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00:00Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome along to this pre-match press conference on the eve
00:06of Milan against Club Brugge. We'll start with Milan TV. Good afternoon, Gaffer and
00:12TG. Gaffer, I'd like to start with you, then a question for TG. All experience is part
00:20of a team's development. It's part and parcel of a season, whether they're good or bad.
00:25You've had defeats against Liverpool and Leverkusen. We'll try and learn from those.
00:32Do you see confidence and determination in the squad so that we can actually get up and
00:40running in the Champions League tomorrow, Gaffer? That's what we want. This is a different
00:44competition. Of course, we started against two teams that are amongst the best sides
00:53in Europe at this moment in time, but I think they were two very different matches. We struggled
01:01against Liverpool, whereas we showed quality against Bayer Leverkusen, particularly in
01:06the second half, where I think we produced an excellent performance. We didn't win the
01:12game, but I think we did show signs of growth and development. Of course, we want to keep
01:20improving and tomorrow we have a difficult match because Club Brugge are an excellent
01:25team who play excellent football, but we have to try and improve in this competition. We
01:34want and we have to win, particularly if we want to continue on our European campaign.
01:41It's not a crucial match because there are still several matches to play after this one,
01:46but it is an important game that we need to win.
01:49Good afternoon, Tigi. You signed for Milan last summer from AZ Alkmaar and they've got
02:00a wonderful academy. You signed for Milan, you became a starter for Milan, you're the
02:07heartbeat of this Rossoneri side and you've also become a starter and a playmaker in the
02:12national team. What can Champions League matches for Milan offer in terms of your
02:17development and your career starting tomorrow?
02:20It's very important for me as a midfielder to be a match-winner.
02:36I need to score goals and set up goals along with the other midfielders in the team. That's
02:50how we can actually become match-winners. Against Udinese on Saturday night we played
02:54well. I was sent off, but it's very important to play in the same way tomorrow night in
03:03the Champions League.
03:08Good afternoon, Gaffer. It's an important match, but not a crucial game in your words.
03:14How important is it to recover players like Rafael Liao and Teo Nandes? Will it be important
03:22for them to be back in the side tomorrow? Have they figured out what's going on?
03:28Both of them will start tomorrow. They will both play from the first whistle. What I expect
03:38from Rafael Liao and Teo Nandes is what I expect from all the others, namely that they
03:44can give their all so that Milan win the match. I believe in that and that's why they will
03:51start the game tomorrow night, they along with all the other players. It's a natural
03:57situation for both players and they'll both play tomorrow.
04:03I'd like to ask a question to Tigi as well. In Europe, in the Champions League, do you
04:13expect officiating to be different? We all saw the other night that you didn't make any
04:21contact whatsoever with Sandi Lovrich and yet you were sent off. Do you think the officiating
04:26will be different in Europe?
04:31I don't know, to be honest. We need to see tomorrow. It's very important to avoid something
04:39similar coming to pass. I don't know whether or not it was a red card. I need to be very
04:46switched on and all of us need to be very careful. I ran the risk of making contact
04:57with my opponent. I need to avoid doing so in future.
05:01Hi, coach. In terms of the team's development, there was the game where you really hit the
05:13heights, you caught the opposition off guard, namely the derby against Inter, and then you
05:18had to dig deep and show grit against Udinese, where the squad showed what they're all about
05:25besides the top players. What's the route forward? How far off are you from actually
05:31reaching the dominating style of play that you want to see from your Milan team?
05:38As I said, there's a huge change underway. I feel that we are gradually moving towards
05:48what will be important, in my opinion, in terms of the team's development. I think we
05:58saw some very important things in the first 30 minutes. I expected to have greater consistency
06:06throughout the match, but it was hard to do so with the red card that Tigi received, but
06:11that also led to other important things.
06:18I think a team is formed and develops not only with what you do tactically. I think
06:29development and growth is all about attitude, determination, team spirit, and that ability,
06:35that will to win. What I want to see in future is that this attitude becomes par for the
06:44course for this team. If we don't have that, first and foremost, we need this before we
06:53can build everything else. First and foremost, we need to be like this, game in, game out.
06:58This needs to become par for the course, normal practice for this team. Only after that, we
07:03can improve and grow as we are developing. I think we are developing in every other area.
