AC Milan's head coach, Massimiliano Allegri, spoke to the Rossoneri club's official channel ahead of tomorrow's Coppa Italia fixture against Bari, which happens to be the season opener as well.
"For us, the Coppa Italia is one of the three objectives to achieve. Tomorrow is an important match, it must be won on the pitch: we all know it. The season begins and we have to be ready. We must have great respect for Bari and a great sense of responsibility."
On the atmosphere before the debut, Allegri said:
"There is great enthusiasm, and we thank all the fans who will come to the stadium tomorrow, but it will be up to us to play a responsible, orderly, and highly technical game. Above all, we must have great respect for Bari, which is a well-organized team, with a good coach, and they had a good summer preparation. Tomorrow the victory counts, we must try to move forward in the Coppa Italia in order to reach the finals in May."
On the importance of the match against Bari, Allegri commented:
"I believe that for us it is very important on a mental level. Then the league will be played over 38 matches, and as I have always said, you do not win or lose a league in one match, but you must maintain great balance: you must not get carried away when things are going well, and you must not get depressed when there will be difficult moments. We will need to have great respect and strength, both in the big matches but also against the medium-small teams, which are the matches that will make the difference in the league."
On the importance of the Coppa Italia:
"At the beginning, no one gives the Coppa Italia much weight or value: like all competitions, when you begin to reach the semifinals, it becomes important also because then it would allow you to play the Supercoppa the following year. It is one of our three objectives, given that this year we will not be able to play in the Champions League."
On the system of play:
"I am not a great fan of numbers, 4, 3, or 5. What matters is that the team carries out a good offensive phase, with the technique the players have, and above all a good defensive phase. I believe that as a team we are working on it and it needs to improve: in the league, the numbers do not lie, if you concede a certain number of goals you end up in a certain position. Our objective is to finish the season in one of the top four positions."
On the club:
"I believe that Milan, the club, has worked very well. Tare has worked very well on the exits and the arrivals. What matters is that there is, as there is, great enthusiasm and a strong desire to do well, belief in the team’s abilities. The new players have integrated very well: there is a good spirit. Naturally, now the season begins and the pressure will rise."
On the squad looking ahead to the season:
"This squad has values. Then football is not an exact science and there are years in which things do not go well, but it does not mean that the player loses his value. Last year the team reached a Coppa Italia final and won a Supercoppa, it did good things. This year another season begins, and we must all remain focused on one objective that everyone must have very clear in front of them."
