Conceicao discusses final ‘pressure’, striker choice, trophy history and Milan’s resurgence | OneFootball

AC Milan head coach Sergio Conceicao refused to give any team news away ahead of the Bologna game, but insisted his side have prepared well.

Many are calling the Coppa Italia final a season-defining game for Milan, and with good reason. The Rossoneri will almost certainly not get into the Champions League via their league finish, but winning the game in Rome is a route into the Europa League.

Not only that, but there would obviously be a trophy to lift too and it would be the second in just a few months under Conceicao. The Portuguese hoisted the Supercoppa Italiana one week into his time with Milan, and there have been suggestions another cup could change his fate.

It has been a busy itinerary for the Milan squad and staff who arrived in the capital on Monday, met the President of Italy on Tuesday morning with training in the evening. Conceicao spoke from the press conference room at the Olimpico to preview the game, with his comments via MilanNews.

Do you feel more the fascination or the pressure of the final?

“I think this weight, this pressure is part of Milan’s history. It’s normal in these big clubs. We have to focus only on tomorrow, focused on that, on what to do, on the opponents, on what different moments there will be compared to the last match and be ready.”

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Since you’ve been coaching Milan, is this the best moment?

“The results are positive, but that’s normal. The knowledge I have of the staff allows the team to have evolved on an individual and collective level. It was difficult in the first three months, but we’ve already talked about it.

“We live on results, we want to bring a positive result that would give us a trophy and the chance to play in Europe tomorrow.”

How does it feel to be back in this stadium that gave you so much as a plauer? What changes do you expect compared to Friday?

“This stadium has certainly given me satisfaction as a footballer, but that’s in the past. Tomorrow we’ll have to be at our best against a team that has the ability to play every duel as if it were the last. We’ll have to have the same attitude.

“Every match has its own story, it depends on what happens every second. We’ll have to be ready for many scenarios, knowing that we’ll be facing a team that’s a little different to the one we faced a few days ago. But we’ve worked and prepared well, we hope for a good response tomorrow.”

A straight question, Jovic or Gimenez?

“And I answer dryly: I won’t say. I didn’t tell them either. They have doubts too.”

Would lifting the Coppa Italia change the meaning of the season?

“A season is made up of episodes and moments. It will certainly be a great pleasure if we manage to win this trophy and give joy to the fans in this difficult year. As you know, we have this trophy in our heads, from the outside we seem angry but it is not like that.

“We have this immense pleasure of playing in a final and facing this beautiful team that is Bologna. There is no fear, there is normal adrenaline. The group is calm, but not tranquility because we are waiting for an important match.”

Photo by Marco Rosi/Getty Images

You said ‘I’ll talk later’ – is that a promise or a threat?

“Neither one thing nor the other.”

Leao will be back tomorrow, is that the extra card? How is he?

“He’s fine. We have training at 18:00 CEST. We have Leao who is back, Bologna has Ndoye, Holm, Odgaard who are back. Ferguson will probably play, they also have different players.

“More than the individuals, who are always important within the collective, it is the collective and the team that is more important than any individual.”

There has been a lot of talk about unity this season. I see the images of you celebrating with Florenzi and I understand that the collective is there. Has anything changed since Udine, have you felt anything that has changed or was it less noticeable before?

“We are there every day, they believe in what we do and it’s important. Positive results help improve the environment, but I am aware of having a healthy group. They are not just words, there is a lot of talk and too much, but they are the facts.

“If we see so many comebacks it is because players who have given something more to the team have come off the bench. It is the sign of a group, of unity, of this respect they have towards the staff. I am calm in this situation, let’s hope to put this on the pitch tomorrow from the first minute.”

What kind of awareness did the semi-final derby victory give you? Are you aware of being strong? How far is this team from the top?

“We also played a good game in the quarter-finals against Roma. In these months, since I’ve been coach, we haven’t been as consistent as I wanted. We can talk about many games, many competitions, absent players, but they are all excuses that the fans don’t want to hear.

“The fans want results, and even with positive results there is always something to say because this is a historic club where the fans are used to results. There is this pressure, this weight, this desire to win more and more. It’s normal, natural, we have to accept it.

“We have to focus on work and on the group to play a positive game and win this Cup against a team that has had a very positive season and has a coach who is used to this type of game. We are looking at a very competitive Bologna.”

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In Portugal you have the record for cups won. Can it help you in this competition?

“I have three Portuguese Cups and a League Cup. These are situations where we want to give a positive response, it has nothing to do with the competition and what I won: that’s the past, tomorrow’s match is important.”

You seem to be more serene and calm, what is the reason for this?

“I’ve already had a few matches as a coach, I’ve been coaching for thirteen years. Every match has its own pressure and its own load. Of course, the finals, the titles, there’s always this adrenaline as I said before.

“It’s not that I’m more or less calm or that I have to think about what to do in front of you, I don’t think about it. If I were behind a computer I could convey everything with words and it’s a little easier, I’m in front of you and it’s a little more difficult. I am what I am.

“It seems like we’re angry or tense, but there’s no fear, neither in life nor in sport. There’s the desire to compete and to go and face the opponent. There’s concentration, there’s this state of mind that everyone who wants to win has.”

How important is Fofana’s return? How useful will his ability to screen the defence by occupying the space between the lines in midfield be?

“We don’t know yet, I’m not bluffing. He has a problem with his foot, let’s see if we can count on him 100% until the end. He’s done the last training sessions, it’s true, but this is a slightly particular problem. The doctors will be able to say it better.

“I hope to have him tomorrow like the whole group. Daillinga hasn’t had many balls between the lines, he’s someone who attacks the depth more. It’s true that the midfielders tried to occupy that space between the lines but we were good at not allowing it. Maybe it happened once or twice.

“On this I think that tomorrow we can discover something more about the opponent, playing in a more direct way than he did at San Siro. But here we enter into more tactical discussions.

“We hope to have Youssouf tomorrow but the issue you told me about is not the reason why we suffered more in the previous match.”