Stefano Pioli revealed when he’d announce his future plans with Milan, the team’s gap to league leaders Inter and the state of his squad ahead of the Fiorentina trip.
The Rossoneri have been in strong form since December, losing just one of their last 14 Serie A matches, a run that’s put them second in the table. With Champions League qualification all but secured, the club can now switch focus to the Europa League, where they’ll face Roma in the quarter-finals.
Pioli has been the figure of much criticism this season and a long list of possible replacements at Milan have been floated by the media in recent months, including Bologna’s Thiago Motta, Brighton’s Roberto De Zerbi and the unattached Antonio Conte.
Speaking in a press conference via TMW, Pioli first discussed how it’ll feel to play Fiorentina in their first game following the loss of CEO Joe Barone.
“Unfortunately, it’s not the first situation of this kind that has happened to Fiorentina. Florence and the Viola fans are fantastic when it comes to coming together and uniting to overcome these moments.
“When these moments of loss strike them, they become a big family. A special environment will await us all. At the start for Joe Barone, who has done a lot for Fiorentina, and then there will be the match.”
He spoke about the return of his players from international duty.
“Those who stayed at home have recovered some energy. Those who left, apart from Kjaer who returned with fatigue and will not be called up as a precaution, are fine. The one who played the most is Pulisic, I will evaluate him, but yesterday he seemed in good condition.”
The Rossoneri coach was asked about the recent racism row involving Inter’s Francesco Acerbi and Napoli’s Juan Jesus.
“It becomes difficult for me to judge the incident because I don’t have everything at hand, we can’t help but all be against incidents of racism in stadiums. It’s time to stop.”
He touched on his feelings ahead of the closing stages of this season.
“The decisive period of the season begins. Everything we have done up to now is important, but it will all depend on the next matches. We must worry about raising the level of our performances.”
Pioli was asked if the 14-point gap with Inter was real.
“The 14 points are real, because we cannot change the table. They had an exceptional season, while we, especially in one month, were unable to obtain a few more victories. In the last two or three months we have been a very competitive team, we have to continue like this until the end.”
He spoke about Furlani’s interview with Gazzetta dello Sport and if a specific match could change the club’s destiny this season.
“No, there are 10 league matches and hopefully 5 in the Europa League which will all be important. The most important one, meanwhile, is tomorrow’s match. In these two weeks, above all, you talk a lot about the future, you have also done so throughout the season…
“But I don’t have to think about the future, I have to think about tomorrow and these 60 days to make this season as positive as possible. Until now, these are partial and not complete judgements.
“At the end of the season, I’ll tell you what I’d like to do and what I wouldn’t next year. We’re not thinking about the derby or Juve, but about Fiorentina.”
The Milan coach commented on the team’s previous drops after international breaks.
“Our results after the breaks haven’t always been what we expected, but each break has a different story… I feel I can say that in this break we worked well, and the players came back well.”
Pioli discussed the absence of Theo Hernandez.
“He will certainly be missed, for his strengths and his performances… He is a devastating player. We will play tomorrow with different characteristics, taking advantage of those of Florenzi. Roberto Carlos called him as the strongest in the world? He knows the role well, I believe that he’s right.”
He provided an update on Ismael Bennacer.
“He had to work individually, but he took advantage of this week well. He’s fine and he could even play from the start.”
The Milan coach explained why Filippo Terracciano hasn’t featured much following his January transfer.
“He immediately suffered from the arrival, the reputation of the team and the importance of San Siro, but he is working hard. I use him as a full-back.”
He spoke about the return of Olivier Giroud.
“He’s back as always, recharged, determined, serene. He’s fine. I talk to him, but no one here is thinking about next season. We’re focused on what we have to do in the next period.”
Pioli discussed the differences between Bennacer and Yacine Adli.
“Bennacer is the strongest midfielder we have in defensive one-on-ones, I think he is almost unbeatable when it comes to winning the ball.
“I think he can improve in reading some situations, perhaps stalling, you can’t always be aggressive. Adli is less skilled one-on-one, but he has very interesting characteristics.”
He touched on the strengths of Fiorentina.
“It’s not a coincidence. Fiorentina only lost to Inter 1-0 at home, and they didn’t deserve to lose. Fiorentina don’t have fullbacks, but they have fast offensive wide players and full-backs who push, so we have to be very compact.”
The Milan coach spoke about how individuals can make the difference.
“It has to be like this. We have to have an idea of how to stay on the pitch, then it’s the individuals who make the difference. We have to combine the two things.”
Finally, Pioli discussed if Milan were less attacking without Theo Hernandez.
“No, I don’t think so. It doesn’t change our idea of trying to play the match.”
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