Amorim: “I trust my players and I feel that they are ready, we need to build a culture and we need time to build a family and a proper squad, Leão…” | OneFootball

Rúben Amorim during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Rúben Amorim is getting ready for his first match in Serie A.

After a long break and changing the Coach, Milan return to the pitch of Serie A tomorrow as they take on Torino at Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino (20:45 CEST).

Milan target a return to the Champions League and they start their journey on Sunday in a difficult game, with a squad that is considered still far from complete, and with Amorim on the bench.

The Portuguese coach sat down at Milanello on Saturday to answer the questions of the Italian journalists ahead of the match:

On Ferragosto, it was your turn; tomorrow, it will be Abate’s turn. On Ferragosto, Ruben Amorim got to experience the atmosphere of facing one of his former teams, Manchester United. Tomorrow, Ignazio Abate will come up against his own history and his past. Will that be an extra source of motivation for Abate and for the whole of Torino in a match that is extremely important to you, as all the others will be? It’s the first league match, coach…“First of all, Buongiorno a tutti. I know that Abate is a former player of ours. He played many important games for this club. He knows that, at Milan, we need to win every single game, and he’s going to use that as motivation. But we need to think not only about the opponent, but also about what we want to do. We want to win every game this season. It’s not just that we want to win – we need to win. It’s important for our project, and it’s important to start well. We know it’s going to be a tough game. It will be completely different from the match against Manchester United. It’s always really tough to play against Italian teams. Abate really understands Italian football. I’m just starting here, but I already have a clear picture of what we’re going to face tomorrow. We’re going to be ready. I think Abate will feel the same way because he was born here. He knows that, in football, you need to win regardless of the context. So, he’s going to be ready, and we’re going to be ready. I think it’s going to be an enjoyable game to watch because you can see that Abate wants his team to play a certain style of football. He wants to play good football, and I think it’s going to be a good game.”

The squad during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Good morning, Mister. Welcome to our league. You’ve already made your debuts in Portugal and England. What kind of feelings and emotions do you have ahead of your debut in Italy? Is it the best one, the most complicated, the most difficult, the one with the most pressure, or the one with the least pressure? How are you feeling in these minutes, these hours?“The pressure is always the same… for me, it’s always the same. Even when we play a friendly game, and even when I was starting out in the third division, I was always nervous. Because, as a manager, you are judged every day. So, I’m excited, I’m happy to be here. I trust my players. I’m so happy with my players, and I feel that they are ready. They work so hard. And when you see a group of players becoming a team, and the way they are working, the manager feels confident. Even when it’s the first game, of course, the anxiety is there. But you feel confident because my players are working really well. They are doing everything they can to be prepared for the first game. So, I can say that I’m really excited. At the same time, I’m anxious. That is normal. But the pressure is the same because any manager in the world needs to win every game.”

Good morning, Amorim. It’s clear that, compared to last season, your way of playing and your vision of football are completely different. So, it’s natural to expect a different team, a sort of revolution, especially in terms of playing principles and ideas. So, in this first official match of the season, how much of Amorim’s Milan will we see? How much do you already feel that this team has changed compared to last year, and how much more time will you need?“The first thing I would say, rather than talking about seeing the real team of Amorim or comparing it with Mr. Allegri’s team, is that the most important thing is to be a Milan team. And being a Milan team means that everyone is focused on doing things for the team, not for themselves. That is the main thing. We need to think only about the team. Then, of course, you can see that we are a team that likes to have the ball. That is going to be one of our principles, and we are going to try to play that way. But we also want to get a lot of players into the box. I think you will see that tomorrow. I want my team to defend well, just as Mr. Allegri’s team did last year. So, there are some principles that I want to carry over from last season. But, of course, we are going to try to play in a different way. Some players are going to play in different positions. As for whether this will be the final product, it’s impossible for it to be. We need to build a culture, and we need time to build a family and a proper squad. So, I can say that you are going to see some positions and some things that will be different from last year. But the final product is not going to show up in the first game.”

