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00:00In Italy, they often say there's a great difference between the Italian League and the Champions League.
00:10This view is shared all over the world. It's different to domestic leagues.
00:16How will you change Milan from the Serie A season to tomorrow in the Champions League?
00:23Or will you always try and make Milan play the same way?
00:27It's not always the same, no. The intention, of course, is the same. The aim.
00:36One day, maybe in the future, we can talk about this in more depth.
00:46But now, I think it's a bit early to talk about it.
00:53I can talk about this a lot, about our form, about the players' forms, about the teams we play against.
01:01But I don't think it's the moment to go too deep into that subject.
01:12A question for Mr Fonseca.
01:15Tomorrow is a very difficult test for Milan against a team that broke FC Bayern Munich's winning streak in the Bundesliga.
01:27In Milan's attitude, will it be the same that have played the last two matches, or the same attitude and style?
01:37No, I don't see why the team will change, the attitude will change.
01:42We have to be consistent. We know it's a different match.
01:49I think it will be a similar match to that one against Liverpool.
01:58But we have to be consistent, we have to show continuity, especially in defence.
02:06I think the team has developed in defence, and this is a good test.
02:12A good test to see our defensive capabilities.
02:16I've already told the players that to win this match, to have a chance to beat a team, a very good team like Bayer Leverkusen,
02:28we have to, defensively, we have to be perfect.
02:34Let's go to Enrico Curro, La Repubblica.
02:41The same question.
02:46You spoke about being captain, and there are lots of captains at Milan, there are almost five captains at Milan.
02:55The rotation of the captain's armband, have you already done that in your management career?
03:04I'd like to know what it means to Raphael to have the armband.
03:08What I want, when I arrived, the captains were the players with the most appearances at Milan.
03:21I respect that, I want to respect that.
03:26But I also want different leaders, I want shared leadership, more than one person.
03:36We have a good chance of having a good opportunity to have more than one leader.
03:41We want players, we want more than one player who can be the captain.
03:45I want to spread the responsibility of being captain.
03:52Tomorrow there could be another player who's captain tomorrow.
03:57But for me, at the moment, I've got five captains.
04:03I've got a choice from five different players.
04:08We'll see, we'll see who the captain will be.
04:11I'm always proud to be captain of Milan.
04:16I've been here six years.
04:20When I play for this shirt, it's a responsibility.
04:24And to be captain, even more of a responsibility.
04:26I'm happy.
04:28I'm happy to have the managers, the head coaches' faith.
04:32I'm very, very happy.
04:34Question for Rafa Leal.
04:37After the last match, the boss spoke a lot about you, the manager spoke a lot about you.
04:45And said some wonderful words about you.
04:48He said that you are showing a really good commitment to defence in the defensive phase.
04:53And that represents your development and growth.
04:56Do you agree with that?
04:58How do you feel about that?
05:00And what do you think about defending as well as dribbling?
05:03Well, from my first day here.
05:07His first day, he called me into his office.
05:11He didn't speak about goals and assists.
05:15He told me he wanted a player who could be more focused in the defensive.
05:25In the defensive phase.
05:28And that would help me become an even better player.
05:31He wanted to help my positioning as well.
05:34I like this.
05:36Every day in training.
05:39We watch videos.
05:42We're watching videos.
05:44I've been shown a few videos in training.
05:47I've seen a few clips of the last match.
05:50He's helping me a lot.
05:52The head coach is helping me a lot.
05:54Mr. Fonseca is helping me.
05:56And I think he will continue to help me this season.
06:07Mr. Fonseca.
06:09You referred to the match against Real Madrid.
06:12What do you think about that?
06:13Mr. Fonseca.
06:15You referred to the match against Liverpool.
06:18And naturally, since that match, Milan's form has turned around.
06:28Is this like a new start in the Champions League for Milan?
06:33Do you think it's a chance to lay an important building block?
06:40And do you have lots of faith in Rafa Layao?
06:50And also, Rafa, you were spoken about not just being a leader in terms of your personality,
06:55but in terms of your ability, your skill.
06:58Do you like this description, being a technical leader?
