Milan will host Lecce on September 21 at 20:45 CET (18:45 UTC for their Serie A Matchday 5 fixture. Head coach Amorim attended the pre-match press conference, and this is the second part of it.
Claudio Raimondi (Sportmediaset): Okay, it's my turn. Hello, Ruben, I'd like to ask you, at this moment, how far is your team from the football philosophy and tactical ideas you ideally want to build? Simply put, what is the current gap in seeing that famous "promise" truly materialize and be put into practice? What is still missing?
Regarding the promise to try to score more goals and dominate the game, in most matches we have indeed consistently dominated on the field. Of course, we haven't played well enough for every minute of every game, but the most crucial thing right now is to win the match against Lecce; that is currently the top priority.
Therefore, regarding our ideal playing style, we aspire to show dominance, but we are still in the process of building and refining the team's tactical organization, especially in terms of our possession play. So the match against Lecce is a very good opportunity for us to try to do better and achieve further improvement.
Franco Vanni (La Repubblica): Good afternoon, coach. After some time, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to Milanello, and you two have met previously. So I would like to ask you, if it can be revealed publicly, what exactly did you two discuss? In addition, have you received clear instructions from Gerry Cardinale? Or have you conveyed any opinions and feedback to him? In short, what is the latest situation regarding Ibrahimovic and the club owner in the past few days?
No, this was merely a routine visit from Zlatan. We discussed it last week. It was purely a normal visit from someone closely connected to the club, nothing more, with no other special meaning. All our energy and focus are on the match itself, and everything I do is to help my players win the game.
Our attention must be focused on the game. That visit was just a simple visit, completely outside our current core task – which is to win the next match. Sorry, no, it's not what the outside world is speculating. It's an extremely normal thing, nothing out of the ordinary at all. It's part of routine daily interactions, discussing matters about the club, with no special significance.
Franco Ordine (Il Giornale): Okay, it's my turn. Good afternoon. Personally, what concerns me is not the Benfica match itself or the final score, but rather some statements you made after the game. That is, when you said "maybe this team isn't suited to my football philosophy," or later in response to Fabio Capello's question – when Capello pointed out that the team "must defend better," and you replied, "Yes, perhaps we can also consider making changes." Therefore, I want to ask you to provide a clear clarification on both points. What are your true thoughts? Are you considering changing the team's playing system?
No, I didn't say that this team couldn't adapt to my football philosophy. What I meant was that our coaching staff needs to flexibly adjust and adapt our tactical approach based on the individual technical characteristics and physical attributes of the current players.
Regarding Fabio Capello's guidance, Capello is a legendary coach in football who has won every honor imaginable. Therefore, when a coach of Capello's caliber points out that we must defend better, I agree with him 100%, because we absolutely cannot concede goals as easily as we did in the last match.
However, in my opinion, "changing the playing system" does not equate to simply changing the formation on the field, nor does it mean directly switching from a four-man defense to a three-man defense. The true meaning of changing the system lies in fine-tuning our tactical principles, improving our immediate reactions and counter-pressing after losing possession, and optimizing the execution of various defensive details.
We are confident in the tactical model we are building, and we firmly believe in our work. We will never be completely swayed or abandon our tactical identity and overall playing style just because we lost one game. The only thing we need to do now is to continuously improve the details, maintain the compactness of the team's formation, and perform better as a solid defensive unit.
I have not wavered or been unclear about my football philosophy; that is not the case. My tactical philosophy has always been very clear. This is not the core focus of our debate. On this point, my personal attitude and thinking are extremely clear and firm.
Daniele Longo (Calciomercato.com): Coach, good afternoon. You just mentioned that we are currently analyzing both defense and offense. Therefore, at this stage, I would like to ask you, given that it is normal and reasonable to conduct various personnel evaluations and tactical trials in order to seek a tactical balance in both attack and defense, is it possible to see offensive players like Pulisic, Moreira, and Chukwueze, or Pulisic, Moreira, and Saelemaekers, all starting together with Gonçalo Ramos from the first minute in upcoming matches? Another question: do you see Pulisic and Cissé as interchangeable rotation options, or do you believe they can perfectly coexist on the field?
No, they can absolutely coexist on the field. In fact, everyone on the field can cooperate and play together. There are many influencing factors in our daily preparation work, and while you journalists are indeed very knowledgeable about many situations that occur during our daily training and preparations, which is normal in professional football, there are also many internal details and dynamics that you are not aware of, and I must handle and manage these throughout the preparation process.
Therefore, sometimes my final personnel choices and starting decisions are based on the comprehensive situation that has unfolded throughout the week. However, they can definitely play together; they can coexist on the field. Perhaps in tomorrow's match, you will see some of these players appearing together on the field.
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