Stefano Pioli assures Milan are ‘in good hands’ with new owners RedBird, expects a ‘vibrant derby with plenty of duels’ against Inter and was ‘never’ afraid of losing Rafael Leao to Chelsea.
It kicks off on Saturday at 17.00 UK time (16.00 GMT) as the two local rivals resume their battle for the Scudetto where it left off last season.
This is also the first game since the transfer market shut, with both Milan and Inter mainly glad to have resisted the lure of the Premier League and PSG for their star men.
“Our plan was always to invest in promising youth, but it was also important to confirm the block of players who can still grow and improve,” said Pioli in his press conference.
“It’s going to be a balanced season with many teams challenging for the ultimate prize.”
The takeover was finally completed this week and RedBird representatives will be in the stands at San Siro.
“I met Gerry Cardinale, he is very enthusiastic. Elliott took Milan back to the top and the new owners have the same ambition, so we are in good hands.”
Pioli was asked if he ever feared losing Rafael Leao when Chelsea were pushing.
“No, never. I could see his attitude and also listened to what the club was telling me,” replied the coach.
“Inter and Milan know each other well, the derby is always the derby, so expect a vibrant game with plenty of duels. Whoever wins the most of those will have a better chance of winning the whole match.
“Incidents can make the difference, so we need to be sharp enough to make them lean our way. It’s crucial we maintain our identity, regardless of who we are up against, because we have our ideas of football and want to continue with them.
“We must prepare for every game as if it was the last. We were too frenetic against Sassuolo and 39 long balls are too many in a game like that.”
Alessandro Florenzi was ruled out for potentially a couple of months, so Milan rushed to bring in Sergiño Dest from Barcelona, on loan with option to buy for €20m.
“We are all sad for Florenzi, he is a leader on and off the field. The medical staff are still trying to get a clear idea of how long he will be out for.
“Dest has quality, tempo and intensity. We got him to play as a full-back, but he has the characteristics to play in a more advanced role too.
“Divock Origi is available and will be on the bench. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is always with us.”
Charles De Ketelaere is able to play in numerous different roles and will probably be facing off with Marcelo Brozovic in the Inter midfield tomorrow.
“Charles is a talented player and strong, he is a figure we seek when we’ve got the ball. We all know what to do when Inter are in possession too, working together to be as compact and aggressive as possible, not leaving spaces where they can counter. Every centimetre could make the difference in this game.”
Romelu Lukaku is injured, but Pioli points out he wasn’t in the Inter squad last season either, so it changes nothing.