Conceicao spoke in a press conference on the eve of Inter-Milan in the Coppa Italia: here are all the statements made by the Portuguese coach.
Inter-Milan, doppio ritorno: l’annuncio di Conceicao (Ansa Foto) – MilanLive.it
After the disappointing defeat against Atalanta in the league, Milan is ready to return to the pitch for another very important engagement: the return match of the Coppa Italia semifinal against Inter. The first leg ended 1-1, and a victory in the fifth derby of this season will be needed to access the final. Today Sergio Conceicao spoke in his usual press conference at Milanello.
Coppa Italia, Inter-Milan: la conferenza stampa di Conceicao
PAPA FRANCIS – “I am a practitioner, every day I go to Mass at 6:30 a.m. in Milan, I have been doing it all my life. He was an extraordinary person, a man who will be missed.”
SENSE FOR THE DERBY – “The big clubs try to go all the way in every competition. Inter is strong and we want to win, get to the final and give the fans the joy of winning another trophy. We have to play a great game and be very competitive tomorrow. Every match is different, it has a life of its own, even if it is the fifth derby of the season. We have to play at a high level, otherwise it will be difficult to win.”
AWAKEN THE TEAM FOR INTER-MILAN – “The week before we played Atalanta I had good feelings, then in the game I had to wait until halftime to get the team right. We played against a strong Atalanta side that has its value, it was a fairly balanced game and they had a lot of ball possession in the first half without creating any particular chances. In the first 15 minutes of the second half they had not gone beyond the half, then we got a goal with several mistakes and after that the sub players did not give something extra this time. We talked about it, we saw what we did not do well. It’s in the past now, the most important game is the one against Inter and the players are aware of that.”
WALKER – “He trained with the team, also Loftus-Cheek. Physically they are not at the top, however, their return is good for the team.”
THREE-WAY MODULE THE BEST FOR MILAN – “The module is important, it is important to work on a system, then there is a dynamic that the team has to do. We have to be able to defend on Inter’s important points. Even with other modules we have added a fifth element in defense, sometimes Musah and sometimes Jimenez. It depends on the match, the moment of the opponent, who in every match tries to do something different. They know us well and vice versa. We have to see strong points and also weak ones, trying to exploit them. Inter is a team that has many dynamics, but so do we.”
INTER TIRED? – “They are in so many competitions and they are used to being there. Today the recovery of players is done quickly. I saw the game against Bologna. They have a wide squad, the quality is always there.”
WHAT MILAN TO EXPECT? – “I expect the best possible. It will be a very competitive Milan, with great confidence, ambition and motivation to win.”
STOPPING THE TRIPLETE – “Motivation doesn’t come from that. We think about what to do to create difficulties for the opponents, we don’t talk about things that don’t enter the locker room. I’m sorry that we only have the Italian Cup, so we have to be focused on that and nothing else.”
WHY DID THE TEAM HAVE TO BE PUT RIGHT AT HALFTIME OF MILAN-ATALANTA AND AFTER THE GOAL THEY DIDN’T REACT? – “The explanation is simple, we faced a quality team with a good coach, who was able to block our strength. He lowered De Roon, they closed better. We had to do more to be more solid defensively and more effective offensively. In the goal there were two-three individual mistakes that should not have been there, especially at that moment of the game.”
DOES REIJNDERS-FOFANA WORK AS A MIDFIELD? – “Individually they are extraordinary, they have quality. You have to have balance, they know what I want when we attack and when we defend. It is not only because of them that something did not work.”
GIMENEZ ON THE BENCH, THIRD IN THE GERARCHIES – “There is no first, second or third. It depends on the form of the players at that moment, I see who gives me guarantees to start the game. Sometimes who comes in later can be crucial. He started well, he also had some physical problems in recent weeks.”
REACHING THE FINAL OF THE ITALIAN COPPA – “Important match for everyone at Milan. A positive season for Milan usually passes to fight for the Scudetto or the Champions League. It has to be normal.”
APPROACH TO DERBY, INTER FAVORITE – “There are no favorites in these matches.”
HOW’S HE DOING? – “Some things I will talk about at the end of the season. About six months of work, what we did well and less beme.”
The article Inter-Milan, double comeback for Rossoneri: Conceicao’s announcement was written and published in its original version on Milanlive.it.
