The AC Milan coach, Paulo Fonseca, spoke to the media in a press conference at Milanello today in view of the Lecce match tomorrow.
Here are his statements:
On how important is it now to maintain continuity, taking advantage of the momentum the team has created after the derby victory:
"This next match is very, very important. We need to confirm that we're improving. I think the victory in the derby only makes sense if we win against Lecce and confirm that we're getting better. We need to make up some points. All of this is important to have motivation for tomorrow. It's a dangerous match after the derby, as it's always harder to win important games afterward. But we can't afford to make mistakes; we have to win."
Was the team's block psychological?
"I don't want to dwell on the derby. The game ended when I left the stadium. Right now, the mental aspect is very important, perhaps more important than technique and tactics. Matches are emotional, so being well-balanced, energetic, and motivated is crucial."
Now you have three matches coming up, one of which is in the Champions League. Is your idea to consolidate the formation? Fonseca replied:
"We want to have continuity, and to have continuity, we want to play the same team. We have doubts about Morata for tomorrow; a contusion has caused him bursitis. We have this doubt, so we'll see tomorrow."
Does Leão have the right mental charge?
"We're working a lot individually with Rafa, including defensively. He’s doing well defensively; he’s pressing and tracking back. He can do better, but he’s improving in defensive moments. We’ve been a team focused on defending, Rafa included. He had three opportunities to be decisive in the derby; it doesn’t seem to me that he can’t also be a defensive player at the same time. For me, he’s doing a good job, playing as part of the team, and that’s the most important thing right now."
What does the victory on Sunday bring?
"A derby win, which we haven’t had in a while, brings confidence and a different atmosphere. A match can help with confidence, but it’s just one match; if we don’t win tomorrow, we can go backward. It’s important to have a good atmosphere, but it’s also crucial to understand that the derby is over, and it's in the past. Scudetto? We can think about it and continue to do so."
On AC Milan striker Tammy Abraham, Fonseca said:
"Abraham has a contagious energy that is important to me. Having players like Abraham and Morata who bring ambition and energy to the team, even in training... He works for the team."
Without Morata, will we return to a midfielder in his place?
"Jovic is not a striker with the characteristics to do this. Without Morata there will be Loftus or Reijnders to play this role."
You have never hidden that it takes a lot of work to play the football you want. Where are we today?
"I don’t know the percentage, but we’re far from it. Defensively, I don’t think the team has grown much. We’re closer to what I believe the team can do. I think we’ve grown, even if defensively I would have liked to see other things as well. Offensively, we need to improve a lot. We have the qualities to do it; we are getting better, but we can grow."
Were you surprised that before the derby you were considered on the brink of dismissal, and after the match, you were seen as a genius?
"We Latins are like this (laughs). I’ve been in a place that was like this: if we win, we’re the best; if we lose... I don’t want to say that word (laughs). I did the same thing I did in the previous weeks. Sometimes when things aren’t going well, we don’t want to read anything, but when we win, it’s different; for me, I haven’t changed anything, I haven’t read anything. We must continue to work, learn, and improve: that’s the most important thing for me. One day, when I was in Portugal, I went out with my son, who was 12 years old. He told me that the fans were angry with me: I told him that they were angry that day, but the next day they would applaud. Football is like this—emotion, moments of sadness and joy. Being a fan is about this. It’s not about being balanced. I have to be the opposite; I’m the coach and I have to be balanced. But I understand the irrationality of fans’ love; I don’t hold any negative feelings towards those who weren’t with me before and are with me now. I know it’s like that."
What is your opinion on rotation? Fonseca said:
"I like to do it; I have faith in all the players. But we must understand the moments, and I think now is not the time to change too much; it’s the time to have continuity and stabilize the team. In the future, if we have the opportunity, I would like to do it, especially since we have many matches. I think that when we are a true team at all moments, it’s easy to change; you don’t feel anything. When we are not the team I think we can be, it’s harder to change: we are trying to be that kind of team so that when we change, it doesn’t go unnoticed."
