The AC Milan head coach, Massimiliano Allegri, spoke to the media in a press conference, as usual, ahead of the Serie A San Siro match against Juventus.
Here are his words:
Is tomorrow a decisive match? Has Milan done the maximum for its qualities?
"It’s not a decisive match. Mathematically, you need 7 points or fewer, we’ll see as things go along. It’s a beautiful match, one to win. But the most important game of this final stretch was last Sunday in Verona. As for Gabbia’s words, at Milan you have to work for the highest target, with maximum ambition. We have to work every day to improve, next year we’ll start from a good base. There is always open dialogue with the club, an exchange of ideas, we have a solid foundation. The squad is made up of excellent players in terms of technical ability and mentality, and we have to build from there."
Conte says that second place is for first losers... Allegri replied:
"I don’t comment on Antonio’s words, he is doing an excellent job again this year. Winning is something extraordinary. For a football club in Italy at the moment, being in the top four is fundamental. Technically, sportingly, and economically it’s very important. Then we’ll see if at the end of the season we are second, third, fourth... hopefully not fifth (laughs). Until it’s mathematically certain, we must stay grounded. There is Juventus, Sassuolo, a historically difficult away match, Atalanta at home, Genoa and then Cagliari. Points must be earned on the pitch. Tomorrow there’s Juve, we have to take it step by step."
What is Milan missing to win the league next year?
"Talking about the transfer market now is pointless. At this stage you are focused on the end of the season and the objectives... Mathematically we can’t achieve it tomorrow, but once it’s achieved we will all be clearer in evaluating things. When you sit down for discussions at this moment, you are not destabilised, but you see things less clearly because you are caught up in the season," answered Allegri.
What kind of Juventus do you expect? Do you worry about strikers not scoring?
"Juventus are doing very well in terms of organisation and solidity; I believe they haven’t conceded in three matches. Hopefully tomorrow they will concede. Now we must no longer think about strikers, defenders, or midfielders. We must only think about the final result; nothing else matters."
Top four is fine, but wouldn’t you like to finish second?
"I only know one thing and we must absolutely stay focused: we must finish in the top four. Then we will do our best to finish second; if we don’t manage it, someone else will have been better. But we must not focus on the single event. The important thing is achieving the objective; we must only concentrate on that. Everyone must think only about this.”
What kind of Milan should we expect tomorrow? A Milan for big nights against the top teams?
“I believe my team has never switched off. We went 24 matches unbeaten, then in the second half of the season we lost four, which changes how things are perceived. But results are given by the total points: whether you get them earlier or later changes how things are seen a bit. Milan have 66 points. But it’s normal that if you lose 4 out of 14 matches you need to reflect. In football there are moments where, in the first half of the season, you might have drawn two of those four games, and now you lose them. If you look at the table, we are three points ahead of Juventus, but I don’t know what will happen tomorrow evening, and three points behind Napoli.”
What do you discuss in these meetings with the club management? Is there a working base being built for the future? Or do you talk about philosophy and other things?
“It’s normal that when we meet we talk about the season, the situations we’ve had, and the opportunities for next year. But talking about the transfer market now is a bit disrespectful. It’s not my job to talk about the market; there is a club that works on that. We have an extraordinary squad of players who have brought Milan back into a proper league position and who could play in the Champions League next year. Everything you read between now and the end of the season is not true. The club has worked well and the squad is competitive: I’m not saying that, the results are saying it, placing Milan in the top four.”
Does Milan need other champions like Rabiot and Modric? Allegri said:
“Players are not like machines that arrive and leave. There are experienced players for whom the Milan shirt is not heavy. Then there are situations like Jashari: the club made a big investment for a player of great value. He had an injury, came back, had less playing time… but that doesn’t mean he has become a bad player. He has faced difficulties, but he has great potential: he will be an important player for Milan’s future, just like De Winter has grown a lot and Athekame has grown a lot. The club has mixed experienced players with young players to develop. Everything can still be improved.”
On Kenan Yildiz from Juventus:
“He has important qualities. It’s not that I discovered him… At that time Juventus worked well from the academy all the way to the second team, where players of value were promoted to the first team. Everything depends on the work done below the first team. I think Yildiz can still improve a lot.”
Are the expectations of Milan similar to those at Juventus? Or to those at Inter in Milan?
“The expectations of the club, the fans and ourselves are to be able to win. When you work at a big club with history and trophies, your ambition is to aim to win. If you do that, you get the best possible result. In the end only one team wins; life is made of cycles. Inter have been working for six years and deserve credit, Milan won the Scudetto four years ago. But finishing the season in the top four is still the target, and there are still points to be won.”
How has Strahinja Pavlovic improved?
“He has improved a lot this year; he is a player who wants to get better. At the moment he is one of the best defenders around in Europe.”
Is tomorrow the last chance for Rafael Leao?
“Rafa, like everyone else, has always made himself available. Let’s not forget he had a pubic injury in November. He was very good at making himself available. Rafa is not judged on this season alone. There are seasons when everything goes well or very badly. I always say: a good player remains a good player, a bad player remains a bad player. And Rafa is a good player.”
What changed after Verona? Did you clear things up? How did you go from negative scenarios to talking about the future?
“During a season there is always a difficult moment: we had that with those two defeats, especially the bad home loss against Udinese where we conceded three goals without really noticing. But that didn’t mean throwing everything away. That’s why I say balance is needed: the players did well, and going to Verona at that moment was not simple at all.”
How do you explain Pulisic’s dip in form?
“In terms of physical condition, everyone has improved. Gimenez, after six months out, does not have optimal match fitness. Pulisic in recent games has done much better: football is beautiful because one action or one match can change everything, for better or worse. We need to play a great match against a strong team like Juventus.”
How much do your players’ words please you? How important is a sold-out San Siro tomorrow? Allegri replied:
“As for the fans, we can only thank them; they have always filled the stadium from the start. If we were to reach the Champions League, it would be thanks to everyone, including them who have supported us throughout the season. Those words please me. This team has one quality: it always gives maximum effort. What the team has, it will put on the pitch.”
What is your biggest wish from now until the end of the season?
“To finish in the top four (laughs).”
Milan is a club with a history of trophies… Fans feel some discomfort, what can you tell them? Milan have won little in recent years. What would you say today to a fan who feels deep unease?
“That fourth place, like third or second, is not part of the trophy cabinet: only winners are there. I arrived this year, together with the club we are doing good work, there is a good phase. The ambition for everyone is to build a solid base for next year and have the ambition to compete, as we are doing this year, to win. At the end of the season you must ask where you went wrong. The mistake not to make is to analyse things too negatively, risking throwing away the positive things done this year. And I repeat: we have not achieved our sporting and economic objective, which is important for strengthening the squad and bringing Milan back to a competition where it belongs, so we still need results.”
