Massimiliano Allegri speaks to the media today ahead of the match against Napoli tomorrow at the San Siro.
Question: the last matches, due to the team's skill, due to organization, have been very clear paths. With a Milan that controls and commands the match. After these 4 matches, are they ready to face tomorrow night’s difficulties?
"Tomorrow we face Napoli, who deservedly won the Scudetto. They made an important transfer marekt campaign and I believe they are still the favorite for the Scudetto. Conte is excellent at making the players perform. Napoli in the last 26 matches has achieved 18 victories, in recent years Milan at home against Napoli has always lost: we hope to overturn these numbers. It will definitely be a beautiful match," said the Rossoneri coach to the journalists in the press conference, as relayed via Milan News.
On the match, Allegri said:
"It is a beautiful match, it is the first big match of the season: it will be an important test. We are in good physical and mental condition, we have also recovered Leao. The more we work, the more we know each other. We must face the match aware of the difficulties we will encounter: we will need to play 100 minutes well."
On the environment, Allegri said:
"First of all, I am happy that tomorrow the fans will fill the stadium and will be close to the team. The club must be strong, solid, with a very precise strategy: we started the work this year with enthusiasm and all together. We must continue working, tomorrow there is a beautiful match to play, an important test to take another small step forward. It must be done with great enthusiasm and desire to reach certain results."
Antonio Conte said that Milan has a team with a Champions League structure… Do they have a better squad?
"I don’t know that. The club worked well in the market, there is an excellent squad, a mix of experienced and less experienced players. We must focus on ourselves, work so that in March we will be there to play our chances to reach the top four. We must think about ourselves, what others think doesn’t interest me much. We must maintain this trend of focus and enthusiasm, with desire to improve but with great balance."
How much can Rafael Leao play?
"I don’t know how much autonomy he has, he has been out for 45 days, in the sense that he did individual work. We shouldn’t think about tomorrow’s result, we must think about playing a beautiful and important match, it will be a growth test against the Italian champion team."
About Antonio Conte, did you speak? Allegri said:
"No contacts, I haven’t had any. Conte’s teams concede little, it’s difficult to score against them. I remember Juventus, Inter, last year Napoli, which conceded very few goals and allowed them to win the championship. I don’t need to say it, numbers speak in Conte’s favor."
With Rafael Leao’s return, how does the offensive setup change?
"We’ll see as we go. Leao must find ideal condition. Nkunku is growing like Pulisic, Gimenez has unlocked and we hope he continues. Then there are substitutions. You reach objectives if those on the bench determine when they enter, for better or worse. For better, you reach objectives, for worse, you don’t. Tomorrow choosing the lineup will be very difficult for me. It’s important that those on the bench are mentally ready to determine when they enter."
Physically, how is the team? Any doubts for tomorrow?
"I have enough doubts for tomorrow, hopefully we solve them by tomorrow night otherwise it’s a mess. Tuesday’s match confirmed that De Winter, Athekame, Nkunku did well. There is a group of players becoming a team. Everyone must have an objective and personal objectives must serve the team to reach the final goal, which is everyone’s: that Milan next year must play in the Champions League."
About organized fans, Allegri commented:
"Having fans who help us and give us energy is very important. Tomorrow night we expect this."
Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot untouchable... Is Youssouf Fofana starting?
"The important thing the club did is that Rabiot’s arrival, an international player, raised competitiveness within the group. There are six very good players. Apart from Modric, who unfortunately in football is something you don’t see anymore and luckily we have him. The others are all very reliable and this is fundamental."
How do you maintain balance in judgments about you?
"I insist a lot on balance. Football is debatable and perception changes how one’s work is evaluated one year and then the next. The result matters. There will be matches we win 1-0, I hope, there will be matches we win 2-0, 3-2. The important thing is that the team maintains its identity."
On Pervis Estupinan:
"He is an excellent player, he is growing. A great professional, I am very happy to have him available. In the last matches he has improved physically and technically."
On tomorrow’s match and playing once a week:
"Tomorrow is a big match against the team that won the Scudetto last year. We work because Milan must play the Champions on Wednesday, Tuesday, or Thursday. Milan must play in that competition. I prefer playing every three days than playing one match a week."
Does a player enjoy himself more with Conte or Allegri?
"I don’t know, you have to ask the players. I have great respect for Antonio, he is a great professional. Everyone has their character, maybe we are as different as we are similar. In his career he has achieved great results and he is achieving them now."
Allegri, do you think you evolved during this sabbatical year? Or is he the same Allegri as always?
"In the year I was stopped I watched many matches. That’s why balance is needed. Tomorrow the match might go badly, hopefully not, and Allegri hasn’t evolved. Then there are matches you play well, matches where you score, messy matches. There will be matches where you can’t play well but must get the result: you can’t always get results with clean matches, in a season 7-8 matches must be won messily. You must be ready for that too."
Tomorrow the bookmakers give Milan as favorites:
"I don’t know what others think, I know what I see and what we are working on. We are still at the fifth matchday. There are 34 matches to play, 102 points… A lot must still happen. One step at a time, we must maintain this balance: we must work on it and know that for Milan winning matches is normal, losing must become the exception. Having clear focus on the final result can give us a few more points."
How important is not losing tomorrow?
"I don’t know, the important thing is to play well, have a good match and try to get the result. If we win, we will all be happier, a draw we will accept, in case of defeat we must work on what went wrong. Tomorrow we face a team that in the last 26 matches won 18. In September, in Milan’s history, they have beaten Napoli few times. We must be good at overturning these numbers."
Can Christian Pulisic and Christopher Nkunku start together?
"They are all well, it’s difficult. The important thing is that those who go on the field and those on the bench are ready for decisive moments. Everyone wants to play, but I can’t put more than 11. In the end, we all reach the objectives: those who determine seasons are almost always the substitutes."
Is Milan already mature after these weeks? Allegri said:
"We will see tomorrow, the first test is tomorrow. But every Sunday or Saturday there will be a test. We must work. In a month we haven’t solved anything. We are neither in the Champions nor have we won the Scudetto. Tomorrow will be a good match and a good test. Tomorrow the Scudetto is not decided and neither is Champions qualification. A minimum number is needed to reach Champions, it’s not that if you win tomorrow they give you 70 (laughs)."
What can Luka Modric give?
"He can give what he has always given in his career, in his 13 years at Real Madrid where he won a lot. Also what he has given these months since arriving at Milan, professionalism and great technical quality. It’s a pity that in the world, unfortunately, players like Modric are few. You can count them on one hand."
