In addition to head coach Sergio Conceição, at the end of Milan-Atalanta 0-1, a match valid for the 33rd round of Serie A Enilive that was played this evening at San Siro, as usual a Rossoneri player will also speak at the press conference: this evening it is Rafael Leao. His statements:
You became a man at Milan, is this the strangest moment?
“It's difficult. When I arrived here, Milan gave me the awareness to never give up and to have the pride to wear this shirt and give everything. For me, today was a strange match — it wasn’t our best, but the team was compact: we didn’t allow them to create many chances. Conceding a goal like that was a shame. I’ll try to bring positive energy, and starting tomorrow we’ll prepare for the very important match that can change our season.”
The derby — is it the most important game of the season? What will you ask of your teammates?
“I’ll just ask for positive energy. The derby isn’t something you need to talk too much about. There’s the opportunity to win something important and give our fans something to be proud of.”
Are you aware of how strong you are? Is there a reason for this disastrous season? Leao commented:
“There’s no specific reason. That’s how football is. We as players and the coach try to do things right and bring something positive. Then again, we don’t control everything. But I can say that, as you mentioned, this team has very important players who need more time together to understand each other’s movements on the pitch. We now have the final opportunity to turn the season around.”
In your more central role, how do you feel? How do you deal with a goal drought at San Siro?
“I feel very good, freer, closer to goal. Scoring at San Siro is important to me, but it’s not stuck in my head: today, if two or three perfect passes had come my way, I could’ve made the difference. We need to keep working.”
How’s the spirit among you? Leao answered:
“We’re not afraid. The change in formation to this 3-5-2 has made a difference, we’re more protected and we don’t concede often. In my opinion, it will work well for the final games of the season — both in defense and attack. The attacking players feel more comfortable. Sometimes we defend really well, and then a dead ball or a corner comes and changes everything — it happens, there’s no real reason.”