07:12Hi, a few days ago you said it's not necessarily important where you start from, but you didn't
07:22say whether you were necessarily a number 8, a number 10, a number 4. We've got the
07:26head coach here. This is a topic of debate, isn't it, amongst you two, whether you play
07:33higher or lower on the pitch? Yes, I'm a box-to-box midfielder. I can travel from one box
07:51to another. I've played in every position across the midfield. Ideally, I like to play as a number
08:008, but that doesn't mean I can't necessarily operate as a 6 or a 10. I've also played in
08:08those roles in the past. It's not a problem for me. It's the head coach, the gaffer decides
08:14where he needs me. For Paolo Fonseca. Hi, Paolo. We now get into a very busy run of fixtures.
08:29Milan will play seven games in the space of 21 days, including Saturday's game against
08:33Udinese, and that's why you need a big squad to pick from. But tomorrow,
08:39Milan don't have Luka Jovic tomorrow because he's not in the Champions League squad. Tammy
08:43Abrahams got injured. There's Alvaro Morata, speaking about the midfielders, and there's
08:47the youngster Francesco Camarda. Your squad is a bit light in the final third. Do you think that
08:54Milan need to sign an extra forward in the January transfer window?
08:58I'm very happy with the players that I have to pick from.
09:05Sure, this is not a normal situation to have both Luka Jovic and Tammy Abraham unavailable.
09:13Typically, we have options. Plus, we have Francesco Camarda,
09:18who's a player that we believe a great deal in.
09:25I don't think we need any other players in this position.
09:33Hi, Paolo. Besides players that you've already mentioned that will start tomorrow night,
09:40Teo Hernandez and Raphael Lieu, I wanted to ask you how Matteo Gabbia is. Do you think he could
09:45be available to start tomorrow or even be on the bench? On Friday, you spoke about rotating the
09:52squad. Do you plan to do so tomorrow night besides the two changes you've already referenced,
10:00or do you think the rest of the team still requires continuity after that display full
10:06of character in the win on Saturday? Last week, I didn't say anything about the team,
10:12and today I'm revealing everything. Matteo Gabbia had a fitness test today.
10:20He trained and he will start tomorrow.
10:31Yes, it is important at this moment in time to have a full squad to pick from so that we can
10:36rotate our squad because we need to chop and change.
10:41Seven matches are a lot and we need everyone. I believe in all of our players,
10:48and I think all of them can be important at this stage of the season.
10:56Hi, Paolo. The most important response against Udinese was the fact that you can now rely on a
11:03number of players. You had a response from almost all of the players that they can all be used by
11:10you. Was that the most important message you received? And can you start to incorporate
11:20everyone starting tomorrow against Klub Brugge, Pavlovic, Cao, Csukwese, Okafor, Terraciano too?
11:29Yes, we can talk about Csukwese and Okafor.
11:42I thought it was important because they're quality players, but they need confidence.
11:49And I think they played with confidence, they played with belief and they played well.
11:53And it's very positive for a coach to have players performing at the same level.
12:02And then you can choose game in, game out based on the opposition skill set. I was very pleased
12:09with what I saw because the players that came into the side told me and told everyone that
12:16we can rely on them when it comes to them playing and helping out the team.
12:23That was the thing that pleased me most. The fact I now have this opportunity because the players are ready.
12:32Hi Paolo, you've often spoken about leadership in a match like the one against Udinese that
12:39gave you a great deal. You dug deep with 10 men on the pitch and were able to win.
12:45Who impressed you the most? Yousef Fofana, Alvaro Morata. Who impressed you the most in that tricky
12:51match against Udinese in the league? It's hard to necessarily single out one or two players
13:00when all of the players worked so hard and they worked as a unit. Sure, Fofana, Pulisic
13:09produced excellent performances, but I think all of the players out there,
13:13even those that came off the bench, were hugely important.
13:21Obviously, it's important that they're also able to show the team and me what they're all about.
13:36I think they're all at a very good level in terms of their performances,
13:41but as I said, that needs to be par for the course when you play for Milan.
13:47Good afternoon. Earlier on you said it was an important match, not a crucial one,
13:53but I wanted to ask you what's Milan's objective in the Champions League? Do you think you can
13:57finish in the top eight or are you trying to finish in the playoff places? And therefore,
14:02how many points do you need in the next six matches in order to qualify?
14:07I'm not looking too far ahead.
14:10We haven't won any of our first two matches, that's the truth.
