MILAN – “There absolutely must be the will to play in the best way possible to win and take second place, which is not yet entirely ours“. This is how the AC Milan coach begins on the eve of the match against Genoa played by former Rossoneri player Alberto Gilardino. Stefano Pioli in the usual press conference: “We have the opportunity to demonstrate that we are responsible people: we cannot change our past, but we can change the present. It will be an important month for everyone. In the first leg we won with a bit of luck, we were first in the standings. I want to congratulate Gilardino for the work he has done: he has very good players, but he was good at putting them together. He did an excellent job, they play well, they have young players with excellent prospects. They know how to cover spaces well, they work the ball well with both defenders and the goalkeeper. We met our rivals who had an incredible championship, but we weren’t able to stay close to them. Then the elimination against Roma was very, very painful for us, we played two normal games and were eliminated. We have always thought about the team, never about an individual. There are positive and negative things within our season. Then everyone can grow, many can still give something“.
About the future
“Am I close to Napoli? No thoughts except the next four games. At the end of the championship I will meet the Club and we will see what to do. Do I like ‘a pizz’? I like cappelletti in broth, because I’m from Parma… I congratulate Pecchia on the promotion, he can rest assured… My relationship with the managers? Zlatan and Moncada were here yesterday. The relationship with the managers has always been good and it will also be at the end of the championship, even when we talk about our future. You’ve waited a long time, wait a little longer to talk about the future: the work is not finished. You can write, I can’t control the rumors and I don’t even want to control what you put out there. The real thing is that I have another year on my contract with Milan and that I won’t talk to any other club as long as I’m under contract with Milan. A year off? I know you have a hard time believing me and I can tell from your looks, but I’m not thinking about my future. Then we will decide. We will meet with the club at the end of the championship and then decide what to do. Hostile climate in Milan? When you coach a club like Milan there is no middle ground: I have been praised a lot and I have been criticized a lot. Am I the right man for Milan? For tomorrow I hope to be the right man for Milan, then we will decide the future. I told the guys we deserve to finish well. It’s clear that they are part of Milan’s historynot only for the Scudetto, but also because I coached this team for five seasons, in which there were positive and negative things“, adds Pioli.
On the fans, on the training and on De Rossi
“Our fans have always been an added value, especially in difficult times. And I don’t forget it. The protest? They have taken this position and we respect it, then we have to do everything to ensure we win the game. Six months ago was ‘Pioli is on fire’ going crazy? In these 5 years I often came home with a happy heart when I was on fire, then recently things changed and I was a little sadder… When there is so much love there are always excesses: I enjoyed a lot of the satisfaction that the fans gave me, I also suffered a lot. Chukwueze? He’s fine and will play tomorrow. Kalulu? He and Pobega will be called up. Training? I’ll let you know, there’s someone who will write it as soon as they leave here: Pulisic, Leao, Chukwueze and Giroud are playing tomorrow. If I didn’t choose them other times it’s because I thought that other types of characteristics were needed more to win games. Loftus-Cheek had an excellent season, he is strong: then he cannot have the continuity that perhaps he will have next season, both in terms of knowledge and physique. The boys of Spring? It was a very important season for the boys, they often worked with us and grew a lot. De Rossi’s words? I wish Daniele to maintain this clarity and correctness in his assessments and judgments; I’m following him, I’ve always appreciated him a lot as a footballer for his mental and character qualities, I’m liking him a lot. I don’t feel like giving advice, just being yourself to be credible with players and who you deal with“, concludes Pioli.