Gonçalo Ramos during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Good morning, Amorim, and welcome from me as well. Looking beyond Milan and at the league as a whole, which teams do you think are the strongest? Which team is the one to beat? And where would you place Milan in a hypothetical starting grid for this season?“The first thing I want to say, and I want to use that question to make a point, is that last year, when I watched the team, my feeling was that against Inter and other big teams, our team was strong and well prepared. But sometimes, against the lower-ranked teams, I felt that our focus and concentration dropped a lot. So, for me, it doesn’t matter who the best team is. For me, Torino is the best team in the world. And that is the mentality we need to have at our club. Especially in the games that people expect us to win, we need to be there and prove ourselves every day. It’s hard to say. You can say that Inter are the team that is more prepared. You can look at the league, study it a little bit, and feel that Inter have a history and a way of playing that comes from Inzaghi. They have spent a lot of time building an identity, and that is really important. Then you have a lot of other teams. Gasperini knows the league; he understands everything about it. Then there is Como, with their speed and freedom, because Como don’t have the same responsibility. They have the manager, they have the players, but that responsibility is not there. And that is a big difference. We have that responsibility, and that can be something that weighs heavily on the players. Then you have Atalanta with Sarri, and a lot of other teams. But it’s hard. In Italy, it’s hard to say which game is going to be easy. Our team lost a Champions League position against Cagliari at home. So, I don’t know what is hard and what is easy. For me, everything is hard. What we need to build is a mentality. For me, it doesn’t matter who the other teams are – not Inter, not anyone. For me, it’s just Abate and Torino. If we win this game, we’ll be fine. So, I want to use that question to tell my players that it doesn’t matter who the other teams are. It’s just Torino. We win against Torino, we’ll be fine, and then we prepare for the next one.”

Good morning, Mister. It’s a pleasure to meet you. On the day of your presentation, you said that the objective, speaking of Milan’s objectives, was to win the Scudetto and earn the second star. I’d like to ask whether, over these past few weeks, you have understood how important this objective is to the fans, and whether you still believe that Milan should be aiming for the second star. And, without asking you to talk about the other teams, do you see a gap between the Milan of today and Inter, who, as you explained, have been building a winning team under Simone Inzaghi?“The goal for Milan is always to win the Scudetto. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, but our mentality needs to be that we want to win the Scudetto, because that’s what the fans expect. Regardless of the circumstances, the fans expect that from us, and we need to fight for it. That means going from Sunday to Sunday and trying to win every game. There is a gap between us and Inter, and we need to be really honest with our fans. It’s important. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, but at this moment, I think it’s important to explain the reality to our fans. But, of course, we have the same starting point. We have a lot to do, but we can win against any team. We can beat any team in our league. So, our goal is to win this game and then think about the next one.”

Rúben Amorim during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Good morning, and welcome. You just said that your Milan, or Allegri’s Milan, needs to be a team. New players have arrived – important new players, players that you chose. So, what kind of Milan should we expect? What is your Milan? An attacking Milan? A stronger Milan compared to last year? What will we see that is new?“For me, the most important thing is that Milan need to be a team in every moment of the game. If we need to defend with everyone in our box, then we’re going to defend with everyone in our box. If we have to attack, then everyone is going to attack. But, of course, we need to respect the identity of our club, and our club is one that dominates games. So that is going to be our goal. But again, the most important thing for us is to do everything as a team. So, I don’t know what kind of game we are going to have tomorrow. I don’t know if we are going to have a lot of possession, like we did in the last game against Manchester United. That is what we want to do. But the important thing for me is for everyone to understand what we need to do in order to win the game. That is the most important thing.”

I wanted to ask you about Leão, if you can clarify the situation for us. At the end of the season, he immediately expressed a desire to leave. Then you arrived, and with the national team and speaking the same language, you have had the opportunity to talk. We know that the club has put him on the market. From your point of view, and especially regarding his physical condition – whether he is fully fit or not – is he part of your project or not?“Rafa, at the moment, is not important. The important thing is tomorrow’s game.” [Laughs after trying to answer in Italian for the first time in the press conference.] “He is not ready to play. He is injured. But he is our player. He is not training at the moment, and he is not going to be in the squad. The rest of the guys, I think everyone is ready to play. We’ll see what happens. I have no news about any player leaving at the moment, so that’s it. The important thing is to win tomorrow. He won’t be there to help us in this game, but we’ll see what happens in the future.”

Rafael Leão during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

I wanted to ask what kind of club you have found in terms of its organization, atmosphere, and work culture…“That’s a good question. What I’ve felt from the first moment is that there is a very good organization here. Everyone is committed to putting this club in the right place. I think now it’s my job, and the job of the players, to help this club move forward, because everything else is already here. The way we prepare for games, the support we have in every training session, the traveling, everything is very well organized. These people know what it takes to operate at the highest level. So, at this moment, I think Milan has everything, and it’s our job – the job of the manager and the players – to put our club back where it belongs.”