14:14I think we need to think about our next match, our next game tomorrow.
14:19I don't think we should do any permutations when it comes to the future. We need to win our next
14:24match and I think that's what matters most at this moment in time. Because we've got a lot of
14:30games still to play, we need to take things one game at a time.
14:35Hi, I wanted to come back to the two captains you said in the press conference about the
14:43armband. Mike Mignon being chosen as captain naturally was a big talking point in France,
14:50because Kylian Mbappé was out in October during the international break and apparently Mike
14:56Mignon was disappointed that he didn't get the chance to play in the first round.
15:00In October during the international break and apparently Mike Mignon was disappointed he wasn't
15:04given the armband and then you named him as captain and will he be skipper again tomorrow
15:11night? Was that to pick him up in terms of his mood? No, my decision to give him the armband
15:21had nothing to do with what went on in the France national team. I made my decision a while ago and
15:29I'd already spoken to Mike and that's because I think Mike is one of the leaders in the dressing
15:36room. He's now had the opportunity to wear the armband, but he's one of the players that I
15:49wanted to actually add to the leadership group. Two questions, one for the head coach and one
15:58for Tidjani. To the head coach, on the eve of the game against Udinese you were angry and you wanted
16:03to send out a message, the message has been received. You've often spoken about the fact that
16:08when you're a head coach you're occasionally angry and sometimes you're not.
16:16How did the team respond to your demands in recent days? And Tidjani,
16:21football lovers tend to really like players like you. You come from Dutch football, Clarence Seedorf,
16:33Pulit, Rijkaard and so on and so forth did great things at this club. How far away are you from
16:40really making your mark with Rossoneri perhaps in the Champions League and what
16:43do you need to add to your game to get even better?
16:45Personally, as I said a little earlier on, I want to be an important player in terms of
17:02providing assists and scoring goals. That's important for any player.
17:09The players that you referenced all won a great deal and that's the aim that I have, to try and
17:19win individual awards and obviously trophies season in, season out.
17:28The question as to how the squad have responded, they've responded well once again.
17:32The other week, last week, ahead of the Udinese game, when we spoke in the press conference,
17:41the team has always trained well.
17:49Now I have to say it's harder to actually gauge because we can't train, there's no intensity in
17:55our training sessions, but it does feel like I've once again got good vibes.
18:04Looks like the team is looking good.
18:08And the team is full of confidence, which is what matters to me.
18:14Hi Gaffer, hi Tijani, it's a question for the head coach, a statistic.
18:18Milan are one of the teams that commit the fewest fouls in Europe. You're 35th out of 36 in terms of
18:26fouls committed in the Champions League and you're the fifth lowest in terms of fouls committed.
18:31You committed very few fouls against Udinese, three against Udinese, and yet you're one of
18:37the teams that's had the highest number of yellow cards and sending us off in Serie A.
18:43How do you explain that? Do you need to be a little bit meaner and
18:47cannier or is it an issue that arises from officiating, which doesn't always go your way?
18:58As a head coach, clearly I can't say that I want my players to commit more fouls.
19:03I always need to promote football or the style of play that we need to
19:10operate in, but the players know that over the last few days, what can I say? How can I put it?
19:18We're a little bit too nice.
19:24And we need to be a bit more of what we're all supposed to be.
19:28And we need to be a bit more of what we're all actually all about, less saints and more devils.
19:38Maybe it's a sign of aggressiveness that we need to necessarily improve upon.
19:46I love playing good football,
19:51but committing fouls is part and parcel of a team's intelligence, of your nous.
19:59We have spoken about that and we need to improve on that score.
20:03And improving for me is making the right foul at the right time when we need to,
20:11without necessarily trying to hurt the opposition player. We don't need to do that.
20:17That's not nice to see in football, but we need to be more intelligent.
20:22Tele Lombardia. Hi, Gaffer.
20:27Over the last two weeks, a lot has been said about Teo Hernandez from a number of different areas.
20:32What's he looking like? And besides the fact that he's starting tomorrow,
20:37will he be captain tomorrow night? I haven't yet decided.
20:41That's something I need to give a bit more thought to. I have considered it,
20:45but I need to give it some more thought today.
20:48Teo is one of the options because he is one of the potential skippers.
20:52How's he looking? No, he's looking good.
20:55He's trained well in recent days, including today. He's looking good.
21:04Teo is a really experienced player and he's looking good.
