Stefano Pioli reveals that the secret of Milan’s improvement is his relationship with club directors and the commitment of his players, but warns the Rossoneri about Cagliari.
Milan are the Serie A table leaders with a three-point lead over Napoli and four points more than Inter, who have a game in hand. They visit Cagliari tomorrow.
“Cagliari stopped Napoli, the atmosphere is particular there, we need to be extremely focused and only think about tomorrow’s game,” Pioli said at a press conference.
“We are working with the same concentration. The team feels well mentally so I am convinced the legs will keep running. We must continue improving and become more and more competitive.
“[Daniel] Maldini is not available due to a fever. Sandro Tonali is back and I’ll assess him today, Olivier Giroud trained yesterday, so I don’t think he’ll have problems. Diaz picked up a knock yesterday, so we’ll assess him today.
“We have a lot of solutions, we’ll face many teams playing with a three-man defence, Cagliari, Bologna, Torino…we have many options, but the most important thing is to remain dangerous.”
Milan scored just three goals in the last four games across all competitions. What are they lacking up front?
“We need goals to win and close games, but at the same time, we also need solidity when we don’t have the ball,” the coach said.
“We have many players who can score goals, which makes the difference. We must try to be dangerous at all times. Details will make the difference.
“All the teams are masters of their fate,” he continued.
“Nine games are remaining, virtually, we only have a one-point lead, three points more than Napoli and seven more than Juve. We need to put positive energy into every game. Cagliari are very effective in attack, we must be very focused.”
What’s his view on Italian football after that all the teams were eliminated from the Champions League?
“The fact of not having a team in the Champions League quarter-finals is negative. The level is high, I don’t think Italian football is lacking something, but we can improve in terms of quality and intensity.”
Does he have regrets about some referees’ mistakes?
“I don’t like to talk about the others or the referees. We must think about ourselves and our performances. There will always be mistakes, we must make sure we don’t make many.”
Does Pioli has fear regarding Zlatan Ibrahimovic joining the Sweden national team?
“Ibrahimovic does everything with enthusiasm. If he feels well for the national team, he must go,” the coach said.
“Playing is important for him right now. He is convinced and so am I.”
What’s his secret behind Milan’s development and how does he rate Pierre Kalulu after his last convincing performances?
“My secret is the relationship I have with Maldini, Massara and Gazidis and the availability of my players.
“Kalulu has two important qualities: he is determined and has a strong personality that helps him manage all the situations, also the most difficult ones. He is always focused, he is raising the level and there are more and more expectations on him. He is reaping the rewards of his work.
“The team is focused and determined. I didn’t see anything different compared to the past. Tomorrow’s game is what counts the most. It’s all wide open and we want to take the right direction focusing on the next move.”
“The level is high, I don’t think Italian football is lacking something, but we can improve in terms of quality and intensity”
So what? Do we lack or we dont? 😀
To be fair both milan and inter computer with Liverpool.
We lack….We definitely lack up front. Need another attacker and DESPERATELY need a quality AM!
Inter and milan both play very well this year in the champions league. Inter in particular play great games and was much better than Real and Liverpool. Milan outplayed Atletico. Pioli ment that we have the players to do well against anyone but we lack quality in the finishing and defending. The 50/50 episodes always go with the non italian teams. But there is a progress compare to the past seasons. The football is modern. Inter play with english intensity against Liverpool even higher intensity than the english side.
When the 2 milan teams with juventus leading serie a again after many years, the serie a rising again because they can afford better player and have wining mentality. Inter and milan projects are good while juve just disaster but they will fix it next year. So I think serie a will be much stronger at the cl in the coming years.