The club has invested a lot this summer and brought in three really important players, but do you have the feeling that something is still missing? In other words, does the squad still need to be completed in this transfer window, perhaps with an attacking midfielder or a defender? Are you expecting these reinforcements before the end of the transfer window?“I don’t think that is the most important thing. One of the good things is that I feel the players we have brought to the club have a lot of quality. They are expensive, but they have a lot of quality and they are young enough to continue developing. That is really important, especially at the beginning of the project. I think what we are missing is becoming a real squadra, a real family. That is the most important thing. Sometimes we focus too much on technical ability and all these things, but a real team can overcome a lot of limitations. For me, the most important thing now is to have players who have the characteristics we are looking for – not just for today, but also for the future. Players who can send a message to our fans that we want to be great again. And that is the most important thing, together with building that feeling of being a family that fights for each other every day, in every moment. Sometimes people think that if you put the best players in the world together, you are going to win. No. The best team will win. So, we have a lot of things to improve. Of course, we need to improve together because we have a lot of talent in our squad. We just need to believe and understand that we play for a club with a huge responsibility. So, to answer your question, I would say that we need to improve as a team. That is the most important thing, and the rest will take care of itself.”

Alexis Saelemaekers and Diego Moreira during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

There’s a concept that keeps coming up in your words: “bring the culture,” as you said earlier, and now also the idea of a family, like in the early days of your coaching career at Casa Pia. Is it more difficult to establish these concepts at Milan, or is it more difficult to convince the team, for example, not to be afraid to defend high and to push forward?“I think the good thing is that, since I started here at Milan, I’ve felt that feeling of family. It’s here. You can feel it with everyone who works here. That feeling of family is already here, so we are going to bring that to the players. They need to feel that they belong here, so I think that part is going to be easier. I think the players are understanding how to play in a different way. They need to be brave, and I think they are. You can see that during the games. We have improved a lot in the way we are doing things. I don’t know what is going to be harder. It also depends on the results, because the results will help us understand how quickly things are moving. But I don’t know what is going to be harder. What I can say is that the feeling of family that you’ve heard about at Milan over the last decade is still here. So, I think that part is going to be easier.”

I wanted to ask you about Diego Moreira, as there is a lot of curiosity about where you will use him because he is a player who can play in several positions. Where do you see him playing best? And, a quick second question – I know coaches don’t like talking about individual players, but which player has surprised you the most in a positive way since you started pre-season?“About Moreira, the position is more ‘quinto’ – you say ‘quinto’ right? Attacking wingback… I think that is the best position for him. He can play in other positions, but I see him more in that position. As for the player who has surprised me the most, it’s hard to say. I love Cissé. I love Cissé. I hope Cissé doesn’t hear this because he’s going to get too big for his boots. [Laughs] But I really like Cissé. I think Matteo Gabbia represents what Milan is. It’s not just about talent. It’s the way you dress, the way you speak, the way you train. If you want to find one player who represents Milan, talk to Gabbia. So, it’s hard to choose just one. Every one of them has given me something, and the thing I love most about this team is the way they work. We are going to have some difficult moments, but if they continue to work like this, I will be with them 100 percent.”

Rúben Amorim during training at Milanello. (@acmilan.com)

Mister, here in Italy we call it the sporting director, but here we have the owner. We don’t have a sporting director; instead, we have the coach directly. Can you tell us a little about Gerry Cardinale? When he comes here, we see him much more present and involved. Do this connection and shared responsibility between the owner and the coach increase your sense of responsibility?“I think it’s important for everyone to feel the responsibility of being at Milan. Everyone here has a role, and it’s really clear, so everyone has a job to do. I think that’s important. It’s not just about my relationship with Mr. Cardinale; it’s also about the way he is here all the time. He speaks with the people in the kitchen, he speaks with MilanLab, he speaks with everyone here. He’s not just with the players and the coach. For me, the most important thing is for everyone here to feel that the owner is always present, that he is always paying attention to every detail of the club. And I think that if you talk to Mr. Cardinale, he understands that he needs to do that in order for us to become a very strong club in the future. And we are doing all of that. So, my responsibility is always the same: my responsibility is to win games. I will try to do that and to get this team playing very good football.”

I’d like to ask you about football and the situation on the pitch. With Samu Chukwueze, are you trying to replicate what you did with Quenda at Sporting and with Diallo at Manchester United? And do you think this Milan team has enough balance to accommodate such an attacking player in that position?“It depends on the mentality of the player. Sometimes people look at a player who is really good offensively and think that he cannot defend. But defending is about the spirit. It’s not just about technique; it’s about spirit and character. And I think he has the character to do that. And when we defend, we defend as a team, so that doesn’t matter. He is improving, of course. He’s not a typical defender, especially here in Italy. I understand that the culture here is that a ‘quinto’ is not a winger; he’s more of a wing-back. I understand that. But we want to play – we think about the game more with the ball than without it. And that is a message I want to transmit to you: we want to defend really well, but I believe we defend well with the ball. If we don’t have the ball, it doesn’t matter if we have ten defenders – we are still going to have problems. For me, it’s important to have players who give us the ability to control the game with the ball. And Chukwueze is very good at that. I think he proved against Manchester United that he can defend quite well.”