21:09Bressi. Pianeta Milan.
21:13A question for both of you, for the head coach. After the Fiorentina game,
21:17you said that Milan didn't win the match because they had less desire, less hunger,
21:21less will to run compared with Fiorentina. But maybe you beat Udinese because you actually had
21:28greater desire to do the dirty work compared with Udinese. Why do you think Milan aren't
21:33always able to show that same level of determination? And how can you always keep it
21:40at the highest level? And a question for Tijani. There came a time when the head coach said to us
21:45that he didn't like you in a double pivot alongside Youssef Fofana. Have you changed
21:51something? Have you worked differently? Has he told you something different? Or have you
21:56changed something in your game? Can I answer the question you put to him?
22:01What I said is that constantly seeing Tijani alongside Fofana
22:20doesn't necessarily bring out the best in Tijani.
22:25You asked him earlier on whether he's a 6 or an 8. In terms of this shape, I think he can do both.
22:37At certain times of the game, we can see Tijani operating as a 6.
22:43But if we go a bit further forward, then we can see Tijani
22:46more as an attacking midfielder, more as a 10.
22:49And he's able to do both in this system, not at the same time, but depending on the way the
22:59game pans out, depending on where we are on the pitch, whether or not we're under pressure.
23:04But he can carry out both roles. And what was the other question
23:09in terms of keeping your focus up in terms of doing the dirty work?
23:20No, if you ask me, it's in terms of being demanding,
23:25keeping high standards with the squad day in, day out. A lot has been said about this.
23:32And I think it's an issue which doesn't necessarily date only to recently. As head coach,
23:41I need to figure out how to improve the team
23:47on this score in terms of focus, desire,
23:51attitude. And that's what I'm doing. I'm becoming more and more demanding on this area.
24:01Good afternoon.
24:04Given that you've said a lot about the starting 11, you want to know the rest of the team?
24:09If you want, sure. But no, I'd like to also ask you for a snapshot of the opposition, Club Brugge.
24:20Is it slightly similar to the derby in terms of could it be a turning point
24:26in the Champions League like the derby was in Serie A?
24:30I've watched Club Brugge and they're a team with a lot of attacking talent.
24:35If you look at their match against Dortmund that they lost in matchday one,
24:39that they dominated, they created a whole load of opportunities.
24:45And that's why I think it's important to defend well.
24:48That doesn't mean we need to defend a lot, but when we have to defend, we need to defend well,
24:52because Club Brugge are a team with quality in the attacking third.
24:57They've got a lot of individual talent in wide areas.
25:01Individual talent in wide areas.
25:04They've got quality as well in the middle of the park.
25:13I think we need to be very focused on when we're defending.
25:18We mustn't let this team attack us too much because they're a very dangerous site.
25:25Against Dortmund, they created a number of opportunities.
25:28Sure, they lost the game, but in an attacking sense, they created a whole host of chances.
25:37Can it be a turning point?
25:38No, I think it's a different situation.
25:43The opposition play a different way.
25:47I think the competition is different, so I think everything is different.
25:52Good afternoon.
25:53I wanted to ask you about Strahinja Pavlovic because he hadn't played for a while.
26:00His performance against Udinese was a subject of debate.
26:03What did you make of him?
26:05And do you think that his skill set is suited to playing alongside Matteo Gabbia?
26:09Do you want to know whether he's starting alongside Gabbia?
26:14No, he won't start tomorrow.
26:24This is a different style of football for Pavlovic.
26:32We play a different way to what he's used to in terms of what he was doing at his previous club.
26:39I think Pavlovic did some good things in the first few games,
26:53and he did other things that he needs to improve upon defensively, more so defensively than elsewhere.
27:05We have worked with him in recent times.
27:09I think he has improved over the last few matches.
27:13I think he's been a bit more balanced, a bit more level-headed.
27:18Strahinja Pavlovic is a very physical player who always wants to
27:23try and get to the ball ahead of the opponent.
27:27But what we want to see from him is a slightly more level-headed, measured centre-back.
27:34I think he did better against Udinese.
27:40He was more measured, but I think he still needs to improve.
27:49He didn't have a flawless performance, if you ask me, but he did play well.
27:53If you compare his performance on Saturday to what he produced earlier on this season,
27:59he has made giant strides.
28:01But Pavlovic still has areas of his game that we need to improve upon.