07:02I always have faith.
07:10This is a different match.
07:12It's true that we did well in the last few matches we have done well in the league.
07:22But I have to say, Serie A is very different.
07:27But I have to say, Serie A is very different to the match we have got tomorrow.
07:39Today someone sent me Ciabi Alonso's words, Ciabi Alonso's interviews.
07:45And I always...
07:50And when people speak about Italian teams, they always say the same thing.
07:56They say Italian teams are always good at the counter-attack, at defending.
08:04I am happy to be a different team to that, though.
08:12I want people to speak differently about Milan when they speak about Italian football teams.
08:18We don't want to be that kind of team who defends and plays on the counter-attack.
08:23When people speak about Italian teams in the Champions League, people say we only defend.
08:30And we don't want to be that way.
08:32Tomorrow we will obviously be defending a lot, probably, because we are playing against a very good team.
08:41But when we have got the ball, we want to play, we want to use it.
08:46I am very happy with what we have done in the league.
08:51But I am also interested to see the players' behaviour in a different scenario, a different setting.
09:01It is a different match to those we have had so far in Serie A.
09:04Well, my personality, I am a bit shy. I am a shy guy.
09:13I don't like speaking too much.
09:16When I am captain, I have to speak.
09:24I speak a bit more before the match, a bit more on the pitch.
09:27But my strength is responding with my skill, my quality, and helping the team with goals or assists.
09:35Playing well.
09:38That is how I want to help my team, by playing well.
09:46There are Italian teams that sometimes attack, who don't only defend, like Milan.
09:53There are Italian teams that sometimes attack, who don't only defend, like Atalanta.
10:00Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen in the final and beat them 3-0 in the final of the Europa League last year.
10:09Did you watch that match, the Europa League final?
10:12Could Milan play that kind of aggressive game?
10:17Yes, I watched that match, the Europa League final.
10:23This shows how difficult Serie A is.
10:29Bayer Leverkusen had never faced a team like that, that they had in German football.
10:39Man-marking.
10:41And they had difficulty.
10:44I am watching Declan Rice recently, after the match against Atalanta.
10:49He said it was very difficult to play against Atalanta.
10:54He said, we don't have teams that play man-to-man marking in England.
10:59I think it's very difficult for these teams that come from leagues that don't have this kind of style,
11:09struggle against a team who play man-marking, when there aren't spaces.
11:15But changing your team to play against a team that man-marks is very difficult.
11:24And those players have confirmed that.
11:27What we can do, we aren't a man-marking team like Atalanta.
11:37We don't man-mark over all areas of the pitch.
11:41We don't man-mark over all areas of the pitch.
11:44We are a different team to Atalanta.
11:48It won't be the same.
11:51Tomorrow, Milan will not be the same style as Atalanta, when Atalanta played Bayer Leverkusen.
12:02Atalanta caused a lot of problems for Bayer Leverkusen.
12:10But I don't use man-marking, and the players know that from the first day.
12:19To play football the way I want, to play against Bayer Leverkusen, I'm not going to switch to man-marking.
12:27I can't suddenly say, tomorrow we're going to play in a man-marking system, because it's a very different mentality.
12:41Do you have a different style of facing the Champions League?
12:46Because it's a different system, because it's a one-off league table, plus another question afterwards.
12:56When I'm preparing matches, I prepare for moments.
13:03Defensively, we have to be perfect to win this match.
13:08But I also prepare the team to have the ball, to show initiative, to attack.
13:17How the match will unfold, I don't know.
13:21But I know it will be a difficult match.
13:24Maybe we'll be defending a bit more, but when we have got the ball, we want to be an attacking team.
13:31We want to be a team that trouble and press Bayern.
13:36Rougher layout.
13:40When you looked at the videos with Mr. Fonseca, was it the things you did well or badly?
13:45No, Mr. Fonseca showed me videos of my style, what I did without the ball.
13:51When I went to close down spaces, closing down second balls.
13:56He showed me the defensive things, let's say.
14:00Which error did you commit against Liverpool that you don't want to tomorrow against Leverkusen?
