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00:00Hello and welcome along to the press conference head of Milan Roma, first question for Milan
00:08TV.
00:09First of all, happy holidays, coach.
00:15This is the first time that you take on Roma, one of your former employers, you left Roma
00:21four years ago, but have you thought about this moment when you took over and became
00:28Milan coach?
00:31What an important match this is for everybody involved at the club.
00:35Yes, Roma are a great club, they have a great team, excellent players and a great coach.
00:55He's won a lot across his career, going back to Rome and here in Italy for a moment like
01:05this against Roma is always special, but I've got a lot of friends there, but come kickoff
01:17tomorrow it will be like any other match and like taking on any other team, the same desire
01:27to win, to play well, throughout the 90 minutes my only thought is on winning.
01:38Next question now for the coach.
01:43If you can first of all give us an update on the squad list, the injury list, how is
01:48Pulisic, how is Leao, how is Benasser, if you can give us an update on the injury situation
01:54first of all.
02:02I expected to perhaps have Christian available, he's doing well after his injury, in the past
02:13couple of days he's had an ankle issue, he hasn't trained with the full squad, it's part
02:32and parcel of his recovery and return to full fitness, so he's not ready to play tomorrow
02:38and not even for the bench, not for his original injury but this now ankle issue.
02:46As for Loftus-Cheek, he's much better, I think next week he can be an option for us, Morata
02:55is doing well, he's ready to play, Benasser, very good, really motivated, trained all week
03:05with us, of course he hasn't got match fitness for the full 90 minutes but he'll be with
03:13the squad and he's ready to play and he will play I'm sure.
03:23As for Moussa and Rafa, they're a little bit behind when it comes to their return to full
03:34fitness, we'll see whether in the Super Cup we can have them available, but we have Morata,
03:45Benasser, we'll certainly have 11 players out on the pitch tomorrow.
03:52Next question now, it's a question regarding one of the less impressive performances from
04:04Teo Hernandez a week ago, an opinion, a thought from Paolo Fonseca regarding Teo Hernandez's
04:15performance and how has he reacted and how is he doing?
04:25Teo Hernandez has trained with us, as we've said, he needs to get back to his best physically,
04:33I think that even he agrees and I've spoken to him about this, he's aware that he can
04:43do much better, over the past couple of days in which we've worked and trained together
04:51and spoken, I'm very positive regarding Teo's situation, we'll see how things go in the
05:06future, but I'm very optimistic about what I've seen in the past couple of days.
05:13Now next question for the coach, question from Jimenez now, should he play in the place
05:27of Raffale, how does that change the approach of the team and the way Milan attack?
05:34There are different players, Raffa is better in the one-on-one situations, but Jimenez
05:48is also very fast, he perhaps is more of a crosser and setting up goals, it's a different
06:00situation, Jimenez also likes to take the initiative and this is a major strength of
06:16Raffale, it's very difficult to compare the two, but Jimenez did well in that position
06:30tomorrow I have one certainty, Jimenez will play, we'll see whether he plays as a full-back
06:39or as a winger. Next question now for the coach, is tomorrow head-to-head between two of the
06:51sides that have disappointed the most this season? Not for me, no, but I respect everyone's
07:01opinion, I don't have this sensation, this feeling, first of all there's still a long
07:10way to go this season, also if we compare ourselves to the other teams, I don't think
07:28it's fair to say only Roma and Milan disappointed, it's a bit over the top. Another question
07:34now, question about Tami Abraham, will he play or not? Overall are you pleased with
07:46how he's performing this season, he has had a bit of inconsistency, you've spoken about
07:53the attitude, the approach of players, how are you feeling about Tami Abraham? Players
08:02have ups and downs, he had a really positive spell when he was playing alongside Morata,
08:12and he didn't do as well, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with Abraham. Another question
08:26now for Palafonseca, in Portugal they have an expression for Santa Claus, what did you
08:39ask Santa Claus for Christmas, perhaps a new addition, a new signing? As I've said in the
08:55past, we're always attentive to the situation on the transfer front, any new signings we'll
09:09be well aware and informed for what is the best thing for the team. At the moment I'm
09:19focused on the next game, and the one after that which is the Super Cup. We're always
09:26focused and working when it comes to that. You've asked about Tomori, we haven't spoken
09:32about this, this is something new, I've not heard of this before, but it's a normal situation,
09:43and if we need to talk about it, we'll talk about it. More questions now for Palafonseca
09:48Talking about Tomori, you've played Gabbia and Ciao, and continue with them in recent
10:09weeks, but putting aside the transfer front, and we'll see what happens and how that develops,
10:16Tomori, is he useful to keep for Fonseca, or not? That's the key question. Yes. Obviously
10:31there's another question from the journalists, regarding the error of seeing Kalulu go to
10:49Juventus over the summer, would this be another mistake, should Tomori go? I respect your
10:54opinion, but let's focus on Tomori now. He's a great professional, and that is really
11:03important in my team. Playing, not playing, he always keeps working to the same standards,
11:14for me that's very important. He's played this season, he's been on the bench, but he's
11:26never changed his attitude. These are the kind of players that are important to me.
