AC Milan head coach, Ruben Amorim, spoke to the media in a press conference ahead of tomorrow's much-anticipated derby against Inter.
Even in Top Gun (referred to by Cardinale in when asked about Amorim), there are ups and downs...
"I really appreciate Cardinale's support. We already knew, and everyone here has the clarity of mind to understand this, that we cannot build solid foundations if we have to deal with these kinds of problems in the middle of the season. It will take time, that is inevitable, but at the same time, we want to win every single match. When we fail to do so, we will continue to feel it inside and take it on board with great pain. It will be like this for a while. We need time to develop and improve the team, and we know that good things take time to find the perfect balance and hit the mark. I think it is a good analogy and makes perfect sense, but that does not take away the pain of defeat. That remains there, it still burns, but we must be extremely clear with our fans, making them understand that it will take time."
What differences do you feel between this derby and those in Manchester and Lisbon? Amorim replied:
"I think it is a special match because it is played in the same city, and yesterday we saw the project for the new stadium. It is a unique rivalry, but there is also a deep connection: two great teams in the same city sharing the same stadium. I believe you cannot find a setting like this anywhere else; it is truly special. But challenges of this kind... well, if we look at Portuguese culture, the feeling is the same: the sense of responsibility to win and the fans' passion are very similar. The football culture here is closer to that of Portugal. In England, it is slightly different: there is great competition, but the spirit remains a little more sporting. Here, you can feel that Latin element which we also experience in Portugal, so I really believe it will be a special match."
How are Gila, Rabiot and Moreira?
"They are ready to join the team. We have to assess tomorrow morning whether they can start from the first minute or what the match plan will be. Of course, I already have an idea, but we will see tomorrow."
Has the team recovered the energy that was missing on Wednesday?
“Everyone knows that it is a special match, a special moment, and when you step out to play it, the context does not matter, nor does whether you are tired. You have to step onto the pitch and perform to the best of your ability, and we will be there. I said it: I sensed it from the very first minute of the match against Bologna, watching the game from the bench. We cannot lose a match like this. We cannot afford to concede two goals in two minutes. We can do much better, and there are many small details that I have already discussed with the team. But since we returned from the international break three weeks ago, there has never really been enough time to train. And I am not saying that the other teams are in a different position; I am speaking for us: I feel that there are many small things that we are getting wrong simply because we do not have the time to address them in training. So it is not just a question of energy, although I noticed that too, because with energy you can also mask many shortcomings, but there are so many aspects that we need time to work on if we want to become a better team.”
Cardinale says that the Scudetto is possible already this year and that there will be transfer activity in January. Amorim commented:
"You must always talk about the Scudetto as the main objective when you are at Milan, but we have already dropped points and we need to put things right. We just have to think about improving the team step by step. What we did wrong in the last match must be corrected ahead of the next one. Because if we start thinking too far ahead, about the league table and long-term objectives, we risk forgetting what is truly important to us. We want to win consistently, year after year. We do not want to win one season just because we had a bit of luck or because we took shortcuts in the foundations of the project, only to find ourselves exactly back where we started the following year. That is why we have to put things right day by day, addressing both needs in parallel. But when you are Milan, the moral obligation is to declare that the objective is to win. At the same time, we must be aware that next week we have a match that could allow us to close the gap at the top of the table. Taking all of this into account, we simply have to think about winning the next match, and everything else will settle down. But the club's objective is always and in any case to win Serie A, and that remains our ultimate goal. How long will it take? I don't know."
Amorim, do you envy Chivu?
"I have absolutely no envy of Chivu because I am already in the right place, which is Milan and not Inter. That's how I am, that's just the way I am. I haven't learned my lesson from my previous experience: I chose more or less the same situation, a club in the middle of a rebuilding phase, which is trying to bring through young players like Cisse to build something from scratch. It's a challenge that motivates me, I like it, and that's why I chose this project. I am genuinely happy with my choice. At the same time, though, I am not naive: I know perfectly well that you have to win matches to earn the time needed to build something lasting. Everyone chooses their own path, and this is mine. Whether it will work or not, nobody can know at this point, but I am genuinely happy because this reflects exactly who I am and the kind of work I want to do. I understand the questions you are asking me: there are days when, in the morning, I find myself thinking that perhaps I could have had more experience, more calm, a bigger squad and fewer injuries. But at the end of the day, I was the one who chose this job, so I am absolutely delighted with it and I will see it through, staying firmly on my path. You already know this: if I commit to an idea, I certainly don't change my mind. I can change the tactical system, that's fine, but I won't change my conviction, and I will do everything possible to win and achieve success here."
