Dinamo Zagreb v AC Milan, Champions League 2024/25: the pre-match press conference

A.C. MILAN OFFICIAL

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00:00These games are all pretty much decisive in every competition that we have, but it's one

00:10thing preparing on the chalkboard and with video, but today we did so for 45 minutes

00:16on the pitch, but it's not ideal, of course.

00:20But we're aware of that and we'll do what we can in terms of studying the opposition.

00:29I know my players and the most positive thing would be to win the game.

00:37For Cristian, Milan are a different side in the Champions League.

00:42You seem a lot more determined.

00:44How far do you think this team can go?

00:47Could you answer in Italian?

00:49You're very good in Italian.

00:52How far do you think Milan can go?

00:53You're a bit better off in the Champions League.

00:57Sure, it's my first press conference in Italian.

01:03I'm going to try and answer in Italian.

01:05Yes, we have done a good job in the Champions League this season.

01:08I don't know why we're winning more matches in the Champions League than we are in Serie

01:13A, but we have a great opportunity tomorrow night to make it into the top eight.

01:21We need to progress in the competition.

01:24Hi Sergio, there have been rather turbulent days recently at Milan.

01:34Are you talking about the weather?

01:40So I'd like to ask you, you said the other day, who knows if everything that's gone on

01:47might actually give us a bit of energy.

01:49A couple of days have gone by.

01:51Has it shaken things up, that incident?

01:53I'm talking about you and Calabria post-match.

01:56Has it shaken the team up?

02:03We didn't need uninteresting things to shake things up.

02:06You can shake things up via hard work, with the motivation to be involved in this top

02:11class competition, the best club competition in the world.

02:18And the fact that we've done well thus far in the Champions League, and we want to finish

02:24the league phase in the best possible way by winning the match.

02:28That's the most important thing, the motivation, shaking things up.

02:31You see that day in, day out, every time we go to Milanello.

02:35I'm at Milanello 24 hours a day, and it's my responsibility to represent the best interests

02:45of Milan.

02:46That's the most important thing.

02:48Cristian, I'd like to ask you a question.

02:50What are Milan lacking at this moment in time?

02:53You've been here for a while now, so you've seen things.

02:58What are you lacking?

02:59What's the team missing?

03:00Where do you still need to improve?

03:06It's hard to say exactly what we're missing at the moment, but I think in recent matches

03:11we have proven that we have a good team spirit.

03:23It keeps happening at the end of games, even though we want to start matches in the same

03:27vein.

03:28But I don't know what we're missing the most at the moment, to be honest.

03:37Hi, Gaffer.

03:41On Sunday, you showed that you decided not to...

03:50You ran the risk of having Fofana, who was booked and is suspended.

03:54On Sunday, you've got the derby.

03:57So do you plan on again making your team selection based on how the players are, as opposed to

04:02looking ahead to the derby?

04:06Does Morata need a breather because he's played a lot recently, or could he play tomorrow's

04:10game as well?

04:13I understand your question, but as I said, I take things one game at a time.

04:21I don't try and look too far ahead.

04:27Managing two games at the same time, that's not good, if you do that.

04:32It might seem the case, but I didn't just become a coach yesterday.

04:38But if you do that, then results aren't good.

04:41But we need to focus on tomorrow's game, which should be a difficult, important match for

04:47a target that we want to secure our second goal.

04:50The first one was winning the Super Cup.

04:52We did well on that score.

04:53And our second target for the team is to finish in the top eight of the league phase of the

04:59Champions League so that we can move directly into the round of 16.

05:04That's what we're focused on.

05:05That's what we're thinking about.

05:08We are concentrated on preparing this game in a very short time frame.

05:12It's an important match.

05:13We're not thinking about the derby.

05:15We'll start thinking about the derby on Thursday, the day after tomorrow when we're on the plane

05:20home.

05:21Hi coach, hi Christian.

05:29Can this team win the Champions League?

05:32Karl Walker spoke yesterday and he admitted that he has asked for a Champions League winning

05:39bonus because he believes in it.

