Champions League run they're having?
17:33In matches such as these, whether you're favourites or not,
17:36it's whether you have a bit more confidence or less confidence.
17:48No, that's not the case.
17:50The referee blows his whistle and then it comes down to what you've prepared,
17:54the motivation you have, the ambition within the match.
17:56Everything that we do with every challenge, every moment of the game,
18:03as if it were the last game of our lives.
18:05That's ultimately what makes the difference because we have quality too.
18:08So ultimately, in my opinion, there is no such thing as a favourite in matches such as these.
18:16Good afternoon, coach.
18:20A slightly more commonplace question.
18:22Oh, it depends.
18:23How are you?
18:25Oh, that's a tricky question.
18:26Because let me try and interpret how you're looking.
18:33You seem a little bit edgier in terms of the way you're answering questions in post-match press conferences.
18:39Maybe you didn't like the performance.
18:41Over the last four months, what have you made?
18:44Are you happy that you joined the club?
18:46Would you not necessarily take the job again if you're looking back in time?
18:49How are you?
18:51No, I understand you and Andrea.
18:54You're very good in terms of asking certain questions.
18:59I'll talk about this at the end of the season.
19:04I'll talk about everything in terms of the six months I've been working here,
19:09what we've done well, what we haven't done well.
19:11I'll do all that at the end of the season.
19:12Thanks very much, everyone.