In today's press conference, ahead of tomorrow's derby fixture against Inter in the Coppa Italia 2nd leg of the semi-final, AC Milan's head coach, Sergio Conceicao, spoke to the media and said:
"Pope Francis? A person who was the highest figure of the Catholic Church. I go to Mass every day at 6:30 p.m. in downtown Milan. He was an extraordinary man. We will miss him — his words and his gaze."
What does this match mean?
"Big clubs aim to go far in every competition. This is the one we have. Congratulations to Inter for their journey in the Champions League and Serie A. For us, this is a crucial match — we want to win badly and give the fans this trophy. We need to put in a great performance, be very competitive. Every match is different — this will be the fourth time I face Inter this year. The outcome of each game depends on what we do."
Did you try to 'wake up' the team? Conceicao replied:
"The week of the match against Atalanta, we trained well — the feelings were positive, similar to before the Udinese game. But when we got to the match, I had to wait until halftime to fix the team. We played against a quality opponent — it was a balanced game. They had a lot of possession, but didn’t create many chances. In the first 15 minutes after halftime, they didn’t even cross midfield. Then we conceded a goal due to a collective mistake, and the players who came off the bench didn’t really add much to the team. We talked about it. Tomorrow’s match is the most important one — the players are aware of that."
How is Kyle Walker doing?
"He trained with the team, as did Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Physically they’re not at their best, but they’ll be available."
How do you face Inter?
"We always add a fifth man in our defensive structure — sometimes it’s Musah, sometimes Jimenez. It depends on what we want from the match and on the opponent’s moment, as they try different things every time. Individual qualities and team dynamics always matter. We have to exploit their weaknesses and watch out for their strengths. They’re a team with a lot of movement and technical wealth in possession, but we’ve also done some great things in our offensive dynamics. Defensively, we haven’t been good enough in some aspects — we have to get back to basics."
Is Inter tired? What do you expect? Conceicao answered:
"They’re in many competitions, but they’re used to it — just like us. Nowadays, player recovery happens quickly. I watched the match against Bologna — I like to observe. They have a deep squad and quality is always present."
What kind of Milan do you expect?
"The best version. It will definitely be a very competitive Milan, full of confidence. We have great ambition and motivation."
Is there extra motivation to ruin Inter’s potential 'Treble'?
"No. Our motivation doesn’t come from the opponent — it comes from our own daily work, from what we do today to create problems for our opponent. That kind of talk doesn’t enter the dressing room. For us, tomorrow’s game is the most important."
How is it possible that the team only got organized after halftime against Atalanta? Is there a technical explanation?
"We faced a quality side with a good coach who was able to block our strengths. He dropped De Roon and Ederson deeper, doing something different that caught us off guard. In the first half, they had a lot of the ball but no real chances. At halftime, I told the players how to keep up defensively and be bolder. Then we made some mistakes leading to the goal — that’s football: two or three individual errors that shouldn’t have happened."
Is the Tijjani Reijnders - Youssouf Fofana duo working as expected?
"Individually, they’re both extraordinary. But we can also talk about the Pulisic-Jovic duo, Pavlovic-Theo, Tomori-Jimenez… Dynamics are built with these pairings. You need balance. They are part of that dynamic, and it’s not only their fault if something doesn’t work."
Why is Santiago Gimenez third in the pecking order? Conceicao commented:
"There’s no first, second, or third. It depends on the players’ form. He arrived and did well right away, even scoring. But in recent weeks, he’s been injured. I make the decisions, but there are no fixed hierarchies. Sometimes the ones who come off the bench are even more crucial."
Can tomorrow’s match change the season’s judgment?
"We need to do our job. It’s an extremely important game — for the players, the staff, the fans. A positive season for Milan would be winning the Scudetto, going far in the Champions League. For a historic club like Milan, reaching the Coppa Italia final should be the norm."
Will the approach be any different?
"In these kinds of matches, whether you’re considered the favorite or not doesn’t matter to me. When the referee blows the whistle, the only thing that counts is what we’ve prepared and our motivation. That’s what makes the difference. And we have quality too."
How are you feeling? More nervous? What do you think about your journey so far?
"I’ll talk about that at the end of the season — about these six months of work, what we did well and what we didn’t."