Are you looking for a starting pair of center-backs? Fonseca replied:
"I don’t currently have this concern about changing in my mind. Gabbia is playing because he deserves to play: he is one of the strongest in building with the ball, but he is also a player who organizes the team very well, the defensive line, the moment to close down or slide. He has a very strong positional game; for me, it's important to stabilize the defensive line at this moment. Tomorrow, Gabbia and Tomori will play to try to have this continuity. Then, we’ll see against Bayer."
Is it harder to win a derby or to maintain your position?
"The responsibility here is always the same. For me, what is more difficult to manage is the victories. I think that’s normal. The day before the match with Inter, I knew the players were motivated and mentally ready. What’s dangerous here is playing against Lecce. In the players’ minds, there isn’t the same difficulty as with Inter. But we need to make the players understand that the most difficult thing is to make them realize that we have to play in the same way."
Is Alvaro Morata uncertain for tomorrow's match against Lecce?
"He is called up; we’ll wait until tomorrow to see how he is, but at the moment what I can say is that he is doubtful. I don’t know if we can use him tomorrow. I don’t want to take risks and lose him for a longer time. We’ll see tomorrow."
Did you convince the team to stay focused, maybe with something special?
"This week there’s no barbecue, nothing special. We had a normal meeting."
Is Youssouf Fofana unique in terms of characteristics in the squad? Fonseca answered:
"We don’t have Bennacer now; he can play the same position. Musah can also play in this position. Fofana is a passing player, Musah is a ball-carrying player. We need Musah to become like Fofana."
Is Samuel Chukwueze affected by Christian Pulisic's form or does he need to grow for your idea of football?
"He had a very good preseason when he had space against big teams. When we arrived here, against Torino and Lazio, I think Chukwu wasn’t as good as he was in preseason. It’s not a quality issue, but a confidence issue. He needs to gain confidence and play in this context: in Serie A, he doesn’t have space; he has to make movements at the right time and has little time to decide. He came on well against Inter; he needs to grow in matches like the one tomorrow, where there’s no space. He needs to develop in this."
Fonseca, who comes close to Reijnders in terms of technical quality?
"I think we all agree that Tijji is a unique player in our team, we don't have other players with these characteristics. I'm just thinking about the next game, let's see after, if one day we don't have Tijji what can we do. But he is a very important player in our team who is not easy to replace."
Emerson Royal against Inter gave positive answers. Can he grow further?
"We can't forget that he arrived late and didn't have many defensive organization training sessions with us. I think the biggest difficulties were defensive, here he can improve and I'm sure. Offensively he's a strong player, defensively he can improve
On Tijjani Reijnders in an attacking position:
"He can play in various positions in midfield; I think Tijji is important in moments of pressure. He plays very well between the lines and is a player who can take on different roles. He had a great game, but there are things he can improve."
On the embrace with Alvaro Morata after Mattia Gabbia's goal:
"A normal moment, of joy, of euphoria."
Pessoa wrote "The Hour of the Devil." Do you want to be the second Portuguese to write it?
"He was a great Portuguese writer, but I haven't read him (laughs). We study him in school. I don't want to say what I think, otherwise the Portuguese will kill me (laughs). I prefer another type of reading."
Despite the match with Inter, you said you want to see Milan improve further; what levels can be reached? Fonseca said:
"When I say that the team has a lot to improve offensively, I think about what Milan's game should be. If we look at the match against Inter, what I observed is that the team was very compact, not allowing Inter to play their usual game. We had the ball, but we didn’t have many moments of organization. However, we had many moments of transition: we would regain possession and move forward. I see great teams defending with a low block, and I think this is the context for Milan. This is where I believe we need to improve—in our positional play: we need to dominate going forward and have the patience not to lose the ball. Milan is a team that should play more time in the opponent's half. We had possession against Inter, but we didn’t have much connection in the first phase; almost all the opportunities we had came during offensive transitions."
