Milan: Inter, Manchester Utd, just a normal week

By European Football
February 19 2005

Milan: Inter, Manchester Utd, just a normal week then. Or not quite, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti was interviwed by the Corrie Dello Sera yesterday about the week approaching and had some interesting thoughts on it, starting with the gap to catch Juventus:

’We are not that worried about being behind them because the gap is not great, and all it takes is a match against them to get past them. Of course, all games are important, and the difference from last season is just that we can’t make any mistake. And now the season is coming alive.’

Every fan would like to see the team who defeated Messina again… ’We are working hard to repeat the same attractive Milan side in every game, sometimes we manage, sometimes not, but the important thing is that even when there aren’t the conditions to do well, we manage to get the result all the same, as it happened at Reggio. And what also counts is that the team are fine physically.’

The discussion returned to the statements Adriano Galliani made after Reggio, but Ancelotti replied: ’I took it as a normal criticism. I wasn’t happy with that performance either, but I preferred stressing the positive aspects of the game, such as the three points. Yes, we chatted, but there was no need to clear anything up. Could the whole episode have been avoided becoming public? Well, we are all part of a ’boiling calderon’, so such a public comment can be accepted. Then, it can even happen that some journalists, even in good faith, can overblow it a bit..’

He continued on the Reggio subject: ’We played an essential football, we didn’t risk much, and the fact that the papers wrote that Milan played like a provincial team I take it as a complement. It is very good that such an important team can play in a different way depending on the pitch. The guys have had a great reaction to the defeats, and the motivation within the group is very strong.’

Milan are expecting a week of high tension, with the return of the Champions League and the city derby at the weekend. The coach said: ’All matches are difficult. Inter? They have the hardest task on paper. However, we mustn’t be worried about this, or the midweek game against Manchester United, now we just have to think about Cagliari. They are a strange team, they have the right qualities to play well away but on the contrary they do better at home. They have an attacking system, but are not able to express all their potential away from the Sant’Elia. They have quick strikers, but this can mean more space for us.’

Turning on the individual players, Ancelotti said: ’[Andrea] Pirlo has trained hard, so he will be available from the beginning. If there were occasions to replace him, I just want to clear that there is no-one to deputise for Pirlo. For instance, it makes no sense to compare a player like [Massimo] Ambrosini to Andrea because they are very different. And Ambro did very well at Reggio. The choice of a player depends from game to game and the same is with the system, sticking to the fact that Milan have played in the same way for the last two seasons with excellent results. It will happen to change the system in the future again, but always in the course of the encounter, as against Lazio.’

Inevitably Manchester is the red-hot theme. An English journalist underlined that for Roy Keane the best European midfielders are Scholes, Lampard and Gerard. Ancelotti jokingly said: ’He probably follows only the Premiership.. but I also like that trio. Ronaldinho? I see him going to Chelsea.’

Speaking about rotation, the coach said: ’We can’t do it now to prepare the game against Manchester or Inter, but we will see if any player may need some rest later on. Tomorrow we will struggle for 90 minutes but it won’t affect the performance on Wednesday. Milan have head and legs, there are the conditiond to go far...’

Two other points to reflect on: the kidnapping of Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena in Iraq and the death of former Juventus legend Omar Sivori: ’The least we can do for Giuliana tomorrow is to give a sign of support on the pitches tomorrow, it is not the first time that footballe non è la prima volta che il calcio si mobilita, come è giusto che sia. As for Sivori, I met him when I was in Turin and I have good memories of him. He was really strong. I would have played him forward in this Milan side, two playmakers and a lone striker like him would have been the ideal solution.’

Ancelotti concedes a final witty remark in front of the taunts of the journalists: 'Manchester? It could be a final and we will interpret it like this. La Coruna? Stop thinking of it, it is not positive to think of such disgraces. I honestly believe that the Old Trafford reminds of better memories…’