05:41And I'd like to ask Christian, in the dressing room, given the way that things are going

05:46in Serie A, have you been saying to one another, oh, maybe we'll win the Champions League?

05:56In so many games, our clear aim is to try and finish in the top four in Serie A.

06:08In the previous answer, I said that we can't think about the derby.

06:20If you look too far ahead, then you maybe don't see the steps in front of you and you

06:25can trip up and fall over.

06:27That's not what I want.

06:28I work day in, day out to focus on the next match, the upcoming game, the one that we've

06:34got ahead of us, which is tomorrow's game.

06:39No, we're not thinking, okay, we're not performing well in Serie A, so we'll only focus on the

06:46Champions League.

06:47That's not the case.

06:48Sure, we need to focus on every match.

06:53We're playing well in the Champions League and we want to do likewise in Serie A.

07:05Good evening, coach.

07:07From Riyadh to Zagreb in your first month at Milan, a very busy month with so much that's

07:14gone on.

07:15It might feel like you've been at the club for a year.

07:17Where has this team improved since you've been in charge and where do you expect the

07:23team to improve?

07:24What would you like to see them work on immediately?

07:29There are a number of areas of our play that I'd like to improve upon and at times we've

07:38seen that during certain matches, whereas on other occasions less so.

07:46There are times when we have the ball and these are important phases of the game in

07:51terms of our shape when it comes to the opposition countering.

07:55I'm talking in terms of the quality of our football, in terms of how we occupy the space

08:01in the opposition half of the pitch, how we respond to losing the ball, our defensive

08:06transition after a turnover.

08:10There are a number of different things.

08:13You're always looking for perfection, I won't say 100% or 1,000% of perfection at every

08:20stage, but working on all of these fine margins and details.

08:23As I said earlier on, this is not an excuse.

08:25I was well aware of the fixture list, that's the truth, but there is no time.

08:29It's harder because I like to coach the players on the pitch, see them in the space, tweak

08:38things, correct things.

08:41The moments that we're talking about are clear for everyone to see because we're talking

08:46about that, but I see some other things that are positive.

08:49I see other things where it seems like we haven't improved, whereas in actual fact I

08:57think we have already made progress and we really have improved a little bit in terms

09:05of what I want to see.

09:06The players believe in it.

09:10Sure, there are four games that I'd obviously prefer to win more comfortably as opposed

09:17to coming from behind to win, but that's been the case, but I believe to the 90th minute

09:23and you can win matches in the first and last minute, that spirit and attitude is important

09:27in matches and you need to show other elements as well, which I think are really important

09:34if you do want to win games more comfortably.

09:37Good evening, a question for both of you, I'll start with Christian.

09:43Rafael Leao said that being near Konsoi Sao is like hell because you can always hear him,

09:52you play on both the right and the left, I haven't understood the question.

09:58In an interview Rafael Leao said that when Leao is on the touchline near Konsoi Sao he

10:06can always hear the head coach because he shouts a lot, you often play on his side of

10:10the pitch, what's that like?

10:13What can I say?

10:17Don't say anything, yeah, better off not saying anything.

10:22No, he's got a very loud voice, but that's it.

10:33In recent days people have spoken a great deal about Laza and the gig, but one of his

10:39words has come to mind, we will be risen from the ashes, do you feel the team that

10:49can be reborn from the ashes, is that the spirit you want to implement in this side?

10:53No, I don't need songs to be honest, no, but we're working to get to the end of the season

11:08and to secure our targets come the end of the campaign.

11:14So sure, be reborn in one area, as you said earlier on in terms of a negative situation,

11:19we need to focus on hard work, that's the most important thing.

11:25With every passing day I get to know the players better, they get to know me better, what we

11:30want from the team on the pitch, that's what it's all about, gigs, concerts, you know,

11:36it's all news that gets people talking, but I'm Portuguese, I come from a different culture,

11:45but I've played for many years in Italy and ultimately the language of football is universal.

11:55There's a training session for 90 minutes or two hours a day, but then there's the players'

12:00everyday lives that go along around everything else and the players know how important that

12:05is just as it is to train well for 90 minutes.

