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00:00Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome along to the pre-match press conference on the eve
00:05of Napoli Milan. We'll start with Milan TV. Thanks, Nicola. Good afternoon, coach.
00:10Coach, a number of players go away during the international break, and that was also
00:15the case this time around. But how have you worked with the players that stayed here?
00:20A number of significant players, centre-backs, centre midfielders stayed here. Was that useful
00:25for you? Good afternoon, everyone. Ideally, I would have liked to have been able to work
00:32with the full squad, but that wasn't possible because there were a number of players, 15
00:39players, that joined up with their respective national teams. But those that stayed here
00:44at Milanello were able to do different work than we did in the previous weeks for a fortnight.
00:53That was certainly very important. Sky, we have analysed a little bit the first time
01:01that you've come up against Antonio Conte in the opposition dugout. What sort of match
01:06are you expecting? And people keep saying that Milan are chasing down the top four positions.
01:14Why do you need to win tomorrow in Naples? What would that give your team? I played against
01:22Antonio during my playing career. We were both professionals. He was at Juventus, I
01:28was at Lazio, Parma, and we came up against one another many times. Yes, it's the first
01:35time that we meet as coaches, and it will be a difficult match against a good team that
01:42are three points off the top. It's an important match in terms of the objectives, the targets
01:49that we have. We mustn't shy away from our goals, because in terms of our points tally,
01:57we can finish where we want to. And that's why tomorrow's result is important. We'll
02:04do everything in our power to get a good result, and that's why we want to win the game. We've
02:11worked and prepared the game to do exactly that, albeit we are aware of the quality of
02:17the opposition. Good afternoon. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was back at Milanello after a few weeks being
02:25away. A lot has been said and written about him in the last few days about him being here
02:30or not, but he was back yesterday. We also saw some photos of him chatting to you. Can
02:36you tell us what you said to one another, whether you felt he's behind you and whether
02:42the club have been behind you over the last few weeks? No, he can't play tomorrow, he's
02:47out, unfortunately. I'm in touch with the ownership on an almost daily basis, so what
02:58can I say? They're always behind the team, the team are aware of that. We have worked
03:05in a very healthy, positive environment. There's a lot of desire to strike that balance in
03:13terms of shape that we're constantly talking about here as a team. We want to get a result
03:17tomorrow night, nothing more than that. I want to talk about what pertains to the players
03:23and nothing more than that.
03:26Hi coach. I'll come back to what Mauro Suma was asking you in terms of the two weeks you've
03:36had off with the international break, with the 15 players joining up with their respective
03:40national teams. With that in mind, given that you've had the opportunity over the last two
03:46weeks to work a great deal with Tammy Abraham, who in the two games prior to the international
03:52break played well, is it more likely that Tammy Abraham will start at centre forward
03:59as opposed to Santi Jimenez, who has come back after two weeks away with the Mexico national
04:04team? Thank you. We've worked with everyone. We've worked on the principles of play with
04:12the team in all of the various phases of the games, the five moments of the game. The four
04:19transitions, defensive, offensive, offensive, defensive, and also set pieces. And we have
04:24worked a great deal on that, their ability, their quality, but not only with Tammy Abraham,
04:30but also the players that stayed here, 11 outfield players plus three goalkeepers. And
04:37that's what we did. Rai. Hi coach. What sort of match are you expecting? This Napoli side
04:46want to get points for the title race, Lukaku, Conte. From a footballing perspective, what
04:51sort of Napoli you expected to come up against? A quality Napoli side. Napoli side that will
04:59really reflect its coach with aggressiveness, intensity. They'll have a centre forward up
05:07top that's very good with his back to goal. With Raspadori working off him and causing
05:15problems for the opposition. With McTominay making runs from deep. With Zambogisar also
05:22being able to do that. Stanislav Lobotka who's a master in the midfield. We know about this
05:29off by heart. We know exactly how they build up their play, what they do in the first phase,
05:35the second phase, which players are good at getting into the final third and causing problems
05:42for the opposition. We have prepared for all of these principles of play, the opposition's
05:48quality but of course we're focused first and foremost on us as a team. What we need
05:53to create, we can cause problems for Napoli with no doubt about that and we are ready
05:57for a good game. I like to take on the best teams and at this moment in time Napoli are
06:03one of the best teams in the country. Mediaset. Hi Sergio. I wanted to ask you on a personal
06:10level how excited are you by your first encounter with Antonio Conte? When you joined Milan
06:18you were actually defined as the Portuguese Conte in terms of your methodology. A bit
06:24more Portuguese than Italian. I love Italy. How excited are you about it? I know you've
06:37spoken about the ownership but Antonio Conte is one of the names being linked with your
06:42job. I don't need any reassurances. I'm here to do the best job I can. I know that I'm
06:48giving absolutely everything in my power and I try and convey that to the players. I think
06:53that's the comparison that's been made in terms of the passion that Antonio and I have
06:57in terms of the way we do our job. As head coaches, in a previous walk of life as players,
07:04besides our passion for football because football is part and parcel of life, we're
07:09passionate about life, football, family, friends. We have an intense way of living our lives.
