Igli Tare, Milan’s sporting director, spoke to SportMediaset before Lazio and Milan meet in a few minutes for a place in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals. Here is what he said.
What does it feel like to return to the Olimpico?
"I will not hide it, the feeling is strong. I greeted many people who treated me well over these 17 years. We know we face a dangerous opponent, they want to go all the way. We prepared well, we made some changes to the lineup to give players like Jashari a chance, since we waited for him for many months."
Finally Jashari... is he the future of Milan’s midfield?
"Having a teacher like Modric is an advantage for any player, they have a strong relationship and speak often. We are all confident about Ardon and you saw it in the past two weeks from how he trained with the group. We are happy this long ordeal is over."
Where are you with your work? Are you satisfied?
"We are satisfied with how the team reacted. It was not easy because we changed a lot, Max did great work on the mentality of the group and the players. The results show but we are not even halfway through the path, the season will bring emotion and difficulty."
Maignan’s renewal?
"I cannot hear... (laughs). I am joking, we focus on the match. Mike is extraordinary and a top goalkeeper, we will look for the right path together at the right time."
