MILANELLO – Milan’s coach spoke exclusively to the Milan Channel ahead of this afternoon’s press conference at the Milanello sports centre:

“I went to Madrid to see Atletico in the flesh and this will help us in our preparations for that match. The players are working well with a lot of determination but we need patience and time. I’m optimistic and the team is growing. The football culture that I come from is one where everyone defends and everyone attacks. If we have the chance to steal possession in the other team’s half we should do so. Against Cagliari we showed that we know how to move forward from deep as well. You need balance in football and you need everyone on the same wavelength when you push forward or when you wait. We shouldn’t be talking about Atletico today as we have the match against Napoli. The goals conceded against Caglairi and Torino were our fault and we’ll be looking to maintain balance on the field. We have to improve in the one on one situations but the team’s desire is always there and that’s an important sign. In a very short space of time, we’ve been able to create a lot but not score that much. The fact that we’re creating a lot is very important.”

“A lot of players have yet to settle in with this new philosophy. All teams today have very mobile players and we want to construct a clear playing philosophy and we need time for that. I’m a product of Dutch, Spanish and Italian football. When we played Ajax-Milan in that Champions League final we were a very attacking side, even Galliani said he had never seen so many players pushing forward. We played different football at Real Madrid while for the Milan side of the past, we were on top of European football. Then came Barcelona and the Spanish revolution. We hope that in the future we’ll be able to give something important to the game.”