07:17I like that and I can see that Antonio is similar as well. Everyone has their own qualities
07:23and characteristics. I'm different to him but the most important thing is not necessarily
07:27Antonio against Sergio, it's Napoli against Milan tomorrow. Do you feel like the Portuguese
07:32Antonio Conte? No. Hi coach. Of course, the most important game is always the next match
07:44so Napoli-Milan is your most important game. However, I'd like to ask you, in terms of
07:50what you're hearing inside the dressing room, do you believe that you can finish in top
07:56four? Can Milan make the top four in these last nine matches? If they didn't believe
08:06it then they wouldn't be here. What would I be doing here otherwise? The players have
08:11come back in this week and we've also been able to work differently to previous weeks
08:20when they're all here but we had a game every three days and there's a very healthy, positive
08:25environment, there's a lot of desire to perform well and to have an end of the season which
08:32is befitting of Milan's history. Hi coach. I wanted to come back to one of the previous
08:41questions in terms of what you said as well. In the last few days you went to Coimbra and
08:49you made some comments where you stressed the fact that shortly after the Super Cup
08:56they started to link other names to the Milan head coach job. Carlos asked you about this
09:00as well. Ibrahimovic has been here, the CEO Giorgio Furlani has been here. Have they given
09:09you a vote of confidence? Have you spoken about the future, what next season might look
09:14like? Do you feel you've been reassured in terms of what's happened in the last few days
09:19and do you have even greater confidence moving forward? To be honest, no. Honestly, please
09:25let me say one thing because it's only natural that a lot's been said about this. You know,
09:32reassurances. I've just got to get down to work. I mustn't think about anything else.
09:39I'm not so weak as to need someone to say to me, reassure me. No, I depend on results.
09:46That's it. I'm here to get results. Tomorrow's match is the most important game. I don't
09:51need someone saying, relax, don't worry. No, I rely on results. And whether it's one week,
09:59one month, one year or ten years from now, you know, if and when we go our separate ways
10:07it will come about. But I'm not like a kid that needs to say to my dad, oh, I need some
10:11reassurances. No, I'm just working here. I've got a contract with Milan, I'm doing my job
10:17and I don't need anyone to necessarily say any more than that in terms of the conditions
10:25that I'm working in. They do that very well. Yeah, I've got two goals. The Coppa Italia
10:32and to finish in the top four. That was established when I first joined the club. The third target
10:39was the Super Cup, which you've already achieved. It was a disappointment to not finish in the
10:47round of 16 in the Champions League, which we've spoken about already. Il Giornale. I
10:53wanted to ask you this, Sergio, given that there's not only tomorrow night's game, but
10:58there's also Wednesday's match. And as you've stressed now, it is one of your goals. I wanted
11:03to ask you, in terms of preparing tomorrow's game, will you also consider the fact that
11:11you have to play again on Wednesday? And I also wanted to ask you, in terms of the players
11:17that came back in more fatigued from the two matches they played with their national teams,
11:23will you also consider that ahead of your team selection? I'm 50 years of age. Half
11:31of that I spent as a player. I'm overdoing it. 13 or 14 years as a head coach. I think
11:37if you try and prepare two games, that's no good. You can actually risk not performing
11:42well in either match. So we've been focused on what we need to do tomorrow in Naples.