Did you speak with Chivu yesterday? Amorim said:
"He is a very likeable person. We were complaining a little about the timing of the presentation because we had played the previous evening. He won, so he was happier than me, but we had a match to prepare for, and that was our priority. However, I think we were all really impressed by the new stadium. I believe everyone can say that. For me, Inter are the team we were talking about: a side that can play with their eyes closed, make rotations, as they did in midfield in their last match, and continue to play in exactly the same way. Certain individual characteristics change, but they already know what to do on the pitch without even needing to train too much. They have an extraordinary ability to read the different phases of a match. You can clearly sense that, even if they were to find themselves trailing towards the end, they have the maturity to understand that they can win any match. That is an awareness you develop when you win many matches and many trophies. They have an enormous amount of talent in their squad, but we are there to fight against that as well, and we will be ready for the match."
Gonçalo Ramos scored a brace against you in a Lisbon derby between Benfica and Sporting while you were in the dugout. Could he also be the man of the Milan derby?
"I think he can be. I think all the issues and difficulties that Gonçalo Ramos is going through are mainly a team problem. I believe we need to push forward... We control matches well, but we play too far away from the opposition's goal. We need to push the defensive line and the team higher up the pitch, spend more time in that area of the pitch to allow Ramos to play his game. He is playing far away from the goal because the team is unable to push the opposition into the final 30 metres. I think we also need time to correct this aspect. We want to do better and we will improve in this department. But in any match, a player like Gonçalo Ramos, who has already shown that he can turn a game around at any moment and score in any situation, could be the man of the match as early as the next one."
Why did you reduce the size of the squad so much at the start of the season? Do you regret it? The coach answered in the following way:
"When that happens, you think about it, but these are things you cannot control. There are factors that are beyond your control. Think about Saelemaekers, who picked up that physical problem practically at the end of a training match during the international break. Then Chukwueze suffers another problem, and as a result, Moreira ends up being overloaded because he is forced to play more minutes since Chukwueze and Saelemaekers are unavailable. Imagine having three players for one position and all three get injured: at that point, you overload that department. Then you take that player and make your rotations, and you find yourself having to play Tomori... well, I wouldn't say as a winger, but out of position in emergency situations, perhaps making him do an additional 400 metres of sprinting. Then, obviously, I take the risk because I want to win against Bologna. I know perfectly well that we cannot afford to lose any more players and that certain characteristics were needed for that particular match. So I pushed Tomori, and we ended up with this problem. I think that sometimes certain things simply cannot be controlled; you have to anticipate them. In my mind, at the beginning, I had three options for that position, and all three had physical problems. When that happens, you cannot manage the impossible. Unless you have a squad of 40 players, but then you have to deal with financial management, everyone's playing time, or you have to accept taking certain risks and making a few gambles. Today, if I could go back, perhaps I would want a few more players. But if we look at the situation rationally, and we have to be rational, the numbers at the beginning of the week told us that we were fine with our rotations. However, during the last week, with three matches in a few days, we found ourselves with six or seven first-choice players or key squad members unavailable. That is a situation you cannot control. So, to answer the question: yes, perhaps the squad is a little short at the moment, but there is always a rational logic behind every decision made at the start of the season."
Ramos is fouled a lot. Does he also need to become a little more aggressive?
"I like the direction things are taking here in Italy; we are on the right track. More pace, fewer fouls: I think this is an evolution that is improving the quality of the game. Sometimes you might think that perhaps something could be a foul, but I like it this way."
Amorim added:
"And then, I have no intention of talking about the referees. Just take the footage from the match against Udinese and compare it with footage from other games. I won't say another word, and you will understand exactly what I mean. But I will not comment on the referees; I want to be absolutely clear about that. I like this kind of approach. I like seeing results such as 5-1, 4-4 and 3-3 in Serie A. I think it is really great publicity for our country and our football. However, if you look at what happened against Udinese and compare it with other matches, well... perhaps it becomes difficult for Ramos to get more touches on the ball; perhaps it is difficult for Ramos to move freely inside the penalty area. Take the footage, make the comparison, and then feel free to make your own assessments and decisions."