28:09One for Tidjani, and I'd also like to ask Nicola Pozzi if I can ask an additional question.
28:17I want to play my joker as well.
28:19Is Csukwese starting tomorrow?
28:21Csukwese?
28:22Csuk?
28:24No, I may as well tell you, tomorrow is starting 11.
28:28Mike Mignon?
28:30Emerson Royale?
28:32Matteo Gabbia?
28:34Ficaio Tomori?
28:35Teo Hernandez?
28:37Youssef Fofana?
28:38Ruben Loftus-Cheek?
28:41Tigi Reinders?
28:42Rafa Leal?
28:43Christian Pulisic?
28:44And Alvaro Morata?
28:45Thank you very much.
28:50I'm going to be very cautious when broaching the tactical side of the game,
28:54but I'd like to start with a Portuguese expression.
29:00Perfection leads you to go crazy.
29:07And given that on a Saturday we played an almost perfect match,
29:13but the mistakes that we saw under Stefano Pioli reared their ugly head again.
29:18So the forward taking away the centre-back, in this case Strahinja Pavlovic,
29:23an opposition midfielder ran from deep.
29:26Reinders had to chase him down.
29:28It already happened last year.
29:30Malik Chao was sent off against Juventus because Moise Kean made a break forward.
29:36I know you don't want to go crazy, but can you not improve on that?
29:39Yes, we've worked on that.
29:41We showed this clip to the players and I'd like to say again,
29:46there's no criticism whatsoever.
29:48It's a different way of playing the game of football.
29:54We're now talking about how we defend.
29:58I think this is one of the areas where we've made the greatest improvement on
30:03in terms of the way I like my teams to set up defensively.
30:09We're a lot tighter and more compact as a team these days.
30:14We're more aware of how to rationally occupy the space on the pitch.
30:20But it wasn't easy to change this.
30:22All of the players had very individual reference points in terms of who to pick up or what to do.
30:34As for when Tigi was sent off,
30:41Filippo Terraciano and Tigi swapped men.
30:46We had planned for that.
30:47But we could have done so differently.
30:55But that meant that Pavlovic was sucked in by the opposition forward and that mustn't happen.
31:00Especially when the team is compact.
31:03Especially when the team is playing a high line and has a lot of space in behind.
31:08What is the issue?
31:11And this is what I explained to the players.
31:13What is the issue?
31:16And this is what I explained to the players.
31:19If the forward receives the ball there and then turns,
31:23we have Terraciano, Tigi, Pavlovic, Malicciao and Emerson Real.
31:27Where's the issue?
31:31We mustn't get sucked in at moments like those.
31:35That was a mistake.
31:36We've already spoken about it.
31:38The players realised that, they've watched the footage back.
31:42These things happen, but we need to learn from them.
31:46Meanwhile, to Gianni, I'd like to go a bit overboard.
31:50You spoke earlier on, or the head coach spoke earlier on,
31:54about the fact that you can play as a No. 6 or a No. 8.
32:02A Dutch journalist said that Johan Nesk is a very good player.
32:08The late Johan Neskens was one of the first box-to-box midfielders ever.
32:12Can you be inspired by the late Neskens from the Great Netherlands side of the past?
32:17Are you working to be a bit like Neskens,
32:19or am I going a bit overboard with the comparison?
32:28Unfortunately, I never watched Johan Neskens play.
32:33He played before I was born,
32:35but football was a very different game back then.
32:45I always try to really harness my skill set for the team
32:50and play as a box-to-box midfielder.
32:55What is a box-to-box midfielder?
32:56I want to ask, what do you mean by that?
33:00What is it?
33:02Describe it to me.
33:03And what about the others?
33:07Forwards don't also need to attack and defend.
33:09Everyone needs to be box-to-box.
33:11These days in football, everyone needs to be box-to-box.
33:13It's true, it's true.
33:16Kevin De Bruyne is a good example of a box-to-box midfielder, isn't he?
33:21We've got lots of examples.
33:22There are a number of players in modern football.
33:28Son Heung-min, the Tottenham winger.
33:30He's a box-to-box player.
33:32He is, he is.
33:41I think when you talk about box-to-box,
33:44you're talking about people running up and down the middle of the pitch.
33:48But everyone is box-to-box these days.
33:51Let's say when Rafael Leão becomes a box-to-box player,
33:55then that means you all have done some excellent work.
33:59Thank you very much.