11:49And then we'll give some thought to the Coppa Italia semi-final first leg. Either way, there
11:56are some players that played twice for their countries. But these days we have an excellent
12:02staff when it comes to recovering players, when it comes to them coming back from long-distance
12:08travel. And that's not a reason why someone might play or not.
12:12Hi Sergio. No questions about the Frenchman. It'll be a bit obvious today. I wanted to
12:19ask you about Carl Walker, your opinion on his first two months at the club. It was just
12:26a market opportunity and yet in January he's probably the player that's had the greatest
12:32consistency in terms of his performances and he's probably also had the greatest impact
12:37in the dressing room. As you know, I don't like to talk about individuals. He's part
12:42of the squad. He's settled in very well. He's got a great deal of experience, both on and
12:47off the pitch. He's always a very important player and he shows that throughout the week
12:55that he deserves to play. It's not just because he's 35 and because he played at Manchester
12:59City. In terms of the principles of play, those that give 100%, that's what I pick my
13:07team based on. And he's been doing that, which is why he's playing. If he were to stop doing
13:11that it would be very difficult for him to play. But he's very focused. He's a consummate
13:15professional. And I hope that he can continue this way between now and the end of the season.
13:19Good afternoon, coach. I know you don't like talking about individuals too much, but I
13:25wanted to ask you about Ruben Loftus-Cheek because you have told us that he could be
13:31a real weapon now. He played a lot as a number 10 last season, almost as a second striker.
13:37Where do you see him in your system? Where would he fit in? Yes, he's a player who can
13:42operate in several different positions. He's an important player and he's also got some
13:48impressive statistics. If I'm not mistaken, he scored 10 goals across all competitions
13:52last season. When I came in here, I saw some matches and some footage of all of the players
13:59just with other head coaches, with other footballing philosophies. And we can use Ruben as a 10.
14:06We can have him playing a bit deeper as a box-to-box midfielder. It depends on what
14:12our game plan is in that specific match. And of course, he needs to be physically fit
14:17as well. I think he's worked very well like all the other players over the last two weeks
14:21and he is available for selection. Last two questions. Good afternoon, coach. A lot has
14:30been made about Napoli's quality, about how Napoli have done under Conte. Is there a player
14:37that has impressed you the most at Napoli that you'd like to take out of their side
14:42ahead of tomorrow's game? No, we look at the team as a unit. Every player that plays at
14:48Napoli, just like here at Milan, they need to have quality to do so. Antonio Conte is
14:51doing a good job because he's an excellent coach. He's got some good players available
14:55for selection and he's having a good season. I don't want to talk about any individuals
15:04because I don't like to do so. And of course, there are some good players in every area
15:08of the pitch. And there are also some solutions off the bench during the game, just like us
15:16as well. Because if you see our recent games and that's a sign of the good spirit that
15:20we have, we also boast it here because during matches there are also players that come off
15:25the bench and add something to the team. Hi coach, I wanted to ask you about Ficaio Tomori.
15:35He hasn't played as much recently. He played a lot in the first few weeks under you, he
15:41had some good performances, even after that too. But in the last few weeks we haven't
15:47seen him. Gabbia and Cao as a centre-back pairing, what is it about their skillset that
15:56make them a better fit than Ficaio Tomori? It also depends on the phases, periods of
16:06the season, maybe they pick up more yellow cards, maybe their form drops off, but I've
16:09got four very good centre-backs and I've got the utmost faith in all of them. It depends
16:15on the period of the season, I've got the same faith in all of them. So in the last
16:21game Gabbia and Malik played, but we'll see what happens in the upcoming matches and this
16:29competition for places within the team is excellent, they all have quality and it's
16:34up to them to work hard and show me a sign that whether they deserve to play or not.
16:40Thank you very much everyone.