Some defensive fragility has also been emerging in recent matches... Amorim said:
"Against Bournemouth, we conceded two goals from penalties and one from a free-kick while playing with ten men for the entire match. Against Bologna, on the other hand, there were seven minutes in that match during which we conceded the fourth goal: we were completely out of position, whereas we must maintain our identity until the very last second, because we were buying time to get back into the game and turn it around. Conceding the 3-2 is not the same as conceding the 4-2, and we still had plenty of time to recover. My feeling is that after the 3-2, we became anxious, starting to lose our shape and completely abandon our positions on the pitch: the centre-backs carrying the ball forward, Pavlovic driving forward with the ball at his feet. All these little mistakes are details that we absolutely must correct in training by discussing them openly. We need that collective maturity to understand that, yes, the momentum of the match had changed, but we still had 40 minutes ahead of us to put things right because we would have created chances anyway. Different situations, different dynamics that we inevitably need to improve on as a team. That is a clear fact."
What is causing the injuries?
"Injuries and muscle problems have nothing to do with the medical staff, the gym staff or Milan Lab. The responsibility lies with me, the coach, and the way I train the team. What I can say is that there are several situations to consider: the overload in certain departments forces us to take risks, and then we have to analyse each individual player's medical history in depth. Take, for example, those who say that a player like Cisse doesn't play, scores a goal and then misses the following match. You have to look at his history, his problems with pubalgia and the serious injuries he suffered over the past year. It is my duty to manage him accordingly. We have to consider how many consecutive matches these players have played in the past, how many metres of sprinting they cover, whether it is the same type of physical effort or whether the game has changed. It is the combination of all these factors that leads to injuries. And then there is bad luck. When you suffer a foot injury, it is pure and simple bad luck. Take my word for it: what happened to Saelemaekers was nothing but sheer bad luck. When you find yourself with one fewer option in a particular position, you can no longer rotate the way you would like, and that is when these things happen. But I want to make this absolutely clear: the medical staff are extraordinary, they are doing an exceptional job and they work hard every single day. Managing workloads is my responsibility; it falls under my remit. I know the medical history of every player in the squad, I know their daily workload and I try to manage it as well as possible. Sometimes, however, I am forced to take risks, or there are players who are not used to playing so many matches in a row. Take a player like Jashari: he has played three matches, two of them for 90 minutes, without any problems. Others, on the other hand, play for an hour and a half and already feel tired. We try to monitor and manage all of this as carefully as possible, but I repeat: I am extremely happy with our medical staff and they are doing an incredible job."
Amorim, why have there been such ups and downs in performances and results?
"It is a combination of several factors. Of course, we need to develop the maturity required to control matches and manage their different phases, and we will get there with time. Then there is the congested fixture schedule and the injury crisis at the same time. This is a situation that does not help our style of play, because to perform at our best, we need certain technical and physical characteristics. I believe it is genuinely a combination of all these things. We need to take care of every single detail. We would need to train more, spend more time talking and working on these aspects. But at the moment, we do not even have enough time to recover fully, let alone hold targeted training sessions. That is why we encounter quite a few difficulties in certain matches. To find that consistency in our performances, we would need to address and correct all these issues during the week, but we simply do not have the time. Despite everything, I guarantee you that we will become a great team."
Will substitutions be one of the keys to the match? Have you seen the team fired up?
"Regarding the second question, I sensed the right mentality in the players. Yesterday, we were disappointed, we were angry: more than disappointed, we were truly furious. I myself was very angry yesterday, and it is difficult to get going again the following day. Today, however, I saw them completely focused on the challenge against Inter, concentrating on the technical and tactical training session, because that is all that matters now. They were extremely attentive and have a perfectly clear understanding of the game plan and what needs to be done. In terms of attitude and mentality, this team is on the right track. If we analyse our performances, different kinds of difficulties emerge. There are matches that we start terribly and finish strongly, like against Lazio, and others in which we play sixty-six excellent minutes, like against Atalanta, before our intensity drops. Sometimes it is more a question of psychological momentum than chronological minutes. The key is to find consistency throughout all 90 minutes. We do not yet possess the same experience and maturity as Inter: this is an obvious fact and we have to acknowledge it pragmatically. When Inter find themselves in difficulty towards the end of a match, they tend to fill the penalty area by bringing many players forward and using crosses to overload the opposition's defences. Our style of play is different; we are not that kind of team. So both tactical and technical aspects come into play. We simply have to focus on being consistent throughout the entire match, because so far we have shown different faces depending on the game: sometimes we start strongly and fade, while at other times we start poorly, as against Lazio, and improve in the second half. We have to become a better team, more mature and capable of reading and interpreting the different moments of a match."
