Conceiçao: Milan motivation doesn’t come from ruining Inter’s treble dreams | OneFootball

Sergio Conceiçao insists Milan’s motivation doesn’t come from ruining Inter’s possible treble but will only discuss the Rossoneri’s journey at the end of the season.

Milan will meet city rivals Inter on Wednesday in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinals.

The Rossoneri sit 9th in the Serie A table and it’s practically impossible for them to reach a Champions League spot, so they’ll have complete focus on tomorrow’s fixture. Conceiçao started a pre-match press conference on Tuesday by talking about the late Pope Francis.

“He was at the very top of the Catholic Church. I go to Mass every day at 6:30 pm in downtown Milan,” he said via Milannews.

“He was an extraordinary man. We’ll miss him, his words and his presence.”Conceiçao said Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kyle Walker are not at their best, but will be available tomorrow after completing a full training session with the team today.

“Big clubs aim to go all the way in every competition. Congratulations to Inter for their journey in the Champions League and Serie A,” continued Conceiçao.

“For us, this match is fundamental. We want to give our fans this trophy. We need an extraordinary performance and to be highly competitive. Every game is different.”

Conceiçao: Milan motivation doesn’t come from ruining Inter’s treble dreams

MILAN, ITALY – APRIL 02: SergioConceiçaoo, Head Coach of AC Milan, looks on from the dugout prior to the Coppa Italia Semi Final match between AC Milan and FC Internazionale at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on April 02, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Inter are still running for the treble, but Conceiçao insisted that Milan’s motivation won’t come from running their city rivals’ dreams.

“Our motivation doesn’t come from the opponent, but from our own work,” he said.

“Those kind of things don’t enter the locker room. Inter are involved in many competitions, but they are used to it, just like we are. The players’ recovery is faster in these days. I watched their game against Bologna, Inter have quality and depth.”

The Rossoneri are unbeaten in their last three games against Inter this season, but lost their most recent Serie A match to Atalanta.

“We trained well in the week leading to the Atalanta game,” noted Conceiçao.

“We had good feelings, like before Udinese, but when we got to the game, I had to wait until the break to fix things. We played against a quality team and it was a balanced game. They had a lot of possession but no real chances.

“Atalanta didn’t pass the midfield in the first 15 minutes after the break, then we conceded a goal from a collective error and the players who were introduced from the bench didn’t bring enough to the team. We talked about that. Tomorrow’s game is the most important and the players are aware of it.”

Will Milan stick to a three-man defence against the Nerazzurri tomorrow?

“We’ve always added a fifth element to our defence, sometimes Musah, sometimes Jimenez,” said Conceiçao.

“It depends on what we want from the match and what the opponent does. We need to exploit their weaknesses and be alert to their strengths. They are a team with a lot of energy and quality on the ball, but we’vealso done fantastic things in attack. Defensively, we’ve fallen short in some areas and we need to build again from the foundations.”

Why has Santiago Gimenez become the third-choice option in attack?

“There’s no first, second or third. It’s about the players’ form. He came in and did well, scoring right away,” explained Conceiçao.

“Then he was injured for a few weeks. I make decisions, but there isn’t a set hierarchy in place. Sometimes, the ones who come on later are more decisive.

“It doesn’t matter whether you are favourite or not. Once the referee blows the whistle, it’s all about what we’ve prepared and the motivation. That is what makes the difference. We’ve good quality too.”

Lastly, Conceiçao was asked about his feelings going into the game and how he judges the Milan campaign.

“I’ll talk about it at the end of the season, about what the past six months have been like. What we’ve done well and what we could have done better,” he concluded.