14:16We played a good match against Liverpool.
14:21But when you make a mistake, defensively against a team like Liverpool, it's very difficult.
14:30I think we made more than one defensive error against Liverpool.
14:42I don't think there are many chances in these kind of matches.
14:48We made four or five errors in important situations against Liverpool.
14:55In the final end of the pitch, in our end of the pitch.
15:00We have to stop these mistakes.
15:06Questions for Rafa Leal.
15:11You often talk about your ambitions and what you think Milan can do, but you don't say much.
15:18How far do you think Milan can go in the Champions League?
15:22Can you battle with the really big teams?
15:25And secondly, I read your words with Milan TV.
15:30You said Abraham and Morata make you want to work hard and sacrifice.
15:38Are you more interested in working defensively tomorrow or scoring a great goal?
15:48The first question?
15:55It's best to think match by match.
15:57Tomorrow is a difficult, important match.
16:04When I was speaking on Milan TV, I said it would be great to win, to do well in the Champions League.
16:14Tomorrow will be a beautiful match, a wonderful match for us.
16:18Winning in the Champions League is something that gives us faith, gives us belief.
16:25The second question?
16:28Well, I want to win.
16:31If I have to make sacrifices and work hard for the team to win, that's fine.
16:39The small details we're working on.
16:42These are important things in big matches.
16:46Working hard, changing position without the ball, scoring goals.
16:51These details make the difference every match.
17:02We like to think you play with a 4-4-2 and Alvaro Morata moves around.
17:22This formation you're talking about, tell us about this formation, this style.
17:31It's difficult, it's difficult.
17:39I continue saying it's not a 4-4-2.
17:44It depends on the moment, it depends on the pitch, where we're playing, who we're playing.
17:55I know that when you speak about Alvaro Morata,
18:03and when we play with Alvaro Morata and Tami Abraham, we're more attacking.
18:08But we play with them because they help out in the defensive phase.
18:15I think we're stronger in attack, but I think we're stronger in defense as well with those two.
18:22Rafa Leal, the week before the derby, Paolo Fonseca.
18:32was talking about the derby.
18:37He talked about how the plan was to play with Pulisic, Leal, Tami Abraham and Alvaro Morata in the derby.
18:48How did you feel about this?
18:50Was it a way of saying that we're strong?
18:53Was it a way of being positive and showing a positive attitude?
18:56No, I wasn't surprised. I wasn't surprised by this.
19:05The boss didn't want to talk too much about enter and load us down with instructions.
19:13It was a match that we had to go and win. It didn't matter how, left or right.
19:18It was a derby.
19:20Personally, it was a match about winning. It was an important derby to win.
19:29I wasn't bothered about being the protagonist. I wanted to do well and work hard for my team and win.
19:35It was a match about winning. It was an important derby to win.
19:41I wasn't bothered about being the protagonist. I wanted to do well and work hard for my team and win.
19:49What do you think of the 4-4-2?
19:52I think we're compact with this 4-4-2.
19:57We're compact. We don't give the other team space to make chances.
20:04Personally, I feel more comfortable defending in this style.
20:10The full-backs, the wide defenders and the central midfielders feel good in this formation and these tactics.
20:22My question will be in English and it's to Rafael Leal.
20:26Rafael, you're facing a very, very good player in Victor Boniface tomorrow,
20:33who is one of Bayer Leverkusen's best attacking assets.
20:37Do you know him? If yes, what do you think about him and the team, Bayer Leverkusen in general?
20:44Yes, I know him. He's a teammate from Chukwueze.
20:51We were talking about him this week.
20:55Of course, he's a striker, dangerous, very technical, fast.
21:03We know we need to be careful with him.
21:08But I think we need to be prepared for the other team,
21:13because the centre-back, the right-back, Fipong, Grimaldo,
21:17I think all the players from Bayer Leverkusen play very well.
21:23It will be a difficult game.
21:27But of course, Boniface is one to not be scared,
21:34but to respect his abilities.
21:37But I think we are prepared to face him.
21:49Thank you for watching the press conference and goodbye.