AC Milan's head coach, Stefano Pioli, speaks to the media as he presents his side's Serie A fixture against Fiorentina. It is a game valid for matchday 15 in the Italian league tomorrow at the San Siro. Here are the gaffer's words:
"Gazidis? I wish him the best of luck. We know Furlani, he will give continuity to the project. Fiorentina? We come from a bad performance (against Cremonese), we want to do better."
He added:
"A victory tomorrow would mean proving not to give up or to surrender to a ranking that we do not like. We must show that we are aware that the championship is still long, by playing a match at our level. It is such an anomalous schedule that there are still 24 league games left. . 2022 has been very positive for us, but we must not stop."
On the integration of younger players in the squad while the team must play every three days...
"I believe that my way of thinking has been positive and constructive towards my players. The defeatism or negativity that is out there does not interest us so much... Here, we are used to a rule: giving help and asking for help means joining our forces and using all our strength together, so we are helping them all to make them perform at their best and they will be all ready to play for Milan."
Pioli on facing his former club Fiorentina:
"I respect Fiorentina, but we have to think about ourselves. When we think of ourselves, most of the time we win."
On players playing but also thinking about the World Cup...
"Professionalism is important in view of the World Cup, I trust them. I wished good luck to those who will go to the World Cup, those who did not go will have many motivations."
On the World Cup break...
"It is a very detailed organisation, there will be several working groups. There are those who will go to the World Cup and it will be a very subjective management, then there is the group of injured people in which there are situations that will be developed individually. On the 10th we will meet to go to work in Dubai."
Pioli on Mike Maignan:
"Maignan is working on reaching the recovery. However, he is not ready yet."
On Rafael Leao's current form:
"It applies to all players, in the sense that it is not so easy to maintain a high level by playing so much. But a player with his potential must succeed."
AC Milan conede less with Simon Kjaer on the pitch:
"When the numbers are great, they are never a coincidence. Simon is a leader. There is a very important aspect, it is that he communicates well on the pitch. He knows how to make his teammates take positions well. He is a player who gives us a lot in the field."
Has Giorgio Furlani talked to the team?
"I heard from him. He hasn't come to Milanello yet but I think he will soon."
On Ciprian Tatarusanu:
"I didn't change Tatarusanu because I was satisfied with his performance. He has always had a presence in our games."
On comparisons made with the last season:
"It is not right to make comparisons with the last season. At the end, the important thing is to collect many points."
How do you deal with criticism?
"The criticisms must give us even more conviction. But the criticisms for Wednesday's performance are there. If we think of the match against Cremonese, we are talking about the development of the management of the ball that we missed, we must do better."
On Charles De Ketelaere and his participation in the World Cup:
"It is difficult to make predictions. I think the World Cup for a player is the top, a stimulating, motivating, rewarding situation. I hope that he does very well and that he will come back with great positivity, motivation and optimism because that is how he must be."
If you went back in time, would you still make the same squad rotations which you have done?
"It's too simple to think like this. When I made the choices I thought they were the best possible, if I went back to that moment I would make the same choices again. It is never a single player who determines the result of the team."
On Malick Thiaw's performance against Cremonese:
"He has played many times in a 3-man-defence. It was a simple game for the defenders in the defensive phase, in the construction phase we could have done better, but I think he did his test as he should have done."
Did the many absences affect the leadership in the squad?
"The more you keep asking me such questions, the more I keep thinking that it is better to stay here at Milanello than to leave it."
On Zlatan Ibrahimovic and if he should be with the squad in Dubai...
"The program is that he comes with us to Dubai, that he is available for Salernitana. It will be from Dubai onwards that the workloads will increase: the program will develop day by day. It is not so immediate. Let's see how it goes."
Pioli on Aster Vranckx:
"I talked to him this morning: I'm very happy with how he's working. He made the most of this period of adaptation in which he played little and trained well, I'm sure he'll also need the break. I'm sure of his qualities. I have so many choices to make, I can't let everyone play. I'm satisfied with his qualities, his attitude and his mentality."
Are Milan stronger this year?
"In my opinion, this is a strong Milan and it is up to prove it if they are stronger than last year or not. We must aim to overcome the points collected last year. Only those who give up fail and we absolutely do not want to fail."
How important is the coming World Cup break?
Criticism arrives when you fail to win...
"I think that's right, we have shown qualities and characteristics that can make us winners. When we don't succeed, we are the first to question ourselves."