12:08I'm not calling anyone's attention to this, it's not the end of the world because four

12:14or five players went to a gig, that's not what it's all about, but nor should we be

12:24raking up old graves.

12:26This has been and gone, I've spoken with those players, I've got my rules and the club has

12:37their rules as well, so this is water under the bridge, it's not important for tomorrow,

12:41it's not important.

12:44Most important thing for tomorrow is to think about Dinamo Zagreb and mainly about our team,

12:51what we can do in order to win the game.

12:56Here are three points on offer.

12:59Any questions from the local press?

13:01There are no questions?

13:06OK Radio Rai, last question and then with Carlo Pellegatti.

13:15I'm not going to ask you about the gig ahead of tomorrow's night's match, but in general

13:19the rules, discipline, does that pertain to this team in certain ways?

13:29No, to be honest I think they're a good set of lads.

13:37My players are good men, they're nice guys and they understand my thoughts on football,

13:45on our profession, on being a sportsman.

13:50I have a lot of faith in them, I believe in them and once they know how we work as a group,

13:56once that's established, the players are very respectful.

14:02They're respectful of me and I'm respectful of them, because the coach also needs to see

14:08what sort of group of players he's working with, they're good on that score.

14:12As I came in and I changed a great deal of things, but ultimately they accepted things.

14:21It might seem like we haven't changed the way we're playing, but we do want to change

14:24our style of playing a great deal as well, so at this moment in time I'm very happy with

14:28the squad.

14:29Carlo, good evening, a question for Christian Pulisic and one for the head coach.

14:34I'll start with Christian, I'll speak slowly.

14:40Fabio Cannavaro gave an interview, the head coach of Dinamo Zagreb, he said I haven't

14:46seen too many differences thus far between Fonseca and Concezano's style of play.

14:56What are the differences in terms of the game plan compared with the previous head coach

15:00in terms of the way you play and in terms of the way you train?

15:05No, as he said, it's not easy, because we don't have a great deal of time to train,

15:15because we play every three days, so it's not easy.

15:21I don't know, as I said earlier on, the spirit has changed a little bit, I think.

15:33We do have this mindset whereby games are never over, but it's hard to say that's what

15:39the difference necessarily is, because as the gaffer said, we don't have too much time

15:43to train.

15:44Now, a question for Sergio, I once spoke to Massimiliano Allegri and Juventus were up

15:50against Porto, I don't think you were necessarily head coach, but they were playing Porto, and

15:54he said to me, I fear teams like Porto more because they have European DNA as opposed

16:01to the European Eurovision, the Nouveau-Riche, there's not a big difference between Porto

16:12and Milan, because both sides have DNA, but when you coach Milan, above all in Champions

16:17League fixtures, have you picked up on something different compared with other sides?

16:24They're two huge clubs, I think Porto, along with Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of the

16:33top three sides with the most appearances in the Champions League, and Milan are the

16:38team that have won the second highest number of trophies, with seven.

16:43This is history, but history doesn't go out there on the pitch, but it does count, it

16:47does matter, even the opposition taking on Milan, they're more concerned as opposed to,

16:53they're more worried as opposed to taking on another team that doesn't have that within

16:57them.

16:58Yeah, sure, the DNA is very important, without a doubt, the atmosphere that is created around

17:05this competition when there are matches against teams of this level, so like the two clubs

17:12I've coached, Porto and Milan in the Champions League, but then on the other side there's

17:19also the motivation that the opposition have to take on historic clubs such as these, and

17:25tomorrow we're up against a team that still have a hope of making it through to the playoffs,

17:31so it'll be very challenging, it'll be really tough, and that's one of the reasons, the

17:37motivation that they can make it to the playoffs, and the fact that they're coming up against

17:40a historic side in the context of the Champions League, not only that, in other competitions

17:46as well, Milan and Porto have already been world champions in the past, and that certainly

17:51does have an impact, both positively and negatively, for the opposition.

17:56Thank you very much, everyone.

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