Igor Tudor assures Hellas Verona will give their all against Milan and have their own motivation. ‘If you look at their squad, they should be in third or fourth position.’
The match kicks off on Sunday at 19.45 UK time (18.45 GMT).
The Rossoneri need a victory to stay top of the table after Inter’s comeback 4-2 win over Empoli on Friday, but the Stadio Bentegodi is famously a nightmare for the Diavolo.
“It’s a very important game for them, but it will be for us too, because when everyone is watching, you want to make a good impression,” said Tudor in his press conference.
Milan lost two Scudetto titles with shock defeats to Hellas, so much that this fixture became known as ‘Fatal Verona.’ Has Tudor brushed up on the history?
“I couldn’t avoid it! We are focused on the present, though, we want to win and it’s going to be more tense than usual, but we must continue to experience it as just a game of football.
“We’ve got our own motivation too, because we can still set a new all-time club record for Serie A points. People forget so quickly in football, we must always keep pushing and proving ourselves every time. We want to prove we are better on the night and there’s no greater motivation than that.”
It was already a thriller when these sides met earlier in the season, Verona fumbling a 2-0 lead at San Siro to lose 3-2.
“We learned from that, have improved and become more solid. It’s going to be difficult, we need to work hard and not make mistakes.
“If you look at Milan’s squad, they ought to be in third or fourth position, so that shows what Stefano Pioli and the club have achieved. They’ve been up there challenging for two years now.”
There has been controversy over the refereeing in recent weeks, so is Tudor worried about Daniele Doveri being assigned to this match?
“I admire Doveri, he has quality as a referee, even if he can be a bit easily offended. The red card for Ceccherini against Napoli was over the top, the second yellow was 60 metres away from goal, it seemed very harsh. What I really hope is that nobody is even talking about the referee after the game.”
.@HellasVeronaFC | Igor #Tudor ha parlato alla vigilia della sfida contro il @acmilan https://t.co/5PUb821tDf
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) May 7, 2022
I’ll tell you right now, any Verona player that scores, Inter will sign you this summer! I’m looking at you, Bessa, Faraoni, Caprari (all former Inter players).
What Tudor says is correct. You can’t say Verona have ‘nothing’ to play for, as this is the biggest spotlight that has been on their players all season.
If someone is looking for a new contract, or a transfer to a bigger club, tomorrow’s game is when you prove it!
Given what Tudor said, he knows his team quality. With few luck, I do not think that Milan is going to win this match.