On the eve of the clash between AC Milan and Juventus, Ruben Amorim spoke to the media at the usual press conference, stating that it will be a good test for the Rossoneri.
Milan have started the season in the best way possible, winning two out of two games, and the same can be said for their next opponent: Juventus. That certainly adds a layer of excitement to tomorrow’s game at Allianz Stadium, which will be a proper test for both sides.
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The Bianconeri have quite a lot of injuries to deal with, but will still be able to field a strong starting eleven. Milan are without Matteo Gabbia, who is struggling with an ankle injury, but the rest of the players are healthy (knock on wood).
Amorim’s words from Milanello
Speaking to the media at the usual presser this afternoon, Amorim said that it will be a great test for Milan, though it’s no different from a small game. If anything, Milan have shown that they are stronger against the bigger sides.
His different approaches on and off the pitch…
“Outside the pitch, the players are humans, so I try to help them in life as well as with football. But on the pitch, we need to work hard, so I try to be demanding because there is no other way to win games.
“I keep track of everything, how they work in the gym and what they eat, but I also want to understand the human side of the player.”
On Cardinale’s presence, the mercato and the Tomori reinstatement…
“First of all, I’m used to having Cardinale and Calvelli present. We talk almost every day, so it’s normal to have them present. Regarding the mercato, I’m really happy with it. If you look at all the names, I think we can say that we have new players who are top and are going to help us a lot.
Photo by AC Milan
“Then I also want to talk about the way we do things at our club. All the players who arrive need to be aligned. If that’s not the case, it’s not worth going for a certain player. This is a very important evaluation.
“About Tomori, it’s simple. We had an issue with Gabbia. I don’t know what’s going to happen on that front. We will soon have four games in ten days, so we need to be prepared.
“Then I had the feeling that Tomori was training well and was in good shape, and above all, he was still our player.
“At the end of the day, we have to think about our team. For our team, the best thing was to take Tomori back. It was a simple decision, a technical and tactical one.”
How would you rate the mercato? And is a player missing in attack?
“I need to give a vote? 10/10. My players are the best ones in the world. Every player that we signed is perfect for our team.
“Regarding the attack, we need to give space to Camarda. I think that we can play with three players in front who can rotate. You can see that there is a lot of man-to-man marking here in Italy. So sometimes, changing the striker to Pulisic can help, for example.
Photos by AC Milan
“I think we have a balanced team, Camarda will have space.”
Has the time come to start Moreira and Rabiot?
“We’ll see tomorrow, I’m not going to give you the starting eleven today. It’s important to keep the eleven for ourselves. Moreira has been in training for two weeks, so he’s more prepared now if you compare with last week. He’s an option, just as Rabiot is an option.”
What do you think of Chivu saying Juve-Milan is not a Scudetto game?
“Nothing. I’m just focused on our game. What I know that if we win, we will be top of the league along with someone else. I have nothing to say about that.”
How are you feeling about the first big game in Italy?
“First of all, it all depends on the pressure you put on yourself. For me, a big game is like a small game because you need to win them all. If we go back to the pre-season, if we didn’t win a game, the pressure was immediately there.
“So at big clubs, it’s always a big game, but I understand the excitement about facing a team like Juventus. It’s a good test to see if we have improved. We will play against a top team and a top manager away from home.
“My team is ready. Like I said in the past, Milan’s problem has not been the so-called big games, but the small games. I’m excited and not concerned.”
On the mistakes against Venezia…
“For me, the biggest concern is that we were better at controlling transitions against Torino, but then we weren’t so good against Venezia. So I know that my players can do it, we need to keep up the concentration.
“Our concern isn’t how to defend the box, but more so how we do things when we lose the ball. Then I have centre-backs like Gila and Pavlovic, who sometimes think they are No.10s, so they are taking some risks (laughs). We are working on that.”
Photo by AC Milan
Once again on Chivu’s words…
“Regarding Chivu, if we need words from him to win titles at Milan, then there’s something wrong with us. I know that it’s hard for the fans to hear, but for all of us who love the club, we have to admit that we have a lot of work to do.
“The biggest concern is winning just two Scudetti in 20 years. We don’t need the words of Chivu to motivate us. Milan is a very historic club with seven Champions League trophies, but in 20 years, they have zero Coppa Italia trophies and two Scudetti. Something’s wrong. I don’t care what Chivu says.”
Does it matter how many defenders Juve will field?
“When you face three, four or five defenders, you change the way you press and play with the ball. That’s just some tactical aspects that we need to change, and we have prepared for that. Spalletti needs no introduction either, he’s a manager with a lot of quality and he’s really smart.
“It’s going to be a tough match, but I know that we are ready for it, just as they will be ready to face us at home.”
On his team selection…
“At the beginning of the season, it’s different, because we have to understand the physical condition of some players who arrive later. For me, the most important thing is the training during the week. If you don’t train well during the week, I will change my mind about you playing at the weekend.
“Of course, I will always field the best eleven for every game, but then I also need to have some weapons [on the bench] to change the game. I think we are doing that very well.”
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