11:35These players are important to me, and Tomori is an important player. I can't say to anyone
11:46who will play tomorrow, or more games, or not, but what I can say is he's an important
11:52player for us. Simple question. From now on, will we see a Fofana-Bennacer-Reinders
12:07midfield? I don't know, to be honest. What I do know is he will play tomorrow. I know
12:25who will play tomorrow, that's the first thing I want to say. I didn't mean Bennacer will
12:35play tomorrow, what I mean is I know who will play tomorrow. Bennacer simply cannot
12:47start tomorrow, he hasn't got the match fitness yet. What I can say is I'm very satisfied
12:55with Bennacer, and with the fact that he's back. He's very motivated, he's training really
13:04well, he's bringing a lot of positive energy to the group. This is what I can really feel
13:16and sense right now. I sense that he can be an important component for this team. Working
13:22like this, bringing this positive energy, this aggression, this intensity in training,
13:29this demanding attitude, Bennacer can be key for our team and this part of the season.
13:45Coach, tomorrow we'll probably see Chukwese from the start. In terms of his efforts and
13:55desire to help out in both phases, he seems to have really improved. In terms of his output
14:02in the final third, it seems that perhaps he's made a couple of steps back. Why do you
14:08think this is? Do you think it's a mental issue? Why could this be a reason why he's
14:15perhaps less decisive in the final third? Do you agree? And do you wish you had Salamakas
14:23still with the team? I won't go back in the past and look at the past. Salamakas, we had
14:40a conversation and he knows what I think. I'm pleased that he's doing well. As for Chukwese,
14:59I really agree with you, actually. He really gives his all for the team, gives his complete
15:12all. It's not easy for him as we ask him to do this kind of position where it's both up
15:22and down the pitch. Defensively, he's doing very well. I still think that in the final
15:31third, that final ball is decision-making. He can be more decisive. At times, those decisions
15:43aren't always 100%. He needs to improve. He needs to step up the quality. I think it's
16:01just a question of confidence. We're working on this and we hope that he can do more for
16:12the team in the final third. Coach, there's lots of players missing out tomorrow, but also players
16:25returning such as Benassere and tomorrow with his positive energy. How is the morale of the team
16:34ahead of a really big week? They're all important, says Fonseca. There's Roma and then, of course,
16:45there's the Supercoppa. The team's doing good. The morale is good. After today's training,
17:03I'm feeling really positive. That's all I can say. I can't say the opposite. The morale is good.
17:10The players worked really well. The preparation went well ahead of tomorrow's match. They're
17:17feeling all positive. I can't be any more optimistic than this after what I've seen
17:26today in training. Three games in a week. Do you think you expect to play three games next week,
17:34i.e. the final of the Supercup? I have a question about Teo Hernandez. As for Jimenez,
17:54do you think we might see Teo Hernandez play further pitch and Jimenez a bit further down
17:59the pitch? No. What's your New Year's resolution for 2025? An objective, a hope. I want to win as
18:18much as possible. I want to take the team up the table and in line with our quality and our
18:31expectations. Coach, in the final minutes at Verona, Tomori played right back. Tomori in
18:45those one-on-one situations can also do really well in that position. Why did he play? Was it
18:55just a last-minute need or could he play in that position? It was just a momentary decision.
19:08But I have thought about it. City, Man City, sometimes play with four centre-backs in their
19:28defensive line. Perhaps Tomori could play in that position defensively. The issue is the attacking
19:41side of our game. We have our way when it comes to attacking with our full-backs. In that position,
19:51in that situation, it's hard to see Tomori in that role. Defensively, no problems. He can do that.
19:57He's an excellent player. He's very good in the one-on-one. He's very fast. He's the fastest
20:06defender we have in our team. But in terms of the attacking side, it's harder for him to slot in
20:16into that side of our game. But it could happen. In the odd game or during a game, if we need to
20:32perhaps defend better, he can play in that position. Last question now.
20:38Lots of options. Not enough. Are you aware that in January you have one or two Super Cup games,
20:59plus the Champions League, plus Serie A, you face Juventus. Do you feel this is a decisive month for you?
21:09And what do you not want to see in 2025 and what you saw in 2024? Easy. It's not difficult to understand
21:23what I want to see. What I want is, in 2025, a team that is more consistent. As for January,
21:42I don't see it as decisive. I don't think so. It's a very busy January. For me, perhaps a bit too packed.
22:03I have to keep thinking. We will take it one game at a time. There are so many games. I can't think too far ahead.
22:24Juventus and so on. You won't be able to do your job in the right way. What do you mean by consistency?
22:36Can you explain exactly what you mean by consistency, continuous? In what aspect do you mean more consistent?
22:43Of course I can explain. We are talking about a team that has played matches in which we have shown we can do lots of positive things.
23:03Had we not done that, then it would have been a problem if we hadn't shown what we are capable of. The team has shown what it is capable of in difficult games.
23:18The team doesn't see each game in the same manner. I think this is the issue. Today we are talking about a Milan team that is not doing well.
23:40But we have had a couple more points against the likes of Genoa, Cagliari, games which we drew. But if we had done better in those games, we wouldn't be talking about this situation right now.
24:01This is because the team is not consistent enough when it comes to taking on teams. This is what I mean when I talk about attitude, more concentration, more determination.
24:16When we face the big teams, when we take the so-called smaller sides, we need to show that same approach we show in the big matches. This is what I mean by being more consistent and treat each game in the same manner.
24:39Games which we cannot lose, which we cannot drop points. It's not a tactical issue, in my opinion. It's a technical issue.
24:55We are trying to do everything we can. We can do better, we know that.
25:12Yes, it's a big challenge for me. I'm certain we'll find the right solution. Thank you very much.