Fabio Capello has shared his thoughts on the final day of the season, focusing on the Champions League race involving AC Milan, Como, Juventus and Roma.
This evening, the race for the final top-four spots will be decided. Milan and Roma are the favourites as things stand, both sitting two points ahead of Como and Juventus, but anything could happen once the games kick off at 20:45.
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Milan clinched three crucial points against Genoa last weekend and in the process, they also boosted their confidence. The importance of that cannot be overstated, seeing as they hadn’t won in the three games before that and were in proper trouble.
Capello’s verdict on the race
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, Capello shared his thoughts on the race and said that everything will come down to confidence. The players who can remain calm in this situation will be the most successful, while some will crumble from the pressure.
What are your initial thoughts?
“It must have been a tense night for everyone…”
By ‘a tense night’, do you mean everyone’s sleep was disturbed by the importance of today?
“Yes, with all sorts of thoughts. All the ideas they have in their heads, if they are on the right path, assessing the opponent, and what they have to give themselves. And the most important thing will be making the right choices: physically, technically, and even psychologically, which is crucial.”
Also because it’s going to be a nerve-racking game, right?
“Exactly. Those with the most personality need to take the field, and even in such crucial moments, they need to instil confidence in everyone and always maintain their level of play, without being ‘soft-fisted’ or fearful. Not everyone is like that; the pressure makes some lose confidence.”
How important is it for those trailing to try to take the lead as soon as possible?
“It’s the best thing there is, but then, since they all have to win, you can’t expect to get to the end of the match just by defending. It’s a very important point because at the end, a penalty, an own goal, a deflection can happen: anything that can make the difference.
“So it’s right to try to take the lead, but then you have to continue playing decisively to close out the match, instead of just thinking about snatching a narrow victory.”
Milan and Roma would qualify at this point. Are they the favourites?
“Roma are doing very well. They have done some important things recently, showing consistency in their play and performance as a team. They have also recovered all their players, Dybala for example: this means Gasperini just has to make the right decisions.
“Meanwhile, at Milan, Modric’s return could bring some serenity to the team, but we shouldn’t think that if he plays, it means everything is already settled: everyone has to give more, as they have done at certain moments in recent games.”
And the chasing pack?
“Como must continue to win, without Paz they are still a good team, but they are missing his brilliance. He’s the man who has always made the difference, both with the goals he has scored and with his brilliant passing.
“At Juve, after the defeat, everyone needs to find their feet and here we shouldn’t name just one player. That’s not enough. It’s the team that needs to find its feet: forget the last defeat, win, and hope for a favourable final result.”
All this without Bremer and Yildiz…
“These two made the difference in every moment of the team. When the Brazilian was missing, Spalletti awaited him with open arms, while the Turkish striker was the one who created the plays. It will take even more teamwork.
“The teams that are chasing must have more courage and a willingness to take risks, because if you don’t take risks, you don’t get results.”
Meanwhile, Torino are eager to sink the Old Lady…
“I know something about it (laughs).”
Como is the only team facing an opponent with something important to play for in the standings, Cremonese. Is that an advantage?
“It’s a match where both teams need to push, for different reasons and with different hopes. They need to focus on winning and wait for the other teams’ results, so it will be a wide-open game, played with the clock ticking and forcing them to secure a result.”